Fanshawe Greenhouse Weekend Duty

Elizabeth & Blayne

Friday April 15, 2016

It was a beautiful sunny day, the warmest we have seen this spring! The campus was busy with finals week energy and traffic. With the excitement of the changing season we set out to complete our assigned tasks. We started with the opening checklist, watering and walking the crop. We fertilized the established plants such as cacti, succulent, canna, and grasses with 20-20-20, while the newly potted cuttings received a root development specific 10-52-10 formulation. Then we finished fertilizing the hanging baskets and certain annuals with a slow release fertilizer. Specific baskets were pinched back at the same time. Many pots and labels needed to be faced and adjusted after a large number of new plants have been added in the past week by many different students.

The new germination chamber was delivered into the greenhouse. After recruiting some additional hands, we were then able to remove the pallet and maneuver it back. Watering was completed again as the warmer temps are causing the seedlings to dry up quickly on the heat mats. This time of year, the warmer days and tender seedlings need to be checked 3 times a day. 

The Priva greenhouse temperature graph could only be accessed Friday morning, there was a technical issue that prevented us from logging in the remainder of duty. The Friday morning log didn’t show any abnormal incidents. There were the usual graph peaks and declines relating to humidity, temperature and sunlight, however the automated sensors made necessary changes to keep temperature and humidity at the desired rate. We paid extra attention throughout the weekend since the reports were unavailable, however we did not encounter any problems.

After completing the closing checklist and cleaning duties, we were done for the day.

Saturday 

The opening checklist and watering was completed. Most of the day was spent working on cuttings, transplanting and planting seeds. We divided, cleaned up and transplanted Asphodeline tauric into cell packs and trays. Salvia, both Evolution Violet Blue and Farinacea Victoria Blue seeds were planted, watered, covered then placed on the heat mats. Cuttings were made of Plectranthus coleoides ‘Variegata’, Begonia ‘Irene Nuss’ and Fuchsia, then they were placed into the germination chamber. They will remain here until roots are established. We also filled baskets with media for future orders before completing 12 baskets with a variety of interesting annuals. The 2 inch peat pots of Nasturtium, squash, and cucumber were tucked in with media in the tray to prevent wicking of moisture. Hanging baskets for an order were fertilized and pinched back to promote fuller growth. We had some visitors stop by to enjoy the view from the inside and ask some questions. They were passing by and the beauty of the spring blooms drew them in for a moment.

A final walk through was completed and specific seedlings were spot watered before leaving for the day.

 

Sunday

After the opening checklist was completed, we started by watering and giving the greenhouse a thorough cleaning. This was completed early to allow the floor and excess moisture to dry.

Elizabeth watered and cleaned up the interior-scape plants of the President’s office inside of the college. Blayne took greenhouse inventory while noting which tags were missing. There were many pots missing tags since the printer was out of service a few days earlier in the week when the potting had been done. Blayne counted and printed tags for these pots after completing inventory. Two additional baskets were created for an order with various annuals that tolerate full sun. Two stock baskets were created from Solenostemon ‘Midnight Train’ and ‘Dipped in Wine’.

The compost was taken to the outdoor collection and waste potting soil was redistributed into garden beds. All of the pots, trays, measuring cups, etc were washed and put away. A major cleaning was performed since this is the last weekend for duty groups before the new summer student staff begins their work term. Drains in all three rooms were emptied of soil and debris. The garage bay cleaning included organizing shelves and placing items back where they belong. The pots were organized by clay, plastic, flat type, size and shape. The floors were swept and rinsed then we organized some items in the greenhouse compound area. Finally, we thoroughly cleaned the greenhouse potting room.

Emotions were running high from knowing this is the finale of our horticultural journey with Fanshawe, it was a bittersweet. It has been both exciting and challenging but overall a rewarding education. This weekend held hard work, a lot of laughs, and some teary eyes at the end. It may be the last time walking this greenhouse in our program gear, but we will always be grateful for the great memories and stories we will take away!