November 14^th, 2016                                                                                                                              Soyoung Kim

1^st day of Greenhouse Weekend Duty

Not so cold not so hot with bright sunshine! It was such a perfect day for greenhouse work on Friday. I started first day of work by making sure plants have enough water and clearing debris at the Fanshawe greenhouse. Over 500 plants! It took me longer than I thought to finish my first task, but it was good preparation for more plant check up later in the day; Watering and removing debris from big and little Poinsettias, Poinsettia trees, cuttings, 4” pot plants, misting cuttings in the chamber and at the back of the greenhouse. After that, Jeff and I went through the checklist that shows what I have to make sure during this weekend; it includes Priva system temperature check, actual thermometer temperature check, plant chamber system check, heat pipe check, displaying sign on wet floor check, and cleaning around greenhouse check. It was 12:10pm by the time when I finished those tasks, so I had about an hour lunch time. When I came back, I had to mist plants again at the back of the greenhouse, and Jeff and I prepared wrappers and Fanshawe greeting cards near the sales machine for the beginning of the Poinsettia sale in next week. The heat line in the plant chamber was broken and not providing enough heat for immature plants, so I had to fix that as well. I checked Poinsettias really quickly and misted cuttings both in the chamber and back of the greenhouse. By the time all these tasks are done, it was around 4:20pm so I started cleaning up and closing blackout curtains for Poinsettia blackout period, and signed out and dropped keys at the security office.

2^nd day of Greenhouse Weekend Duty

Picking up keys from security office as first thing to do, I was excited to go back to the greenhouse the next day. I signed in and checked the state of the plants to see how they had done over the night; I watered mature plants, misted immature plants at the back of the greenhouse and in the chamber, and removed debris. I went over the checklist to see if there’s any problem with the greenhouse temperature and systems.  Thankfully, there was no visible error in the system. I made a list for 4” pots and cuttings and cleaned some water on the floor. By the time around 12pm, I had an hour lunch break, and misted immature plants at the back of the greenhouse once again. I went for Poinsettia check up to see if they need water, and collected debris. Since the Poinsettia sale will begin next week, I had to write a sign on the flash board. I was pleased to think about how people will be happy to have those beautiful Poinsettias at their home for cozy holidays. Once again, I quickly checked how plants were doing and misted immature plants both in chamber and the greenhouse, and cleaned up debris and soils on the ground. Lastly, I had to close blackout curtains, sign out and dropped keys at the security office.

 3^rd day of Greenhouse Weekend Duty

My third and the last work day in the greenhouse was bright sunny day again. I signed in and checked if there are any plants that need water and debris that should be removed. I misted immature plants at the back of the greenhouse and in the chamber. After that, I remembered interior plants in front of the bookstore looked they may need water, so I grabbed tools and headed to the bookstore. I checked moisture rate of soils in three pots in front of the bookstore and watered them as they needed, and cleaned up debris. When I came back to the greenhouse, I moved 4” pots and grasses at the back of the green house into proper container boxes. I moved those 4” pots to next to where other 4” pots are, so all 4”pot plants will be organized in one spot. I misted immature plants at the back of the greenhouse for the second time, and I had an hour lunch break after. After a tasty lunch, I started washing pots and placed them in a proper location in the garage, and checked plants to see if they need water. I noticed there were dried plant seed shells next to the window area, so I used little brush to clean it up. I also started cleaning up greenhouse area floor with big brooms and hose. I misted plants at the back of the greenhouse and in the chamber again to make sure they were getting enough water.  I double made sure there was not any water on the greenhouse floor. I noticed it was getting late, so I closed blackout curtains, and made sure the Dosatron was off. For the last thing for my weekend duty, I cleaned up the office area with cloths and brooms. I signed out and dropped keys at the security office. Last three days made me realize how much work and effort it takes to grow and keep plants in healthy shape in greenhouse.