Greenhouse Weekend Duty Blog

September 14-16, 2018

Karly G. and Emily B.

            As the first greenhouse duty duo we focused on transition and preparation into autumn and winter. Additionally we prepared the poinsettias for the weekend’s heat by thoroughly watering the poinsettia crop with fertilizer. Later we checked on the poinsettias and noticed good lateral growth, however we also noticed that they were a little too crowded; so we adjusted them to leave lots of room to grow. Currently they’re in the ‘teenage’ stage, therefore they’re in the process of developing adult leaves and will fully mature for the winter sale. In a few weeks we will begin to close the blackout curtains for short day periods during the day. This is because poinsettias need twelve hours of darkness per day; which will ensure their bright colour. What many believe to be the flower of a poinsettia is actually their ‘bracts’, the flower is the petite bloom in the very centre: bracts will attract pollinators to the unyielding flowers, somewhat like a landing pad.

            In addition to preparing poinsettias for the winter sale, we prepared daylilies for storage before the cool autumn weather begins. Removing weeds, trimming back foliage and organizing them; they are to be sold in the spring. Also in preparation for autumn, Emily and I collected cuttings from annuals before their parent plant dies off in the autumn/winter. Some of the cuttings we did were: Flamingo Flower, Begonias, and herbs like Chocolate Mint, Pineapple Mint, and Lemon Balm. Cuttings are a form of asexual propagation, and in the future we are hoping they will grow into their own mature, thriving plants.

 Later I was  able to have one on one training with the RTVs, learning things like: how to back up with a trailer safely, the proper safety for operating an RTV, as well as getting used to unique functions and how to drive properly. We also were able to become familiarized with the Priva system and Dosatron both of which make a greenhouse worker’s life much easier!

           

            Saturday I started the day watering plants for interiorscape, I was excited as this was a new experience for me and I had been curious about the process involved for  interiorscape. It turned out to be quite interesting! There is a cart with a large canister of water, and it has to be filled with interscape fertilizer water, a hose connects and sits in a pouch with cleaning bottles (for shining leaves, etc.). Then to see if the plant needs water, there’s a tool that says, “wet” or “dry”. We were only responsible for 6 large planters, but it was a great learning experience. Afterwards we had more prepping to do.

Early in the day we cleaned one-gallon pots for pachysandra that we would plant on Sunday. We then began to pot autumn mums in large planters with ornamental grass. To do so, we had to clean up the grasses and find appropriate sized mums of each colour. We then tied up the grass with rope to allow visibility when putting the mums in. We dug a hole on either side and planted the mums, adding extra media when necessary. As we were potting them, we found a praying mantis which was lovely and I had never seen one before!

 After potting the work space needed to be cleaned, so we swept and washed the floor before doing any more tasks. The planters were fairly light, so we gave them a good water. We continued working with the mums, a lot were dry from the intense heat, so we gave them a good water as well. I noticed a lot of thistles popped up (due to heat and intense rain intervals) so I pulled a lot from the back compound as well as a few weeds from in front of the greenhouse. We then did a more thorough clean before closing for the day.

Sunday our main goals were to clean thoroughly, keep an eye on the poinsettias, and pot the pachysandras. We first discussed with Carlee whether the poinsettia crop should be watered again after a warmer weekend. We determined it would be alright to leave it for that day as it needs to dry out between watering periods and they were still moist. We then began separating the pachysandras into pots as there were many to sort. After that we potted them with ProMix media and one-gallon pots.

Afterwards we finished two planters with mums and grasses. Around 3:30 p.m. I entered the greenhouse to notice the curtains closed which I hadn’t seen before; I believe this was due to the spiking heat temperature. We did a big clean in the afternoon: the doors into the building as well as the doors to the greenhouse were cleaned, regular floor cleaning was conducted, as well as countertops. Cleanliness in a greenhouse environment is equally as important as maintaining the crops. Part of the weekend was spent sweeping, washing, and tidying. Cleaning isn’t as exciting, but it’s necessary for the wellbeing of crops and equipment.