Fanshawe College Greenhouse Weekend Duty

November 16-18, 2018

Lisa N.

It was a cold and snowy morning as one of the last Greenhouse Weekend Duty shifts got underway at Fanshawe College this passed weekend. I began my workday at 8AM, as Jeff and I sat down to discuss the protocols and procedures for the next few days. Additionally, we discussed the tasks that he wished to have completed and I added them to my pre-existing tasks that Sue had assigned me earlier in the week. After asking questions for clarification, I prioritized my tasks for the rest of the day and weekend as Saturday was the Fanshawe College Open House.

We anticipated many visitors throughout much of Saturday thus it was imperative that large tasks involving the Poinsettia crop be completed on the Friday. My first task was to use the Opening Checklist so that I could be as thorough as possible when tending to the crops. I assessed the crop to see if it needed to be watered and checked the Poinsettia culture chart as well. The crop had been watered two days prior but needed a watering and fertilization. After getting a quick refresher on the calculation for mixing fertilizer, I made up 5 gallons worth of 20-20-20 fertilizer and watered the crop. I was then briefed on the POS system, so that I could be prepared for Poinsettia sales the following day.

                     

      

                                

In preparation for the Open House, I began working on removing all dead/chlorotic foliage that was on the Poinsettias, making them look very presentable. Dead foliage was also removed from the benches at this time. All labels on each plant in the greenhouse were organized facing forward and straightened. Any plant that appeared to not be doing well was composted as well.

Once lunch was complete and I had propagated some succulents, I really wanted to focus on cleaning up the greenhouse. The potting room was thoroughly cleaned which included a dusting of the propagation chamber, wiping down of all surfaces, the floor was swept and pots were washed and put away.

By the end of the day we had yet to have any Poinsettia sales however, I was lucky enough to have two customers come in. I was able to inform the customers of the different cultivars that we had to offer and discuss our program briefly. Once the customers left, I began my closing checklist making sure that everything was perfect for the following day.

Moving into Saturday, I knew it was going to be busy and I was fortunate to have Emily and Nate come in at 8AM with me to accomplish some more cleaning tasks. We cleaned up the tractor bay, making it spotless. While Emily stayed in the greenhouse, Nate and I transported a generator to the front of the school for the Open House and moved the tractor in front of the greenhouse to highlight some of the equipment that we get to use in the program. Once all the volunteers were settled into the greenhouse, we began making custom Christmas planters and wreaths. We were able to highlight some of our skills as prospective students came in to visit the greenhouse and chat about our program. It was a great experience to get to meet future students and talk about why we are passionate about our program.

Once the Open House was done for the day and the crowds died down, Emily and I went inside to perform interiorscape in front of the bookstore and inside the library. This was my first time doing interiorscape. Some of the plants are quite large and so it was difficult to get them fully dusted and have their dead foliage removed. When I returned from interiorscape, Nate kindly showed me how to perform pH and EC readings on the poinsettia crop, another first for me! This task brought us into the last hour of the day where Emily and I began the closing checklist and closed the POS system together.

Sunday morning came early but I was again lucky to have Michael join me for the first half of the day. We began with the Opening Checklist and assessed the crop. We determined that the crop needed to be watered and fertilized. We mixed more fertilizer and began watering. During this time, we walked the crop again to see if any plants were not being adequately watered. We found a couple, watered them and also moved them to the front of the bench so that students could be aware that these plants maybe needed some extra care.

Later in the morning we went through the cuttings in the propagation chamber to see if any could be transplanted. However, we made the judgement call to leave them as many had not fully rooted out just yet. After this task, Michael and I parted ways and performed our own tasks. He worked on cutting off the new growth of the Canna generalis under the benches while I worked on creating a care guide for succulents to be given to customers. Once Michael left for the day, I created a custom Poinsettia planter that we are hoping to sell to the public for the upcoming holiday season. For the rest of the day, I focused again on cleaning to make sure the greenhouse was spotless for Monday morning.