Weekend Duty Blog

By Easton Klaudi and Dakota Stephens

Friday April 7^th 2017

On Friday our entire class was completing our practical CLT exams as part of the new and improved industry standards. We were busy that morning preparing the greenhouse work before the events of the day.  We filled 2000 4” pots with media in one hour and thirty minutes by hand. We have the brand new potting machine up and running but innate human spirit drives us to beat the machine. We now know the machine has to beat an hour and that we feel we can too! We also set three different sticky traps in attempt to monitor pest levels in the greenhouse. We then headed off to Cuddys in Strathroy for our final Certified Exams.  The CLT exams were a great experience for most of us; there had been snow in the morning but the day ended in pure sunshine. We filled our bellies and returned for one final hour of power in the greenhouse for the day. We filled more 4” pots with media and did some afternoon watering and maintenance. We closed the greenhouse for the night.

                                                                              

Saturday April 8^th 2017

On Saturday morning, we arrived at the greenhouse ready to work during a beautiful day. We began by opening up the greenhouse and going through the opening checklist. Temperatures were optimal and there were no signs of major problems. We then performed the required watering (Seedlings, Petunias, geraniums etc.) We fertilized all the annuals in the greenhouse. We then finished preparing the rest of the 4” pots for Wednesday’s class. Easton also pinched the chlorotic leaves of the Petunia baskets to improve the aesthetics and to obviously keep the foliage color as uniform as possible.  We then moved on to planting the vegetable seeds that Lucas brought in to sell at the Cuddy’s Open Garden in June.  We watered them and covered with plastic domes to help retain moisture during germination.  We decided to begin moving cuttings from the propagation chamber to 4” pots. Dakota began to do some cleaning around the Greenhouse to help decrease the possibility of pests and diseases as fungus gnats were found flying in the main instruction area. We then worked on some stock basket cuttings, moving them from trays to 4” pots. Some of them did not have enough root growth so they remained in the propagation chamber until they are ready. We also had to water the seedlings in the greenhouse again because it was so sunny out and they began to dry from the increased rate of transpiration.

Sunday April 9^th 2017

      Sunday morning saw us return for the third and final day of our greenhouse duty. We opened the doors and made our phone call to Jeff Rowley to let him know we were getting ready for action. Our red and white Petunias growing in baskets (to celebrate Canada’s 150^th anniversary) are preparing themselves vigorously to bloom for the historic celebrations. For 150 years we have developed and reshaped this nation. Canada has a rich history both in peace keeping globally as well as the trade of our natural resources and of course our world renowned maple syrup from Canadian Sugar Maple trees. When it comes to our waving flag and our blooming flowers we want the white and the red to glow in honor of our heritage. We used two types of fertilizer this weekend, 350ppm formula, for our petunias to grow, as well as 200ppm 20-20-20 stock basket solution for stock plants and the Alocasia plants. Quickly we went inside the school with our watering tanker to care for the plants in front of the book store and the library. We checked our propagation chamber to find a few of our specimens were well rooted and ready for a 4” pot. We mixed in our standard Pro mix HP mycorrhizae with just some good clean water and made sure to transfer the numbers in our records from the propagation chamber quantities to the 4” pot quantities. Plants can easily get lost, stolen or damaged so proper tracking keeps proper records and our program coordinators happy. We used our E.C. and pH reading technology (pH- 6.4, E.C= 2.1) to ensure the petunias were being cared for properly and we cleaned the leak out of the container it all came in… people need to be a little more careful when putting things away, but we all need to finish the work we find before stopping the day. We have to look after each other, care about each other and we have to bloom together.

 

The Horticultural Technician program was a great experience; people taught each other how to stand together and how to chase dreams. In my early twenties with a joyful tear in my eye we finished our final Fanshawe horticulture blog post and see the future in front of me. Thank you all.

Greenhouse duty

Liam and Ben

March 31, 2017

It was a gloomy spring morning when Ben and I entered the greenhouse. We began our duties by completing our daily check list and walking the crop. We spot watered all plants and used both 200 ppm and 350 ppm fertilizer for petunias, stock baskets, Alocasias and annual Geraniums. We then took a walk through the greenhouse where Jeff pointed out tasks that we could add to our list. After our break we began to sow all sorts of vegetable seeds as well as make labels for plants. 

After lunch we got right back at it and we had the task of helping Mike Pascoe and Lucas bring in some soil as well as take down horticulture displays for the apprenticeship graduation that happened today.

We also set out bug traps for our pest monitoring report. We continued our day by walking around the school observing the interior plants that we needed to maintain during the weekend. We also trimmed back olive trees and changed the sign outside. Other small tasks that we completed were organizing stock plant baskets, opening and closing the POS system and watering seedlings.

April 1, 2017

As we woke up and headed to our weekend greenhouse duty we knew today was going to be a good day as the sun was shining and the birds were singing. We began our weekend duty by completing our daily check list as well as a thorough walk of the crop where we noticed that we needed to water the seedlings in the greenhouse.  We then decided it was time to deal with the interior plant tasks that Jeff had left for us. This included planting up some Pothos and Ficus as well as watering with the Aquamate. 

We made our way to T building to plant Pothos in the common area then on our way back we stopped at M building to plant more Pothos. After break we were able to do EC readings and Ph readings. Shortly after, we began selecting plant from the stock baskets to cut back. After lunch we selected all baskets and trimmed them back. Then we watered the crop (seedlings) and did a walk through. To finish off the day we washed pots and did a walk of the crop, cleaned and washed all surfaces, watered seedlings and checked the propagation chamber.

April 2, 2017

Today was a good day. It was forecasted that it would be sunny so we were ready for a great day. We started out morning with our usual check list. Shortly after that we did our walk of the crop where we spot watered seedlings and stock baskets. We also watered the hanging stock baskets with 200 ppm fertilizer using the irrigation system. There were also some baskets that needed to be cut back as we missed them yesterday. Then we began to clean the tractor bay which included organizing pots and tools, cleaning the floor and organizing the letters associated with the sign.

We also vacuumed off all surface and shelves. After break we did another walk of the crop and cleaned out the drains. At this time we also had to water seedlings again.

After lunch we decided it was a good idea to also clean the pots located in the hallway in the loft shelf and organize them. There were also a lot of large clumps in the media that had to be broken up. We then checked the mist system and gathered our pests for our pest monitoring report. After completing a thorough monitoring report we then did another walk of the crop to ensure things were good and everything was watered. After filling the propagation chamber with water we then began to wrap our weekend at the greenhouse by cleaning all surfaces and putting away all tools that we used.

Weekend duty blog - March 24-26, 2017

This Saturday was Fanshawe’s Open House. This is an exciting event for Fanshawe to show off programs to prospective students. Because of this event there was quite a few extra tasks that needed to be accomplished this weekend.

Friday

Friday was a big day for Julian and I. We started our day with the opening checklist and walking the crop. We needed to water all Hydrangeas, hanging stock baskets, perennial Geraniums, and seedlings. We also potted up and cut back annual Geraniums. The Technology department at Fanshawe contracted us to pot up Sansevieria plants in planters they had build for an experiment they are conducting. They are trying to see if adding plants to a room will improve the air quality. These planters were made of wood with medal liners. They were very heavy and quite difficult to wheel through the school on large racks. Both of us were sweating profusely by the time we made it to the opposite side of the school.  In the last hour we tried to clean up for open house. This consisted of reorganizing the Hydrangeas, washing the floors and making sure the benches looked clean. There was so much to do we didn’t get to the massive pile of 4’’ pots that had been left by the sink from the classes that week. We did however put them in the sink to soak overnight so they could be cleaned first thing in the morning. It was overall a good day and we got a lot done.

 Saturday

Saturday began by getting everything ready for open house. We needed to ensure the greenhouse looked clean and orderly. Julian washed all the pots left from the week, while I cleaned to potting room floors and organized under the table. Some first year students volunteered to help with open house and they arrived around 9:30 am. I got them helping with making petunia hanging baskets. They were quite efficient and with that many people helping it made it go by very fast. While that was going on Julian was seeding Salvia. At 10:40 am I had to leave the greenhouse to do a radio interview to promote our program. Julian also had to do an interview but later on in the day. We sold the last of the Hydrangeas just an hour or so before the open house ended. I was nice to see the last of the Hydrangeas get sold. People seemed to love them this year. Once open house was over we still had 3 hours left in the day. We used this time to put a new heat mat in the propagation chamber, make tip cuttings, add Begonias to inventory list, and fix the sign outside to read  “Hydrangeas Sold Out”. In the last hour of the day we also ensured the interior Ficus’s were watered. It was a hectic day with people coming in and out of the greenhouse constantly, but we made the best of it and got a lot of work done.

Sunday

Sunday was our last day in the greenhouse. We started our day by doing the opening check list and opening the cash. After that Julian washed the remainder of the pots, while I walked the crop and watered any plants that were dry. A big task we had to get done was hanging up some of the stock baskets to make some room for seedlings on a bench. Once all the baskets were hung, we laid out two heat mats on bench 3 and put the seedlings on them.  Once that was all done we met up with the maintenance crew for lunch. After lunch I washed the floors of the greenhouse while Julian seeded 7 tray of Dusty Miller. Mike Pascoe also asked us to seed some Snow Gum for him so we did one tray. While talking to Mike Pascoe the day before, he told us that the seeds were from Australia and he got them as a gift. We were running low on potting soil so after all our tasks were done we mixed up some soil for the week ahead.                         

Overall it was a great weekend. Julian and I worked great together. We got all jobs done that were assigned to us and also met a lot of nice people at open house. We worked hard all weekend and it paid off. 

On Friday March 17th 2017 Michael Aspden walked the entire crop, determined what needed to be watered. Everything needed to be watered so we did, with the proper fertilizer mixes. While Michael was walking the crop I was opening the cash register and counting the opening float with Jeff. After I finished counting the float with Jeff, I completed the opening checklist for the day. After Michael watered everything including the seedlings on the heat bed with. We then proceeded to start potting up the petunia seedlings from the seed trays. We completed about 3 or 4 full trays of 24 seedlings, put them in the greenhouse and watered them. After watering and filling up the trays with petunias we took a short break. After our break we went with Jenn to the B cafeteria, when we were there she told us everything that she wanted done. This included taking out some ficus trees and repotting them and replacing them with Dracaenas and Pothos and to spray one with isopropyl alcohol to treat for mealy bug. After that we went back to the greenhouse where Jeff taught us how to make fertilizer for the hydrangea crop. When everything was watered and potted up I closed the cash register and completed the closing checklist, while Michael washed the floors.

On Saturday March 18th 2017 Michael walked the crop to see what needed to be watered. He then began watering the white, pink and tivoli hydrangeas with the proper fertilizer solution. He watered them for about 25 minutes. After that he watered the stock baskets, hanging baskets, petunias, mother in law’s tongue, pothos and elephant ears with the stock basket fertilizer solution. While Michael was watering, I was opening the register and doing the morning checklist making sure that everything was in line. After that when everything was watered we took a break. After our break we continued potting up the petunia seedlings, after filling 10 or 12, Michael walked the crop and determined if anything needed to be watered. The blue hydrangeas did, so he turned the dosatron on with the blue hydrangea fertilizer solution and watered them for about 25-30 minutes. While Michael was watering the hydrangeas, I was still potting up the petunias. After everything was watered Michael walked the crop and took an inventory of anything that was in a four inch pot. He transferred the information to me and I added it to the google spreadsheet. After that we had our lunch break. After lunch we came back to the greenhouse and walked the crop again. Seeing if anything needed to be watered. We figured that the white, pink and tivoli hydrangeas needed to be watered because of the time we watered them on Friday. After that we proceeded to consolidate all of the hydrangeas to make more room for other plants. That took us the rest of the day and after I closed the register and completed the closing checklist while Michael washed the floors.

On Sunday March 19th 2017 we began the day by opening up the register and completing the opening checklist. After that we walked the crop and watered what needed to be watered. After watering everything we went and completed the tasks that Jenn set out for us. We went over to B cafeteria, with the dosatron and all the tools and plants (Dracaena and Pothos) we needed, but it was locked. So Michael and I split up, I went to talk to security to get the place open while Mike went back to the greenhouse to grab some soil to bring back. I then began to take out all of the plants that Jenn told me too, and repot them with dracaena and pothos while I was doing this Michael was following me with a broom and the dosatron, watering and sweeping up after me. We then took back the ficus trees and potted them up in the proper containers. After finishing this we took our morning break and lunch at the same time because we worked past our 10 o'clock break. After this we finished potting up all of the petunias, about 5 or 6 more trays. Once finished with the petunias, we started filling up all of the planters that Jeff needed with BX Potting soil. After that we took our afternoon break. When we were finished our break I began to wash all of the pots and flats for the weekend. While Michael washed the entire greenhouse floor. After that I closed the register and do the closing checklist. After all of the pots were dry, Michael collected them all on a cart and put them away in the correct places.

Ben McConkey and Michael Asdpen.

Weekend Duty Blog

March 10th, 11th, and 12th 2017

Amadeo and Soyoung

Friday

Friday started off with Jeff showing us around and answering any questions we needed for the weekend to come. We’ve done this before and it was mostly the same type of tasks except different crops. We put out the sticky cards as the first priority to monitor any pests that may be lurking in the crop. Our first job was walking the crop, we started at one end and working our way out. It was the Petunias and Elephant ears that were first, we put the fertilizer through the Dosatron and got started, there were not many that needed water but it was a good idea to check. After those it was the hanging baskets, 4” pots and everything else (excluding the hydrangeas). We were making sure to keep switching over the fertilizer’s using the Dosatron. Lastly we walked and spot watered the Hydrangea crop, the white Hydrangeas were coming in very full, with the pinks and blues trailing behind with only a few blossoming. Our time spent in the greenhouse passed and we moved onto our second task which was cleaning out the germination chamber. We took out all the cuttings and the metal plates that hold the trays elevated and scrubbed everything to get all the green moss/mould/algae off. It was a task that needed our noses plugged, but we pushed through and got it spotless.

 The chamber was spotless and smelling better. The next task we were told to do was to clean out and remove the soil from the Elephant ear bulb crates. There were 5-6 bulb crates and we took out all the soil in each and cleaned up the bulbs themselves and put them into a single crate. In between our jobs we had a few customers come in and buy some Hydrangeas. We then began to transplant some cuttings into 4” pots. We managed to get 1 full tray of transplants. Towards the end of the day we checked on the crop once more and then closed the till for the end of the day. The last hour was cleaning the potting room from the mess we made from our previous job, then locked up and ended our first day of weekend duty.


Saturday

Saturday started off the same as Friday, we walked the crop and checked for any dryness in the crops. Everything seemed okay and we spot watered what we had to. Our first major task was to update and add to the plant cutting, 4” pot and hanging basket list. We first counted all the cuttings to see if they were the right number and updated the number if need be. The 4” pots were counted and updated as well then we had to make any cuttings we could off of the hanging baskets if it wasn’t on the list already. We managed to get a good number of cuttings off of the hanging baskets we picked out

 The large planters in front of the bookstore were next on the list so we took the Aquamate out there and started off by picking out any Tulips that were dead and pruning out dead foliage in the planters. We watered each planter and worked on dusting off the leaves in the canopy. We were using a plant leaf cleaner and wiping off with rags, it was surprising how dusty the plant was. Some basic pruning on the tree by cutting out some half dead limbs to give it a cleaner look. Back to the greenhouse again we went to go look at the crop and since the sun was out a bit it heated up the greenhouse enough to dry out some of the hydrangeas and we noticed some started to droop. We quickly added water to the ones that looked wilted and checked the rest. They were back up and looking lively by the end of the day

About 30 minutes before closing down the cash register our first customer came in and snagged a white Hydrangea and were quickly on their way. After closing up the cash and bringing in the signs we cleaned the floors and washed some of the pots we used and locked up.


Sunday

It was our final day in the greenhouse and we started it like usual with a crop walk and spot water. The Hydrangeas were looking nice today and we saw a few more blooms and colours coming out. We took down our sticky cards that were put up on Friday and noticed very little bug activity. There about 4 fungus Gnats spread out over 4 cards, probably because of the watering were doing. This was the beginning of the pest-monitoring sheet because we still had to do our EC/pH readings. The readings were OK and we wrote out our findings. Towards the end of the day we made a run to the compost because we had a bunch of old soil and plant material from the other days and came back to start cleaning. We started in the greenhouse and working our way out to the potting room. Only one customer came in and bought two blue Hydrangeas towards the end of the day. There were a few more house cleaning things we tended to then we headed out.

Greenhouse Duty Blog

Friday March 3^rd, 2017

            On Friday March 3^rd, Nick and Brandon arrived to the greenhouse and met with Jeff to go over the tasks for the weekend. There were jobs that we weren’t 100% sure about and had some questions so Jeff helped us out and answered whatever questions we had about our greenhouse weekend duty. To start the day we have a checklist that needs to be completed before anything else can be done. We have to check the temperatures in the greenhouse and make sure the priva system is working fully. Also we made sure the germination chamber had water in the bottom of it. We walked the crop to check and see if all the plants were moist or if any needed water.

Next, we opened the till in case we had any plant sales during the day. After we started spot watering the hydrangeas where it was needed, then we did an aluminum sulphate drench on the blue hydrangeas. After we were done the drench, we moved the elephant ears into new 4 inch pots. We filled the pots with soil and put them onto flats. We moved them onto one of the racks closer to the window and made sure we watered them.

Next we brought out a rolling rack and got the wrapping down from upstairs and placed the wrapping onto the rolling rack. There were pots in the garage that were being filled on Wednesday and didn’t get finished, so Jeff asked us to fill the rest of them up and stack them neatly on rolling racks. We ran out of HP pro mix so we got a new bag out the greenhouse and emptied it into the appropriate bin. We had to bring another bag into the greenhouse after we took one out so it has time to thaw out for when we need it next. After we were done that, we walked the crop again to make sure everything had water. Then it was time to clean up and close the greenhouse.

Saturday March 4^th

On Saturday we worked on some interior plants. We had to dust the big ficus plants in front of the bookstore, dusted the 2 ficus plants in T building, replanted the palm in the D corridor, and watered the plants in the library. When we first got to the greenhouse we did our morning checklist and walked the crop. We noticed the hydrangeas were getting a little dry, so we watered them all. Throughout the day we checked the crop a lot because it was sunny and we wanted to make sure no plants were drying out and that they all had enough water. We started cleaning the hydrangea leaves as well. Before we left we did another check of everything and did our end of the day checklist.

Sunday March 5^th

On Sunday we showed up and did our morning checklist and walked the crop. We spot watered a lot of the plants. Sunday we finished cleaning the leaves on the hydrangeas. It took us most of the morning to complete.

After a lunch break we walked the crop and spot watered the plants that needed water. The elephant ears needed water so we fertilized and watered them. We also noticed that a couple of the elephant ears needed some more soil. We grabbed scoops of the pro mix HP and topped up the plants that needed the extra soil. Next we did our PH and EC readings on the hydrangeas. The PH levels were a little high on the pink and white hydrangeas but the EC readings were all in check. We recorded all of the readings. Sunday afternoon, we completed our Insect and Disease Monitoring report. We recorded everything we needed to. Sunday afternoon we did a really deep clean in the greenhouse and in the potting room. There were pots that needed to be washed so we did that as well. We started by sweeping all the floors and picking up all the dust and dirt that was on the floor and put it all into the compost bin. We emptied the compost bin into the RTV. Next we washed off the tables with bleach and water and scrubbed them clean. After all of that was completed we walked the crop and watered one last time. Next it was time to wash the floors. We sprayed them all down with water and made sure we didn’t miss any spots on the floor. We used squeegees to scrub the floor and move the water into the drains. After we were done cleaning up, we put the wet floor signs out so no one would slip on the wet floor. We completed the Priva chart analysis and handed it in as well. Lastly we did out closing checklist. This completes our weekend greenhouse duty. We learned lots and worked well together on everything.

Nick Hunt and Brandon Velda

Greenhouse Duty Blog

February 24-26 2017 

Jenn and James

On Friday, February 24th, 2017 after our instruction from Adrienne and Jeff, we checked the PRIVA system and made notes on the temperature ranges within the greenhouse. We then repotted the red & white petunias and made sure there was at least a lip between the top of the pot and the top of the soil so the water didn’t run out of the pots. This ensures the petunias are getting the amount of food and water they need to thrive. Then we placed only the red petunias on the heat mats to promote quicker root growth so they’re rooted enough to be planted in their hanging baskets. Next week will be the white petunias turn on the heat mat for the same reason. Most of the day consisted of repotting petunias, there were a few moments where customers walked in to see what was for sale. But unfortunately, no sales were made during the whole greenhouse duty. At the end of the day we made notes on the functionality and temperatures of the greenhouse. PRIVA system functions were also recorded.

On Saturday, February 25th, 2017, I immediately went to finish off repotting the last 40 or so white Petunias, while Jenn checked the crop for watering requirements and any kind of issues as well as checked the PRIVA system. We then made fertilizer for the hydrangeas, and root promoting fertilizer for the petunias. The two batches were made carefully and safely. As Jenn cleaned out the outside storage area, I collected the Pro-mix (with some help from Jenn) and placed them under the far benches within the greenhouse so they were thawed out when the classes need them for various tasks. After completing the job, Jenn and I went to tackle the 3 Ficus trees, out front of the bookstore.
Picture 3

They needed to be watered and the under plantings needed some tending as well. We had to apply a “leaf shiner” to the leaves of the Ficus, while removing thick amounts of dust on the leaf’s surface. This took up a large portion of the morning, leading up to lunch, and then continued a little longer after lunch. Jenn had already previously watered the hydrangeas so that an hour afterwards, we could start recording data for the E.C. & pH readings. When taking notes and data, there weren’t too many differences from previous recordings. This made sense as the crop seems to be thriving well. When this was finished, we cleaned/tidied up the greenhouse a little to bring us to the closing time, where we then had to make notes on the temperature from the PRIVA system. We also had to list all functioning apparatuses around the greenhouse to make sure nothing was out of place and/or working improperly.
On Sunday, February 26th, 2017, Jenn and I checked the PRIVA system, the thermometer within the greenhouse and the temperature readings with the infrared gun. Notes were recorded and we then discussed on what tasks would be completed by whom. First task I completed was re-potting the established cuttings from inside the propagation chamber while Jenn made a tray of Tradescantia cuttings for a client order. I then went on to collect cuttings from the stock baskets for cuddy’s. There was no way of obtaining the rooting hormone powder, due to the door being locked. I then improvised, with the suggestion from Jenn, that ‘Coleus’ plants are very easily propagated without the hormone powder, and began to take cuttings only from a group of different Coleus cultivars.
Picture 4

While I was completing this task, Jenn moved onto creating new succulent collections that are for sale in our greenhouse.
Picture 5

Once the cuttings were obtained, I made labels for them, watered them and then placed them into the propagation chamber. I then went out to clean the tractor bay and tidied up loose tools and pots. After doing this, Jenn suggested it was time to take out the compost and deposit the contents within the dumping area, located at the North-West end of the college campus. Upon our return, we then took the left over miscellaneous potting mix and placed into a garden bed located along M building, adjacent to the greenhouse. We then finished the day off with a thorough cleaning of the entire greenhouse, making sure to squeegee most of the floor underneath the crop to avoid too high of humidity levels from using water to remove the built-up dirt. Of course PRIVA systems and other functions of the greenhouse were checked over to make sure all were working correctly.
Overall, the weekend went smoothly. We’re excited about being able to sell the hydrangea crop soon and are looking forward to seeing more of the blooms burst with colour.