Active members - Week of Oct 20

List of members who was generous putting their time into the Greenhouse project.

HortClub members

Angela Hill
Brittany Mcnally
Chelsea Tomcala
Christina Huvenaars
Christina Nguyen
Danielle Levesque
Dr Karen Tanino
Hanny Elsadr
Jamie and Steffen Bertelsen
Kaleigh Elian
Katie Senn
May Xiu Juan Guan
Mercedes Scott
Nathalie Brunet
Peter Le
Peter Reimer

Guest members from the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition.

Michelle Hammell
Shawn Smith

If i've missed anyone, please let me know (i'm sure there are more but i can't remember)

Week in photos - Oct 20

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Greenhouse Members - 2008

Greetings from your Greenhouse Manager,

So far we have 31 members who're interested in the Greenhouse project. The following is a list of the members:

Alison Lackie

Amalie Ask

Brittany McNally

Carrie T

Christina Huvenaars

Christina Nguyen

Daniel Gralian

Danielle Levesque

Dannelle Messer

Dr Karen Tanino & Nair.N

Hanny Elsadr & Angela Nierop

Hasan Alghouti & Sahar Alghouti

Janell Healey

Julie Deugau

Kaila Hamilton

Kaleigh Elian

Katie Senn

Mandy Lajeunesse

May Guan

Mercedes Scott

Michelle Hammell

Nathalie Brunet

Peter Le

Peter Reimer

Rachel Buhler

Rachel Claassen

Sahar Alghouti

Steffen Bertelsen & JamieTaylor

Thea Kristiansen

If I've missed anyone, please let me know.

Greenhouse project layout.

The greenhouse project will be divided into 4 rows.

Row 1: Which is closest to the flood floor will be allocated for herbs and HortClub members' garden or experimental garden.

Row 2: Cultivation of sweet pepper. (60 plants)

Varieties: Sweet bell peppers: green, red, yellow and orange.

Transplanting : The age of the plant to be transplanted is an important matter. Transplant a young plant with a well developed root system. An old plant is not advised. It will turn into a generative stage too early. Do not allow the plant to set fruit at an early stage. The aim is to create a "factory" first. Therefore you need a sturdy plant with a well developed root system in order to ensure sufficient vegetative development. After that the plant will be able to produce a good quantity of well developed fruits. A badly developed root system can cause blossom end rot.

Temperature: Sweet pepper is far more sensitive to temperature and moisture extremes than many other crops. After transplanting, the optimum temperature is approximately 23o C by day and 18-21o C at night.

Plant density : The number of shoots per m2 determines the plant density. Depending on the date of transplanting and length of the cultivation, 6 - 7 stems per m2 is advised. This means 3 (three) plants per m2 for the 2-stem system. For our experiment, there will probably be 60 plants per double row.

Yield:

Row 3: Cultivation of tomato (72 plants)

Varieties: Trust, Clarisse VFT, Camelia VFT, Sugar F1 Hybird Pitenza, Smarty, Conestoga.

Set up:

Tomato plants will be set up in a double rows system with all plants on one side of the double rows leaning over and trained in the same direction along that row. All the plants on the other side of the double rows will be trained upwards and leaning forward.






Overhead and side views of the double row system for tomato plants. Every plant in each side of the double row is trained in the same direction along the length of the row. Once plants reach the end of the row they are moved forward.


Temperature: Temperature should never dip below 18oC night or day or plants will not set fruit properly, and those that manage to set will provide poor quality fruits. Day temperature should be maintained around 23-26oC and night temperature about 19-20oC. Wider difference in day and night temperatures could be beneficial for fruit set, but also risky.

Plant density: Determining the plant density is a very important component of the greenhouse preparation and is directly linked with final yield. For the best results, each plant should be designated an area of 4 sq.ft. For our allocated area, there will probably be 72 plants per double row.

Yield: A good grower, who keeps the plants warm, fertilized, and properly pollinated, should expect 7-10 lbs or 4 kg per plant over a 4-month harvest period. This equals to 31.5 lbs/week. 20 -25lbs will be exclusively reserved for us (Greenhouse members), and the rest will be shared with the other HortClub members.

Row 4: Cultivation of cucumber (30-40 plants) , bean and zucchini (5-10 each)

Variety: Corona

Set up:











The cucumber set up will be a little different from the tomato set up. Every plant on each side of the double row will be trained in the same direction along the length of the row. Once plants reach the end of the row they are trained around and down the other side of the row.

Temperature: For cucumbers, temperatures should be kept between 23-25oC during the day and 20-21oC at night until the first picking. Exceeding the maximum temperatures can be used to cause some flower abortion and maintain the fruit-vine balance.

Plant density: Six to nine square feet of space per plant is required, depending on the variety and cropping system.

Yield: With good management, greenhouse cucumbers will produce from 20 to 30 pounds of fruit per plant over a 4-month harvest period, which equals to 37.5- 50 lbs/week.

Why leaves turn colour in autumn.

The beautiful colours of the leaves in September and October are
triggered by shortening days and lower temperatures. The green
chlorophyll is degraded to reveal the yellow, red and orange colours
that were masked by the overpowering green chlorophyll during the
summer season.

In addition, there are two parts to photosynthesis: light-dependent
and light-independent. When the temperatures turn cooler, the
light-independent part of photosynthesis slows down (carbon fixation
portion which is tightly controlled by enzymes---very sensitive to
changes in temperature). However, the light-dependent portion does not
slow down to the same extent. The light-dependent portion continues to
receive light (photons) which split water to produce electrons which
drive the photosystems of the light-dependent portion of
photosynthesis. Since the light-dependent portion flows into the
light-independent portion, there is a back-log created when the
light-independent portion slows down. This back-log causes excess
electrons which induce free radical formation in the light-dependent
portion. In order to protect itself, the leaf synthesizes anthocyanins
(red pigments) which absorb the free radicals (same pigments in red
wine and red fruits). In addition, the anthocyanins are also located in
the upper epidermal layers and essentially serve as a sun block to
reduce excess photons from entering the leaf. In this way, the reduced
amount of light received will be in more balance with the reduced level
of activity in the light-independent portion of photosynthesis and the
number of free radicals will also decrease.

By Dr Karen Tanino

Week in photos - Oct 13

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Fertilizer 101

What The Numbers Mean

On a package of fertilizer you will find three or four numbers separated by hyphens.

The first numbers the percentage of nitrogen (N), second number phosphorus (P), third numbers potassium (K), and last number indicate sulfur (S).

Macronutrients vs Micronutrients

Those main nutrients are called “Macro-nutrients”, and a "complete" fertilizer must contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

In addition, there’re trace elements which also importance as well : iron, zinc, copper, calcium, manganese and magnesium which are necessary for plants to complete there life cycle so we call it “ Micro-nutrients”

What they do

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is required for the green and leafy vegetative growth of plants. All plants need nitrogen to make amino acids, protein and DNA. Nitrogen fertilizer is often synthesized using the Haber-Bosch process, which produces ammonia. Deficiency symptoms of nitrogen are an overall pale yellow color of leaves and dwarfed or stunted plants

Nitrogen is easily leached down through the soil below the roots and is not available to the plant so is the element most often lacking and needing replacement. In addition, too much nitrogen can delay flowering, fruiting and seed set.

Do you know that most of the nitrogen on Earth is in the atmosphere and approximately 80% of the molecules in Earth’s atmosphere are made of two nitrogen atoms bonded together (N2)

Phosphorus

Phosphorus promotes root growth, root branching, stem growth, flowering, fruiting, seed formation and maturation. Phosphorus is involved in photosynthesis, seed formation, and numerous other plant functions. Ammonia can be added to the super phosphoric acid to create liquid or dry materials containing both nitrogen (N) and (P), and the liquid 10-34-0 is the most common product. Deficiency symptoms are indicated by a red or purplish tinge to steams and foliage. Phosphorus is stable and non-mobile element in the soil so leaching is not a problem.

Potassium

Potassium enables the plant to withstand stress such as drought, cold, heat, and disease. It also stimulates flower color and promotes tuber formation and a strong root system. Deficiency symptoms are indicated when the leaves appear dry and scorched on the edges and have irregular yellowing.

Photo contest

Title:
By: Grant Wood
Location:
Date:










Title:
By: May Guan
Location: HortClub greenhouse
Date: Jan 22, 09







Title:
By: Rachel Claassen
Location: The Bowl
Date: Oct 15, 08













Title: Colors of Fall
By: Katie Senn
Location: U of S campus
Date: OCt 12, 08







Title: The field scarecrow
By: Baharak Farrokhnia
Date: Sep 14, 08







Tittle:
By Kaila Hamilton
Location Edmonton Mutart Conservatory
Date taken: February 2008













Title: From genotype to phenotype
By Christina Nguyen
Location: Atrium (Agriculture building)
Date taken: October 17th 08.











Title: For the Love of Squash Series
By M.P.M. Nair


Tell me you love me.


First kiss


I have got my love to keep me

Go green go organic go local.

The Food Services has advised their organic produce as coming from the UofS HortClub in the Sheaf. This is a great acknowledgment of all our hard work. Therefore a big thank you to everyone who came out and helped us during those long summer months, seeding, transplanting, weeding and harvesting. This achievement would not have been possible without you!

Week in photos - Oct 6

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HortClub 1st Annual Photo Contest 2008

The HortClub is proud to present its 1st annual photo contest this year. All HortClub members are encouraged to participate for a chance to win an Ipod shuffle and many other prices.

Start date: Thursday, October 9th, 2008

End date: 11:45pm, Wednesday, December 31th, 2008

Sponsor: Horticulture Club

Prizes: Undetermined but likely Ipod shuffle.

Photo contest theme: Horticulture and the U of S

Description: According to Wikipedia, "The word horticulture is a 17th century English adaptation of the Latin hortus (garden) and cultura (culture). Horticulture is the art of gardening or plant growing..."

Most people when they enjoy food do not know the dedication and efforts of numerous scientists and researchers working behind the scenes to bring them new cultivars and innovative produce. It is with this in mind that we wish to acknowledge the works of those who bring us one of our greatest enjoyment in life. We're taking this opportunity to give our appreciation to the plant breeders, and the horticulture section as a whole. Therefore take your photos with this in mind.

Our university is one of the most aesthetically pleasing campus in the nation. Please capture its artistic beauty for the viewing pleasure of all, both those who have walked its hallways and those who shall. Let this be our way of promoting what the university has to offer. Your university – your world.


Contest Corner Rules and Regulations:

There are some very simple rules that should be followed when submitting a photograph for a Contest

• The first, and most important to keep it fair, is that only photographs taken during the duration of the contest can be entered.
• You may enter 1 (one) photo or up to 3 (three) photos per contest.
• All photos entered into the contest must be emailed to uofshortclub@gmail.com and must be accompanied with the date the photograph was taken, your name as well as your contact information.
• You may use basic post production to "fix-up" your photograph, however extensive manipulation is not allowed (no frames, either).
• Photos submitted must be in JPEG format
• Once the contest is over, there will be a 10 day voting period, where the community can vote on and discuss the nominated photographs.

Some examples:


The bowl


Art & Science Hallway


Cucumber in the HortClub Greenhouse