Things to do (Week of Dec 1)

Here is what we need to do this week:

Transplanting some Herbs.
Moving propagated plants to the flowering bench.
Cleaning up the flowering bench.

The herbs are mature enough, and will need to be transplanted soon. I hope the herb growers can find some time to get together in the greenhouse. This will mean that you guys will have to set a time that works for everyone in your group, and I will come to give you guys a hand if necessary.

The propagated plants are good now, and need to be moved out of the mist bench as soon as possible, or they will DIE. So whoever came to the propagation session last time may want to come and move their stuff to the flowering bench. We've cleaned out space for your plants, so you'll easily find a spot there.

Peter Le.

Greenhouse Cucumber

Hello Cucumber growers,
Training and Pruning:
This will help to fully supply all nutritional needs for the plants during the establishing period. In addition, you may want to put the clips on to train the plants to go upwards (see example in the Greenhouse).

If too many fruits are allowed to form at any one time, a large proportion will abort, because the plant may not have sufficient food reserves.

Fertilizer:
During this time, we're watering the plants with starter solution (10-52-10) for 2 weeks. High percentage of P will help the plants to establish their roots system, which will allow the plants to take up more water and nutrients.

Schedule:
I have 5 exams coming up, but I can come to the greenhouse at anytime, I believe Mercedes has sent out an email saying she is available on Friday. I hope the remaining 4 members can find some time during the week to come to the Greenhouse. It doesn't take long; it only takes 5-10 mins if we share the work and follow the schedule.

Hope this helps,

Peter Le.

Looking out - looking in - Looking for donation

We are looking for some donation, here is the wish list:

Table
Chair
Blackboard
Radio
Temperature meter

If you have any unused goods and want to get rid of them, please donate them to the Greenhouse, so that we can put them to use.

Peter Le.

Greenhouse commitment

Plant carers: this is a reminder that each of us needs to decide which plants to take care of. The reason why do we need to do this is because it will divide the work load, and allow more time for members to become knowledgeable about their plants.

Will this limit your chance to learn other stuffs? NOT at all, you're welcomed to learn other stuff as well, and that is why we need experts for each type of plants, so that we can share our knowledge around.

Please remember your one hour commitment per week to the Greenhouse. Yes it's important for you to know that you're expected to spend one hour weekly in the greenhouse.

• If we're not clear on who takes care of what, then what will you do each week in the Greenhouse? Are you willing to take care of the entire Greenhouse?
• How will other people know what has been done by other members?
• If something happens to the plants, how can you trace the cause if you don't know what's going on? What if you're busy, or away for some time?
• By assigning everyone plants, I will know which plants to take care of while you're away.

In contrast, if we're not clear on what to do, then we'll need to set up meetings where all of us has to come at the same time, which may not be suitable for your schedule. Ask yourself, do you prefer flexible scheduling, or fixed scheduling?

From my previous experience when I took care of the greenhouse for 3 months and it was a nightmare. I had to come to the John Mitchell GH every single day and it is much, much smaller than our current Greenhouse. This was because there were no rules, regulations, or commitment, and nobody knew what to do. As a result, no one learned a lot in the end.

Please email me with your preference on the type of plants you want to take care of. I need your response by Monday, Nov 24th. Once we have a list of caretakers, we will decide how many plants will be planted (we can only plant as much as we'll able to take care of). If there are too few members able to help out, we'll have to cut back. The following are the plants that still need caretakers:

1) Herbs: Dannelle Levesque, May Guan, Christina Huvenaars (spearmint), Thea Kristiansen,Amalie V. Ask.
2) Peppers: Brittany McNally, Jamie Taylor, Courtney Thompson (1 more)
3) Tomatoes: Colin Kindrachuk, Rachel Claassen, Peter Reimer, Katie Senn
4) Cucumbers*: Nathelie Brunet, Mercedes Scott, Janell Healey, Peter Le,Mandy Lajeunesse,Kaleigh Elian.
5) Lettuces: Peter Le
6) Zucchini & Beans: Christina Nguyen, Mercedes Scott

*Cucumbers need quite lot of care; that's why we need more members.

So we need to get this thing done as soon as possible. Ask yourself, are you in or not? If you've decided to commit to this, then be all the way 'in' please.

For more information about plants' layout please click here.

Peter Le.

Injector information

There're quite a few different ways to set up, as well as different types of injector available in the market. Here are a few:

Dosatron injector:
These injectors operate without electricity, using water pressure as the power source. They are installed directly in the water supply line. Water flow activates the injector, which takes up the required percentage of concentrate directly from a container with stock solution. Inside the injector, concentrate is mixed with water, and water pressure forces the solution downstream. The amount of concentrate dispensed is directly proportional to the volume of water entering the injector, irrespective of variations in water flow or pressure that may occur in the main line

Electrofertic pump:
The pump is operate relate similar to those injectors, but it needs electricity and withdraw the liquid nitrogen rather than injecting into the system.

Both of the above systems are highly recommended in the commercial greenhouse operation, since they're highly accurate and easy to operate, which means they won't be CHEAP. We want some thing we can afford that's easy to operate. So what do we do? Well there're few options for us. Cheap stuffs are less accurate, involve more labour and some headaches as a bonus.

Venturi-type injectors:

Such as Hozon uses a pressure difference between the water line and the stock tank to draw a concentrated solution into a faucet connect valve and mix it with water in the hose. These inexpensive injectors can be easily attached to any faucet, but do not allow precise control over concentration. Because of water pressure fluctuations, variable amount(s) of chemical may be injected into the hose. In addition, the injection ratios are low (typically 1:16) and therefore require a large stock tank, thus limiting the use of Venturi-type injectors to small growing areas.

The Hozon requires very little maintenance; check the screen on the suction line for clogs and periodically remove salt deposits from the mixing valve. This is the one that we used before in the John Mitchell Greenhouse; it worked well, was easy to operate and was dirty cheap :) way to go? Not really, this year we will try a different one, which is relatively similar, but more precise.

We are currently looking at the Mazzei injector. It doesn't require electricity to operate, the price is more affordable and it's more precise than the Hozon. However, here comes the headache: how do we set this thing up? There're lots of way to set this thing up but what is the most suitable for our GH environment? Remember, commercial growers only select one or two types of plants in their GH vs the 4 different types we have in our greenhouse (Herbs,Pepper,Tomato,Cucumber). It is certain that they have different fertilizers and water requirements. In conclusion, we're still working on this and hopefully we'll get this done as soon as possible.









Peter Le.

(Update) Sunday Nov 23

Finally i found the solution for the injector, it looks simple but took me lots of time to figure out how to put it together.

Apple Cider Session Attendance

Each member who has attended a cider session will receive approximately 1.5 – 2 L of cider. Those who have attended 2-3 sessions will receive approximately 3-4 L of cider. Those who have attended 4 or more sessions will receive ~6 L of cider. The apple slicing session was counted as two sessions due to the amount of work put into it. The cherry picking and sorting sessions will be counted towards your allotment of cherry wine. If you feel I have miscounted your attendance please email me at del321@mail.usask.ca BEFORE sunday.

alain amalie ask amy wheeler baharak farrokhnia carrie thiessen cedric gillott christina hevenaars christina nguyen colin bett colin kindrachuk danielle levesque danielle stephens grant wood jamie taylor jenna drinkwater jean-paul cote justin meaden karen tanino kirsten lana therimbert mandy lajeunesse manya quinn matt munson may guan nair nathalie brunet peter le peter reimer rachel claasen roxanne perrault steffen bertelsen susie butcher teri gadzella

11 1 1 1 11 1111 11 1 1 111111 +1 bottles 11111111 1111 11 11 11 11 1 1111 1 111 11 1 111 11 11 1 1 11 1 1 11 +11 bottles 1 11 +1 sugar

Agriculture Greenhouse Rules and Regulations for Horticulture Club

Agriculture Greenhouse Rules and Regulations for Horticulture Club

– November 15, 2008

1. Only current Hort Club members who have attended the greenhouse orientation from Jackie Bantle (Greenhouse manager) are allowed to access the Agriculture Greenhouse facility.

2.Eligible Hort Club members have access to the areas listed below during regular work hours (8:00AM – 4:30PM, Monday – Friday). The key to the north door will be located in a lock box hanging on the metal tower beside the door. The key will be removed from the lock box overnight, on weekends and holidays.

3.During regular work hours, eligible Hort Club Members are allowed to access only the following areas in the greenhouse:

• a.North loading dock
• b.Main Hallway and washrooms
• c.Greenhouse ‘G’ (poly greenhouse)
• d.West headerhouse
• e.Cold Chamber #3 in west header house (i.e. vegetable storage)
• f.Coffee room (beside west door to exterior)
• Other areas of the greenhouse are off-limits to Hort club members except during Hort Club meetings. During scheduled meetings where Hort Club executive are present, members are allowed to access Greenhouse ‘E’ and ‘A1’ .

4.Only supplies or tools belonging to the Hort Club are to be moved, handled or used by Hort Club members. All other tools, supplies, bags, etc. are not to be disturbed. Bags, labels, pots, etc. that may look abandoned are probably being used by a researcher or grad student. These researchers expect these things to be there when they come to do their work.

5.All plant material in Greenhouse ‘G’, in the loading dock, headerhouse and other greenhouses is not to be moved or handled by Hort Club members unless it specifically belongs to the Hort Club. If any plants, strawberry fruit, grapes or other research material is moved or goes missing from the greenhouse, the Hort Club will immediately lose all access to the greenhouse.

6.To help control the spread of bugs and prevent unnecessary alarms, all greenhouse and cooler doors should be kept closed.

7.We would like to discourage plants being brought into the greenhouse from other places for propagation. However, if plants are brought into the greenhouse for propagation, they MUST be bug and disease free. Plants will be quarantined in the loading dock area for at least three days in hopes that any emerging bug or disease problems will be discovered prior to introduction into the greenhouse. Eldon must be contacted if plants have been brought to the loading dock. Any bug or disease problems will be treated with safers soap or chemical sprays.

8.We do not anticipate having to use toxic chemical sprays in the greenhouse. However, if bugs or disease reach higher than acceptable levels (as determined by greenhouse staff), measures will be taken to control the problems. The Hort club executive will be notified of any spraying that will occur. If signs are posted outside of the building or the outside of Greenhouse ‘G’ that say Do Not Enter, do not enter that facility. Typical spray times for the greenhouse are Monday and Thursday, after 3:00 pm.

9.Any problems with heat, water, insects and/or lights should be reported to Eldon Siemens or Jackie Bantle as soon as possible.

10.Eldon’s contact info: cell – 230-6899, phone – 966-8607, email: eldon.siemens@usask.ca

11.Jackie’s contact info: cell – 222-7018, phone – 966-5864, email: jackie.bantle@usask.ca

12.Although we do not expect any problems with this new initiative, it is important that members of the Horticulture club remember that it is a privilege for the Hort Club to be using the Agriculture Greenhouses. The Agriculture Greenhouses are a research facility where thousands of dollars and countless hours of time have been invested by researchers. This privilege will be withdrawn if any member of the Horticulture Club decides to be irresponsible and neglects the rules as listed above.

Jackie Bantle
Dept. of Plant Sciences
University of Saskatchewan
51 Campus Dr.
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8
Ph: 306-966-5864

Poinsettia Sale Volunteer

Hi everyone,

We're looking for volunteers for our Poinsettia Sale on December 4 & 5. If you would like to participate please send an e-mail me with your desired time to: ttl541@mail.usask.ca

Thanks for your support

Peter Le.

Dec 4: 12pm-1pm and 1pm-2pm Jillian Hauber and Christina Huevenaars
Dec5: ....

Week in photos - Week of Nov 10

.

Active Members -Week of Nov 10

Thanks a lot to the following members for helping out !

May G.
Amalie
Courtney Thompson
Mercedes Scott
Peter Le
Danielle L.
Peter R.
Roxanne
Rachel C.

What is the cotyledon, and the first true leaf?

A cotyledon is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant. During the germination process, the cotyledon may become the embryonic first leaves of a seedling to begin photosynthesis. In addition, the cotyledons contain all the seed's food reserves. After using up all the nutrient reserves, the first true leaves will take over the photosynthesis to produce their own nutrients for the plant.

That's why it's not recommended to transplant the plant during the cotyledon stage, since the plant is not producing its own food. Therefore, any damage to the root system, as well as the leaf top could lead to a decrease in plant production later.

Peter Le

Things to do this week - Week of Nov 17

Hi all,

There're few things that we need to do this week (Week of Nov 17)

• Transplanting cucumbers
• Cleaning up our flower bench in the G greenhouse. (Plants to give away)
  
• Putting up the irrigation system
• Sorting out carrots in the cooler

Transplant: The cucumbers are healthy and growing well. Most of the cucumbers have got their first true leaf, which means it's time for transplanting. In regards to the cucumbers, I need 4 volunteers to take care of these cucumbers. There will be approximately 24-30 cucumber plants.

Flowering bench: Re-organizing, tagging, putting in new soil, cleaning up our flowering bench area to make room for the bedding plants, as well as our flowering plants for next year's plant sale.

Storage: Some carrot bins in the cooler are going bad; I have taken out some rotten carrots and cleaned up some bins, but we may need to go through all of them to make sure all the bins are free of fungi.

Having said that, we will have a meeting on Thursday, November 20th at 4.30pm in the Ag-Greenhouse. Expect to spend 2-3 hours if we have more participants we may finish earlier. I'm looking forward to see more new faces.

Peter Le

Week in photos- Nov 3

.

Active members - Week of Nov 3

Member who was generous dedicating her time into the Greenhouse project (week of Nov 3)
She was sorted out tomatoes as well as rotten carrot to keep things fresh for us. Thank a lot for your time and effort.

Amalie Ask

Things to Do this week - Week of Nov 10

There're a few things we need to get done this week.

• Planting flowers for the plant sales next year (Winter semester).
• Finish potting soil
• Putting up injectors
• Deciding which plants members will care for based on your preferences.
  

The reason for having the plant sales is we need to generate some money to support the greenhouse project. There will probably be some vegetable sales as well, but we are not sure what the yield will turn out to be, as this is our first trial.

We also need to finish potting more soil and get things ready for transplant later. The plants are germinating quite well and some of them are growing very fast, such as the cucumbers and some of the herbs. We won't do any transplanting this week, since it's too soon for cucumbers and the recommendation is to wait until the first true leaf emerges. So expect to transplant those cucumber next week (Week of Nov 17).

The layout for the greenhouse (i.e. plant allocation) is posted on the blog under "greenhouse vegetable update". Please check it out to get a general idea of what we'll be doing. If you have any questions or suggestions, drop me a line.

In addition, we need to decide which plants each member will be responsible for. There are a few concerns that this will limit the experiential learning. I feel that it would be better to become knowledgeable about one type of plant, and then teach this to the rest of the group, rather then try to learn everything individually. We can have experiential learning sharing sessions later and share what we've learned together. Furthermore, I've reserved some extra space for experimental trials as well. Hopefully, this will give everyone the opportunity to learn as much as they desire, while still keeping the workload manageable. We want to make learning fun for everyone.

We are going to have a meeting this Tuesday to finish plotting and seeding (~2hrs) from noon-2pm. The meeting must be this Tuesday because the header room (where the coolers are) will be closed to put in new flooring and will not be reopened until next Tuesday. So, please come out if you can.

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to send me an email.

Here are some photos of the plants so far









Peter Le.

Greenhouse vegetable (update)

Tomatoes
Clarisse VFT (new trial)
Camelia VFT (new trial)
Conestoga (repeat trial)
Pitenza (repeat trial)
Smarty ( repeat trial)
Sugar F1 Hybrid (cherry variety)
Trust (greenhouse type, most popular variety)

Pepper
Sweet Pepper (Baselga) Yellow (new trial, greenhouse variety)
Sweet Pepper (Orangery RZ) Orange (new trial, greenhouse variety)
Sympathy (new trial, greenhouse variety)

Cucumber
Corona (previous trial- english long, greenhouse variety)
Long John (previous trial)
Mini (previous trial)
Raya (previous trial)

Zucchini
Sungreen Hybird (previous trial, some powdery mildew)

Bean
Bean (Mantra RZ) climbing slicing beans (new trial, greenhouse variety)

Lettuce
Burgia RZ ( new trial, greenhouse variety)
Panorama (previous trial, field variety works in the greenhouse)
Butter Crunch (previous trial, some Ca2+ deficiency )
Romaine (previous trial, some Ca2+ deficiency)

Herbs*
Basil Genois
Basil Italian large
Basil Purple
Catnip
Chamomile
Chervil
Chives
Coriander
Dill (Fern leaf)
Garden Cress
Lavender
Lemon balm
Moonset
Oregano
Parsley
Rosalia (Green)
Rosemary
Sage
Spearmint
Sweet Basil
Sweet Marjoram
Swisschard
Thyme
Watercress

Members interested in:

Group 1: Herb growers - Dannelle Levesque, May Guan
Group 2: Pepper growers - Brittany McNally
Group 3: Tomato growers - Colin Kindrachuk
Group 4: Cucumber growers - Nathalie Brunet, Mercedes Scott, Janell Healy, Peter Le.
Extra: Lettuce growers - Peter Le

Week in photos - Oct 27

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Active members - Week of Oct 27

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

Brittany McNally
Christina Nguyen
Danielle Levesque
Hanny Elsadr
Hasan Alghouti
Javell Healey
Mandy Lajeunesse
Mercedes Scott
Mohammer Alghouti
Nathalie Brunet
Peter Le
Peter Reimer
Roxanne Perrault

Plant propagation

What is plant propagation?

Plant propagation is the process of artificially or naturally propagating (distributing or spreading) plants (Wikipedia)

For more information please check on the Power Point Slide from Dr Karen Tanino and Dr Bob Bors. Plant Propagation

Hortclub surveys

Technical support:

Please don't click on the "Other?" tab, it will cause an error on your vote. Either than that, everything is fine.

Please spend sometime on this survey, we want to hear from you.

Peter Le.



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