What do I need to know as new HortClub members?

We welcome you to the HortClub, and we hope you will have a pleasure time and learn a lot in the end.

A bit of history about us:

Established in 1991 by a group of students interested in Horticulture with the help of Dr. Karen Tanino, who is a professor in the Plant Science Department. The HortClub offers a variety of opportunities for students in a range of Horticultural areas. This up coming year we will have the following activities:

1. Field project (running during the summer)
2. Greenhouse project ( running all year round)
3. Ornamental plants
4. Wine and food processing

Most of our vegetable production is primarily for members' use, and any extra is proudly supplied to the Food Services, Child Hunger and Education Program (CHEP) - good food box program, U of S Students' Union Food Centre and some local restaurants.

Since we have quite a few activities, it is not required that members attend all of the activities. You only attend those activites which is best suited to your interests. Some activities will involve labor, but you won't regret your time and effort with what you have learned in the end. You can find most of our contact information on the blog, and don't hesitate to ask specific questions you may have.

For the list of executive contact information, you can find it here:

Once again, we welcome you to the club and wish you will have a good time.

Sincerely yours,

Executive members

U of S Horticulture Club Executive 2009-2010

Faculty Advisor:
Grant Wood - grant.wood@usask.ca
(Previous Faculty Advisor: Karen Tanino - karen.tanino@usask.ca)

President:
Chelsea Tomcala - cmt564@mail.usask.ca

Vice-President:
Danielle Levesque - del321@mail.usask.ca

Treasurer:
Jamie Taylor - jmtaylor1022@gmail.com

Secretary:
Jacey Bell - jrb363@mail.usask.ca

Field Managers:
Danielle Levesque - del321@mail.usask.ca
Steffen Bertelsen - steffen.bert@gmail.com

Greenhouse Mentor: Peter Le - ttl541@mail.usask.ca
Greenhouse Manager: Kaleigh Elian - kae074@mail.usask.ca
Ornamentals Manager: Michelle Hubbard - michelle.hubbard@usask.ca

Cider & Wine and Processing Co-Managers:
Amalie Ask - ava875@mail.usask.ca
Ellen Watkiss - erw847@mail.usask.ca
(to be assisted by Danielle Levesque, Valerie Adrian -
vaa932@mail.usask.ca, and Chelsea Tomcala)

Job Opportunity !!!

Great article in the OCN about the Hort Club. I am glad to hear that it is still so active. I have a job opportunity that I thought the one of the club members may be interested in.
Jack Braidek called me.

He lives in a condo complex in the north part of the city and they would like to hire someone to look after the grounds. He thinks it may be 13-16 hours/week. It would be general maintenance although the landscape is 12 years old, so he thinks that there may need to be some rebuilding and replacement of plantings. They will pay about $15.00/hour.

I told him that I would pass this on to any one or group
that would be interested. His contact information is Jack
Braidek - jbraidek@sasktel.net or 933-1257.

(From Dr Karen posted by Peter Le)

Ornamental benches in E greenhouse

Dear Hort Club Members,
It has come to my attention that the Hort Club benches in greenhouse E are in need of some housekeeping. The benches that have the houseplants on them (benches 23 & 24) are becoming quite messy and are also becoming a haven for weed plants (specifically liverwort). Dead leaves and plant tissues are constantly falling on the floor and clogging the drains. This is resulting in standing water under the benches and algae problems on the floor. I want to remind all Hort
club members that it is a priveledge to have your plants in the Agriculture greenhouses. While we do not mind watering your plants, we do not want to be watering plants that should be hrown out or that do not belong to anyone.
Within the next 10 days (i.e. by May 8), could your members please come
in and:

1. Remove any dead plants from the benches
2. Remove any liverwort or other weeds from plants that will be remaining on the benches (try to pull out the roots along with the plant tops)
3. Label plants so that stock plants are labelled as stock plants and plants that belong to certain individuals are labelled with their names. There will be a box of used labels placed beside your benches along with 'Sharpie' markers. Please use these labels to mark your plants with your name. Any plants that are not labelled as stock plants or belonging to individuals WILL BE REMOVED after Friday, May 8th.
4. I would appreciate it if the floor could be swept at least once per week under your benches to remove and debris. A broom along with a smaller dustpan and broom can be found in the main hallway outside greenhouse E.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions, please
don't hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Jackie Bantle
Greenhouse Manager
Dept. of Plant Sciences
ph: 966-5864
cell: 222-7018

P.S The floor are cleaned now but you may want to pick up your plants or label it.

Greenhouse Update and New Forum

I took down one of the cucumber line last Thursday and Friday. I don't know how long we want to keep the plants in the greenhouse. Therefore please vote on the main blog page, so I can know when we want to terminate the plants, as well as when we can start cleaning up the space. We need to terminate our current crops to allow for sterilization of the place. This will get rid of the insect infestation we're currently dealing with. If we don't do this the insects will transfer to our next round of crops. This is also a good opportunity to do some maintenance and to clean up the floor.

Sorry for not keeping everyone updated for the last two weeks. I assumed everyone was busy during exam time, so I didn't want to disturb you. I hope exams went well for everyone, and a big thank you to those who came and helped out in the greenhouse during exam time. Your effort was greatly appreciated.

For better communication and to provide more opportunity for everyone to share their ideas and suggestions, I'm working on a forum where everyone will get their own user name and password. In addition, you can post and ask any questions you may have, and hopefully we can share and learn new things this way.

For more information about the forum please check on:

http://uofshorticultureclub.forumotion.com/

Hope to hear lots of comments and advices from everyone. Have a happy summer.

Peter Le

Bedding plant update

Just some updated information on the bedding plants on the bench. Most of them have germinated and are doing well, but others are completely dry and lacking water. I thought we have set up a watering schedule. Please remember that if you forget to water this is the result. I was in the greenhouse last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8am to noon, but didn't see anyone coming during their watering shift, except Danielle (and she only watered her field bedding plants).

In addition, there are some concern over fertilizer damage. Please check the other blog entries for clarification about which water hose you should be using.

Peter Le

Pesticide application on the cucumber.

Just to let everyone know that Eldon just applied some insecticides on the cucumbers. The product is "Organic" graded and controls spider mites. It is alright to consume these cucumbers. However, just in case, please wash the cucumbers before eating.

You can find more information of the Neem Oil here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem_oil

Peter Le

Greenhouse watering hose

There have been some concerns about the tip burns on the bedding plants. Please be careful of which water hose you use. From left to right:
1. Temperate water
2. Cold water
3. Fertilizer water

Please water your plant with "Temperate water" only. In addition, the temperature increases as the season approaches the summer months. High temperature in the greenhouse increases the rate of water evaporation. The media will dry quicker, therefore every time you water please give your plants a "good water" and make sure the tray is wet and that water is coming out at the bottom.

Peter Le

Attention All Agriculture Greenhouse Users:

We will be fumigating the Agriculture greenhouse during the evening of Tuesday, April 21st through to the morning of Wednesday, April 22nd. The Agriculture greenhouse will be completely closed off to all users starting at 4:30pm, Tuesday, April 21st. There will be NO ACCESS ALLOWED until Wednesday morning (April 22) at 8:30am.

*Now that the rest of the greenhouse will be fumigated, and virtually pest-free, please do not go back and forth between greenhouse G (veggies) and any of the other greenhouses. This may reintroduce and spread pests, rendering the previous fumigation useless and redundant. Instead, visit greenhouse E first (if you must) and hit the flood-floor (greenhouse G) last.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jackie (222-7018)
or Eldon (230-6899) as soon as possible.

- Jackie Bantle & Eldon Siemens

(Posted by Peter Le)

Volunteers, anyone?

Would you have any time to help with a coleus project in the next week or 2?
Volunteers are needed to help sell a new U of SK coleus variety (Audrey III) at Persephone Theatre from mid April 18th to May 3rd. Persephone Theatre will be performing the play “Little Shop of Horrors” which is about a man eating plant named ‘Audrey II’. Our ‘Audrey III’ coleus looks like it has teeth dipped in blood with blood-coloured veins.
Proceeds of the plant sales are going to fund school trips to Persephone and for Student Horticulture projects at the U of Sk.
Persephone’s staff indicated the greatest need is the hour before the show (7 to 8pm) because their volunteers are busy handing out programs and seating people. Intermission would be nice (around 8:45 to 9) or after the show 10pm, but they could make due without someone then.
The show runs from Now to May 3rd.
Evening shows occur every day except Mondays.
Sunday they have a matinee, so we need someone at 1 to 2pm.
In appreciation, volunteers will be given their own ‘Audrey III’ or a gift certificate for the Fruit Programs plant sale on June 5th.

If you would like to volunteer, please email me at bob.bors@usask.ca
or call me on my cell phone 280-1930. Don’t leave a message on the cell phone, since I am unable to retrieve messages. If you want to leave a message call 966-8583.

Thanks,
Bob Bors

(From Dr Bob Bors, posted by Peter Le)

Master Composting Class

Subject: Coming up... Master Composting Class.

What is a master composting class you ask?

A master composting class is a week-end class that covers everything you ever wanted to know about composting. The classes cover what to compost, how to compost, how to build a compostiing system in your yard or garden, and a variety of other topics related to gardening. It is a great opportunity to expand you knowledge as well as teach others.

When: April 25th and 26th
Cost: free (the City of Saskatoon pays the tuition)
In addition you recieve a manual in a binder, a reference book (or two depending on your horticultural experience and enthusiasm, a DVD and a certificate - as well as go on a field trip to the City's compost depot on McOrmand Dr. In return you are expected to share you new found knowledge in your community or through community events (generally, you are asked to volunteer for the Saskatchewan Waste Reducation Council).

Location: TBA (likely on U of S Campus)

If you are interested or would like more information please call me (Dana) at 655-5322.

I would love for some community gardeners to be able to take part in this training! I have worked with Master Composters in the past and found it to be a wonderful education.

(From Valerie, posted by Peter Le)

Greenhouse update

There are some new diseases on the cucumber plants. However they are still producing a fair amount of cucumbers so far. Valerie has suggested that we could provide any extra cucumbers to small restaurants in downtown. I think this is a good idea, since we won't be wasting any cucumbers. This will also apply to the peppers. As for the tomatoes, I don't think they're doing well enough at this time. Keep harvesting the cucumbers, and removing the side shoots and foliage.

For the tomatoes groups, I've been pretty busy with exams, so I haven't been working on your crop lately. I'm not sure how you guys divide up the work, but it seems like your crop is growing wildly now. Consequently you can see some signs of nutrient deficiency, insect damage, slow growth, and yield loss.

When your crops are weak, it is a chance for insects to take over your plants. If you look closer at picture #3, you can see that your crop has a major white fly problem. I know that finals are just around the corner so stay focus and spend time on your studies. This is just a reminder so that you can do better next time :).

The pepper and herb groups are doing great. As far as I know, Valerie is the only one working on the peppers. Therefore please do not not assume that peppers don't need a lot of care. Valerie comes into the greenhouse ~2 times a week to maintain her crop by shaking the plants, and harvesting the ripe peppers. In addition, she did a good job of making observations and recording her work. I think everyone should take a look at the pepper note book to see what good note-taking is like. Thanks a bunch Valerie - keep it up.

May Guan and her group are also doing quite well with the herbs. I have noticed, however, that the chamomiles are not doing too well. Can you guys get rid of them and any other crops that are badly infected with aphids? The lettuce are doing well right now, so please keep an eye on them. Please inform me if you see any aphids on the lettuce. Also try not to let the lettuce pots come too close to any infected crops.

Bedding plants

To those members who have bedding plants on bench E25, I have placed all your trays on the bench. Please see the attached photo.

From now on only one member needs to come to the greenhouse every Tuesday and Friday to water your plants (please set up a schedule among yourselves to ensure that everyone does a fair amount of the watering). I have talked to Eldon and Jackie about watering schedule, and I think it would be better if we can water our own plants. Here are the reasons why:

• The plants only need watering on certain days, not every day. Over watering will kill them.
• They won't be happy with the pressure from the watering hose, therefore please use the watering can only. You can find it in the header house.
• Members will have more control over their plants. You don't want to come back one month later and find all your plants dead, do you?
  

Please sign up by replying on the comments tab with when you will be available, your name, and contact information (e-mail), so that other members can contact you.

So far there are 4 members who have bedding plants on the bench.

• Kaila Hamilton
• Danielle Levesque
• Valerie Adrian
• May Guan

When you come to the greenhouse, please water all the bedding plant trays (8 trays). Do not water other plants, such as the orchids, succulents and 2 seedling Carnivorous plants on the bench

Peter Le