Bumping Up #5

Beth, David, Sarah, John and Noelia came out to help today (yes, …. again!). We spent they day undoing all the preparations for hot summer weather (when is summer anyway?!) and the effects of the cool weather. Beth, Sarah and Noelia trimmed the potted plants, while John did the tree/shrubs. Fungal gnats are a real problem as irrigation was set for hotter weather and we had put up shade-cloth siding , which cut the air flow. So we sprayed them with neem oil for gnats, larvae and fungus. We then took those plants that failed, and saved potting soil mix to re-use; and finally separated pots to provide better aeration.
I lowered the times on misting table and potting irrigation table by about half. The weather forecast looks to warm up this coming weekend, but not that much. What we need to be careful for is hot dry winds The weather today was 64F when we started and partially overcast… perfect gardening weather.
David continued putting out plants and maintaining our outside irrigation. It really looks nice. Extending this area will be our next project.
The vegetative propagation went very well this year. Some important lessons learned were: 1) collect plant material same day, 2) do flats by single species, 3) bump up when that flat is ready. So our next set will be in the Feb 2011 time frame. We’ll break plant days into 2 sections: collection and flat preparation. (Click any pic to enlarge)

Bumping Up #4

Beth, David, Sarah, John and Noelia came out to help today. Noelia cared for the outside plants: trimming grass down and trimming and spraying rose. Beth cared for the plants inside the Nursery: trimming and spraying. The cool weather this summer seems to bring on fungal gnats and powdery mildew.
Sarah and John bumped up Juncus and Dudleya. John was official potting soil mixer. The new large cart, pictured, can hold a full bag of TOLN potting soil for mixing and easily moved up to potting area: total weight about 160 lbs.
I moved the irrigation for the outside Nursery plants to their own valve. David connected up the outside irrigation lines, and we can drain and test this week, after the valve changes sit for 24 hours for the glue to dry.
All in all it was a pretty morning. We have gone weeks without deer mice getting into our storage chests, which saves on damaged goods and general health. (Click any pic to enlarge)