Dayton "Dirt" - January 20, 2012

We are in the depth of winter and the planting in the greenhouse seems to go on and on.

This coming week we’ll be receiving about 10,000 cuttings of various annual flowers from Guatemala. These cuttings will require a light misting until rooted and in addition some of the varieties need to be dipped in a weak solution of IBA (Indolebutyric Acid) and supplemental lighting with a high pressure sodium lamp that will provide about 1000 foot candles of light during these cloudy dark winter days.

Another aspect of our winter growing is weekly testing of the growing media of the plants to make sure that the pH remains in an acceptable of 5.6 to 6.2, depending on the plant. The fertilizer or salt level is monitored along with the pH to ensure that it is neither too high nor too low. Values that are too high might burn the roots and could damage or kill the plant. Values of salt readings that are too low indicate not enough fertilizer has been applied to keep growth going so that the plants are full and beautiful for sales in May.

It takes a lot of preparation and planning well ahead of the planting to develop a system to yield a good crop of flowers and make it profitable!

I remember the “old days” when we sold 8, 4½ geraniums in a wooden basket for $8.00 or $9.00. The trouble began when natural gas prices literally went through the roof and many greenhouses in our area were of the energy hungry, single pane glass type. Needless to say, the geranium greenhouses went out of business which caused these inexpensive geraniums to vanish.

Today, new types of compact geraniums can be grown in packs that have 6, 3 inch pots that enables our customer to purchase plants at an affordable price and allows us to make a reasonable profit. For sure, the free market has brought a whirlwind of changes in just a few short years.

Tom