Now that Victoria Day weekend has come and gone, many floriculture greenhouses find themselves with a rare period of empty compartments or benches before fall crops go in. Similarly, many vegetable greenhouses extending their growing period are facing their first crop clean out. Now is the perfect time to consider a thorough cleaning of your greenhouse to prevent pest issues going forward into the new crop. But this can seem like a daunting task.
OMAFRA and the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre have produced a how-to video on greenhouse clean-out and disinfection that can help you know where to start.
This post was jointly written by Dr. Chevonne Dayboll and Dr. Sarah Jandricic
It’s hard to believe, but as the first snow hits the ground here in Niagara, that means its time to think about spring crops again!
This post gathers some of the most important things to plan and prep for in the greenhouse, including ordering inputs, preventative maintenance, and your pest management and PGR plans!
Think of this post as your “to-do” check list for the month of December, as the time to plan all this is NOW, before your spring production begins.
We’ve also linked to some helpful videos we’ve recorded from our GrowON webinar series that are relevant to spring crops. They’re worth a re-watch – or a first watch – if you haven’t seen them before!
Poinsettias are almost here! Instead of covering the whole crop cycle, this year we’re breaking posts down into 4 key growing periods: Receipt/Propagation, Early Production, Late Production, and Finishing.
This post on propagation will cover things you can do now to treat pests and diseases in your cuttings to prevent BIG problems later. And make sure to check out Dr. Chevonne Dayboll’s post from last week, on ensuring cutting quality.
Dark green and yellow mottling symptom on foliage. Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.
Several diagnostic labs in the Northeast U.S., as well as our own lab here at the University of Guelph, have received diseased calibrachoa suspected to have chili pepper mild mottle virus (CPMMoV). The supplier has alerted growers of this issue.
Although CPMMoV is NOT a regulated disease by CFIA or the USDA, it can still affect the quality of your crop and lead to losses.
Read on for a link to an excellent blog post on the topic written by Michigan State University Extension. This includes symptoms to look out for, the importance of testing, and what to do if you have it.
This post was jointly written by Dr. Chevonne Dayboll and Dr. Sarah Jandricic
It’s time to think about spring again! This post gathers some of the most important things to plan and prep for in the greenhouse before your spring production begins in earnest.
1. Make sure your inputs are ordered
We can’t emphasize this one enough. COVID-19 and container boat issues are still causing shipping delays that are affecting many industries including greenhouses. Make sure you order potting mixes, plastic trays and pots, fertilizers, and production inputs well ahead of when you will need them. If you are planning on doing greenhouse upgrades in between seasons make sure you confirm delivery and installation timelines with your contractors. Many of them are facing delays too!
2. Now is the time for preventative maintenance
Heat loss from an older (left) and newer, more efficient boiler (right). (Photo credit: OMAFRA)
Now is a great time to schedule preventive maintenance for your boiler, irrigation and shading systems. Make sure that all motors and alarms are working before you need to rely on them. No one wants to find out that their temperature alarm failed on a cold February morning! Ensure you are getting the pressure you expect all along your irrigation system. If you rely on propane heaters for early spring production make sure they are venting properly. Damage from improper venting can present as stunted growth or leaf burn.
Take some time to inspect the greenhouse for wear-and-tear. Repair cracked poly and broken glass to keep heat from escaping. Make sure old torn energy curtains are replaced. A heat sensitive camera can help to identify areas of energy loss and help you plan for energy efficient upgrades in the future.
Once you’ve got your water sample, this post will cover why water DNA tests are useful, and how to interpret the results. This is the next step towards identifying and then treating your water issues to prevent unnecessary fungal or bacterial disease in your greenhouse crops, and potentially save you thousands of dollars in crop losses or fungicideapplications.
These posts make good refresher resources, so make sure to bookmark them!
Poinsettia cuttings being rooted. Photo courtesy of Ohio State University.
Now that poinsettias are safely tucked into their prop trays and the threat of Erwinia (Pectobacterium) is almost over, it’s time to think about other poinsettia issues.
Root rots, nutritional issues, environmental stress and PGR mistakes can all be costly in this high-value crop.
Read on for common pitfalls and how to avoid them, and for some great video resources on poinsettia production.
This post on poinsettia problems was contributed to by Drs. Chevonne Dayboll and Sarah Jandricic.
When poinsettias get problems, they always seem to hit hard and fast. Things like whitefly, Lewis mite, root rots, and nutritional issues can all quickly derail a quality crop. This is why scouting might be more important in this crop than any other.
Here’s a month by month guide on what you should be looking for to prevent small problems from becoming big issues.
This post was contributed to by Drs. Sarah Jandricic, Andrew C. Wylie and Chevonne Dayboll.
Summer is getting underway, and so too are garden mums! Although generally an easy crop, there several tweaks you can make to help save headaches AND money.
This post has updated information to help you optimize your irrigation, fertilizer and pest managementprograms in garden mums.
New Resources for Mum Production
Hit your exact ship size on your ship date using Graphical Tracking
Track and even out the growth of your mums using a graphical tracking tool with a few easy steps:
Spring is just around the corner, and this is historically the time of year where we get more calls about disease pressure and problems in the crop. This post is part of a series too get you reflecting on your own irrigation system before you are faced with a problem. We’ll re-post some older posts about on identifying problems in the greenhouse and how to test your water, while adding some new posts on interpreting lab test results, on-farm methods for disease monitoring, water treatment technology options and more. These will be good refresher resources, so make sure to bookmark them for future reference.
Ever wonder how water related disease issues just seem to pop up out of nowhere? You’ve never had a problem before, but suddenly things just aren’t looking right. The truth is that problems often go unnoticed while pathogen levels are low. Knowing potential innoculum sources and practicing good preventative measures can help to reduce the risk of a bigger problem. Continue reading “REPOST: Water Sanitation Part 1: Identifying Problems Before They Start”→
