The next application intake for cost-share funding under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) will be November 15 to December 6, 2021. This is good timing if you are looking to implement improvements in your greenhouse for the 2022 season.
Here at OMAFRA, we’re always happy to promote work done by our colleagues in floriculture extension, including Michigan State University Extension!
The Fall edition of their popular Bug Bites! Webinar Series features talks on onion thrips and thrips identification (by yours truly), as well as talks on nematode application, biopesticide interactions with beneficals, and supplemental nutrition for bios! It’s jam packed! Keep reading for all the details.
Continue reading “Upcoming Floriculture Pest Management Webinars”This post was contributed to by Drs. Sarah Jandricic and Chevonne Dayboll.
Summer is in full swing, and so too are garden mums. As you get ready for the next few months, here are a few tips to keep your crop on track.
Irrigation method matters!
There are plenty of options for irrigation in potted outdoor crops, but not all are created equal if you are trying to maximize your water efficiency. Overhead irrigation by boom, or sprinkler is not efficient if your pots are not spaced tightly. Canopy sizes in the later months of production may make this impossible, especially if you choose to go with final spacing when pots first move outside. These methods of irrigation can also lead to pots that are too dry (not watered) or too wet (over watered). Plants can only use water that makes it into the pot, so low volume drip line or tape is a more effective way to delivering usable water to your outdoor crops.
Continue reading “Garden Mums – 2019 Production and Protection Tips”
How do you typically fertilize floriculture crops in your greenhouse? Based on how the plant performs? Maybe based on recommendations from your consultant or supplier? Do you do it the way it’s always been done? Do you know why it was always done that way? Continue reading “Considerations for fine-tuning your fertilizer program”
Spring is on its way, and with cold nights and warmer days we are seeing a common spring problem – poor air quality damage on spring bedding crops. Symptoms, solutions and preventative measures are included in this 2017 update to a previous post.
Natural gas and propane are popular choices when it comes to heating a greenhouse. The products of burning fuel are carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H20); both compounds we know are good for your plants. However, combustion is often (if not always) incomplete, and impurities such as carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ethylene (C2H4) are also released leading to poor air quality if your heater is not properly vented.
Typically symptoms from ethylene damage and sulfur dioxide damage can been seen fairly quickly after exposure.
In the short term (a few hours to a few days), ethylene damage results in leaf curling, epinasty (leaves bending downwards from the petiole) and flower drop. If the stress continues over a Continue reading “Improperly ventilated heaters & ethylene damage”
Forcing hydrangeas for Easter? Our friend Dr. Brian Whipker at North Carolina State University has released a great resource on managing nutrients to ensure your blooms are blue and not bluish-purple. Continue reading “Hydrangeas: Getting the (right colour) blues”
Starting to feel a bit bummed out by all this gloomy weather? Imagine how your poor plants feel! All clouds and no sun leads to lots of fun with production schedules, nutrition and proper plant development. Continue reading “Stalling out: Strategies for success”
All through the night while the growers were sleeping, spores of Erysiphe, Leveillula, Microsphaera and Sphaerotheca were teeming.
Caused by one of these many pathogenic fungi, Powdery Mildew is often white and felt-like to the eye.
OMAFRA’s Greenhouse Elves are on the case, giving chemical, biological and cultural controls that curb this pest’s pace.*
Continue reading “‘Tis the Season for Powdery Mildew; Here’s what Ontario’s Flower Growers can do .”
Oedema or edema, also known as intumescence. This physiological disorder usually appears during periods of low light – from now through the fall, winter and into the spring. If you’ve noticed salt-like crystals, odd tumour-like growths or water-soaked spots on either side of your plant leaves this disorder could be the culprit (Figure 1). The disorder affects a wide variety of tropical plants and succulents. It can also affect greenhouse crops such as lilies, cyclamen, sweet potato vine, geranium, begonia, petunia, calibrachoa, ornamental peppers and other Solanaceae family plants. Continue reading “Low Light and High Humidity: Identifying Oedema”
Happy first day of fall! It was a dry, sweltering summer across Ontario, and I’ve heard from some growers that it was the most challenging summer they could recall in recent memory based on the heat alone. Oppressive heat and humidity pack a punch that leaves everyone feeling sluggish – you, your staff and your plants. While we won’t complain too loudly (winter’s coming!), learning from this year’s challenges will help in summers to come as we experience more extreme weather. Continue reading “Summer School: Lessons learned from another hot, humid Ontario summer”
