Our CAST travels included a helicopter flight in and around the Benary open house. | 14
Editorial 4
Industry News 6
New Varieties 8
Business Issues 10
Here’s Top 6 selling bloopers (and how to avoid them)
Technology Issues 12 Eyeing the potential of increased propagation of sweet potato crops. 26 34 38 IPM Series: Part 4
1001 ways to use predatory mites
Dani, daughter of Lufa Farms co-founders Mohamed Hage and Lauren Rathmell, helped welcome a very special guest to the company’s newest rooftop greenhouse project in Montreal. | 22
BY DRS. MICHAEL BROWNBRIDGE AND ROSE BUITENHUIS
Growing media… …and how to use it to change the direction of growth. BY
DR. MOHYUDDIN MIRZA
Marketing message
Retailing by product, pricing and place. BY
GARY JONES
Needing Friends In High Places
It’s only fitting for an editorial written on Fathers’ Day to offer timely advice to younger readers: “Hold on tight.”
Canada is a great country in which to raise families and build businesses, agricultural and otherwise. But there are growing challenges on the horizon, and they’re largely political in nature.
Ontario greenhouse growers are facing significant new hurdles to their continued viability, and these hurdles are all courtesy of their provincial government.
New labour legislation has been introduced in the province not long after its ill-timed cap-and-trade carbon tax program. By themselves, each is a crushing weight; combined, they may be too much for some growers to carry.
The province’s carbon tax – and indeed similar taxes across the country – will mean heavy financial costs for growers already struggling with small margins and increased market competition. It will amount to several thousands of dollars per acre. And regions south of the border in which
in a healthy economic well-being, the recent announcement relating to significant increased minimum wages combined with proposed changes to the employment standards, signals the imminent closure of many family-run greenhouse farms.”
The OGVG is calling on government to work with growers “to ensure further greenhouse growth and investment remains in the province.”
Flowers Canada Ontario: “The proposed rapid change to minimum wage is expected to result in profound damage to the Ontario floriculture sector, the loss of numerous family farms, and a reduction to jobs available in the province of Ontario.
“Labour represents the single largest cost for flower farmers in Ontario, accounting for up to 30 per cent of the total costs of production. While flower growers are committed to the well-being of Ontario’s workforce, an increase of $3.60 per hour per worker over an 18-month period will not provide sufficient time for Ontario businesses to prepare and plan for the increased
“These hurdles are all courtesy of their provincial government.”
Ontario growers compete have no such carbon levies.
And yet while Alberta and B.C. greenhouse growers will receive a rebate of up to 80 per cent of their carbon taxes, the Ontario government has not yet offered similar assistance to its growers.
Ontario growers will soon be burdened by changes to the province’s labour legislation. Here’s what the province’s two greenhouse associations have to say about it.
The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers: “While greenhouse vegetable growers agree there is a common interest in sharing
cost of production. Further, farmers will also experience numerous increases in associated expenses such as Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan, Employer Health Tax, and the Workplace Safety Insurance Board.”
The Ontario greenhouse sector has considerable potential to grow: innovative growers with premium products; efficient logistics; and some of the world’s best research being conducted within the province.
Politicians must review government policies to ensure they are helpers – not hurdles – to small business viability.
Encouraging Students to Study Ag Careers
Ottawa is working with industry to help raise awareness, understanding and appreciation of agriculture among young Canadians. The agriculture and food sector is one of Canada’s key growth industries and the opportunities for youth are endless.
Ottawa has committed $567,786 for the Agriculture in the Classroom Canada program to develop and deliver educational resources about the
agriculture and agri-food sector to students across the country, and to promote career opportunities in the sector. This investment is funded through Growing Forward 2’s AgriCompetitiveness Program, under the Fostering Business Development stream, which supports activities that nurture entrepreneurial capacity in the agriculture sector through the development of young and established farmers, farm safety, skills and leadership.
MAJOR AWARD TO VETERAN GROWER
NatureFresh Farms owner and president
Peter Quiring received this year’s FreshTEC Achievement Award for his contributions to the produce industry over the last 20 years.
“Peter’s contributions to greenhouse technology have advanced the industry significantly,” said United Fresh president and CEO Tom Stenzel. “His competitive drive and commitment to invest in technology advancements in
controlled growing environments are what set him apart.”
Quiring was quite honoured to have been recognized by his peers with this award. “Innovation in the way we build our greenhouses and how we grow our vegetables is what has driven my companies for many years. Implementing the latest in technology has allowed us to be a more efficient operation from start to finish.”
NatureFresh was also
216 M BY THE NUMBERS - courtesy of StatsCan
Number of potted plants grown in Canada in 2016.
$77 M
COST OF ELECTRICITY in Canadian greenhouses in 2016.
$169 M
Cost of natural gas used in Canadian greenhouses in 2016.
a Finalist for the Best New Vegetable Award for its TOMZ® Snacking Tomato Program.
“We saw a need in the market place to create a category-wide program that would give consumers consistent quality, regardless of the season,” said Chris Veillon, director of marketing.
The TOMZ program is unique in that it provides consumers with up to seven different types of specialty tomatoes
under one brand: Red, Yellow, Orange grape; Red cherry; Mixed Snacking; Mixed grape; and Sweet Red cocktail tomatoes. Grown in NatureFresh’s new state of the art greenhouse in Delta, Ohio, from October to July and in NatureFresh’s high tech greenhouses in Leamington, Ontario, from March to November, the company is ensuring that locally grown snacking tomatoes are available year-round.
306 M
Number of cut flowers grown in Canada in 2016.
$2.5 B
Total operating expenses in Canadian greenhouses in 2016.
$810,000,000 VALUE OF POTTED PLANTS grown in Canada in 2016.
‘Oh Happy Day’
Gardeners will enjoy lots of tasty beefsteak tomatoes in clusters of three to seven fruit. ‘Oh Happy Day’ has an incredible diseaseresistance package that resists early blight, late blight, verticillium and fusarium. The flavour is top notch, too! ‘Oh Happy Day’ is easy to harvest; the fruit snaps easily from the stem when ripe. Days to harvest – 67; fruit size – 5-6 oz. (141170 g); plant height – 48-72" (122-183 cm); and plant width – 24-36" (61-91 cm).
burpeehomegardensbrand.com
Pepper Dragon Roll
‘Margarita
Orange Flare’
Introducing ‘Margarita Orange Flare’ Osteospermum from Dümmen Orange. Featuring a naturally compact habit, excellent branching, and little-tono need for PGRs, the low maintenance and profit potential of this new cultivar cannot be
F1 Phlox ‘Popstars
Gaining the ranks of culinary excellence, Shishito peppers are on menus and at farmers markets across the continent. ‘Dragon Roll’ is new to Burpee’s Foodie Fresh collection of vegetables. It makes a great appetizer, flash-fried and blistered in aromatics and perfect for dipping. Its flavour is milder than a jalapeno pepper, but one in 10 lets you know you’ve got some heat! Days to harvest –67; fruit size – 3-5" (8-13 cm); plant height – 1218" (30-46 cm); plant width – 12-18" (30-46 cm). burpeehomegardensbrand.com
‘Popstars’ is a new series of F1 naturally dwarf Phlox with eye-catching, unique, star-shaped flowers. Popstars has strong overall garden performance, thriving in a variety of climates, and exhibiting good mildew
overlooked. Requiring no vernalization to induce flowering, ‘Margarita Orange Flare’ is a solid addition to a uniform series. Have we mentioned that the world’s favourite flowers are orange? na.dummenorange.com
resistance. The series is available in six bright colours, including three striking bicolours, as well as a mix. Popstars is perfect for combinations as well as mono-pots and hanging baskets. floranova.com
Lady Godiva™ Orange
Hypoestes is getting a makeover starting with the new Hippo series. This group of supersized, vegetative varieties does what ‘Snow Princess’ did to seed alyssum. They’re big, bushy, and won’t bolt into flower soon after planting. These varieties were selected against flowering/seed set and have an upright habit, making them suitable for use as a thriller or
filler in containers and landscapes. Use them like you would a coleus. Polka dot plants will grow in any amount of sunlight, surviving heat and humidity with ease. They are versatile enough to grow in sunny patio pots, under the porch overhang or in your living room. ‘Hippo Red’ has bright red and green spotted foliage. provenwinners.com
A new genus for Proven Winners, this new calendula broadens its collection of cold tolerant annuals for spring and fall sales. Although it is known as an early season crop, this selection will take some heat and is drought tolerant once rooted in. Its unique double, golden orange flowers have greatly reduced seed set that encourages the blooms to keep right on coming all season. provenwinners.com
Apollo Lovesong Mix
‘Apollo Lovesong Mix’ is a pleasing mix of pink, white and pink and white bicolour flowers. The blooms, like the rest of the Apollo series, are very large, with thick, over-lapping petals, born on a densely branched plant habit. The effect is an eye-catching combination with fantastic garden performance. This mix may be used in pack production and on up to larger containers. floranova.com
Hippo™ Red
Top Six Selling Bloopers
(and how to avoid them)
It’s not always a shortfall in your company’s product, price or service that ruins a potential sale. Often it’s inadvertent comments that put customers off just enough for them to choose your competitor. Unfortunately, sales reps are usually unaware they commit these offences so they keep repeating them. See if you or your team members ever make these top six selling gaffs.
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Effective selling has less to do with pushiness and manipulation, and more to do with good manners and respect.
1. Insulting their intelligence Let’s assume that if a customer is in a position of authority in their company (meaning they are trusted to make significant buying decisions) they must be somewhat streetwise and smart. That means that any kind of pushy, manipulative sales approach is going to backfire. You need to enter a buying conversation presupposing that this customer is an intelligent, well-intentioned grown-up. Your comments should include a healthy dose of, “You probably already know...”, “At your level, you’ve likely experienced...”, “For you this is obvious; the challenge is your staff may not be aware...”
2. Not listening: Contrary to popular opinion, the most important part of a sales pitch is not your value proposition. The most important part of a pitch is demonstrating your understanding of that specific customer’s unique circumstances.
That requires asking pointed questions that help customers see for themselves where there are opportunities for improvement. Then verify your understanding with statements like, “Sounds like you...(summarizing their situation).”
3. Insulting the competition: If your potential customer is currently doing business with your competitor, it’s fine to compare your offerings, but be careful not to criticize the competition. After all, the customer decided to do business with them. So slamming the competition is tantamount to telling the customer that he or she made a bad choice. (See point #1 – insulting the customer).
4. Ignoring objections: If you propose a solution that ignores a customer’s objection or concern, you are essentially saying that you weren’t listening. That requires being transparent in how your proposal either addresses their concerns, or it provides extra value that could outweigh their concerns. The key is we shouldn’t pretend we didn’t hear or value their initial objections.
5. Being a know-it-all: It takes time and effort to gain trust. Yet it’s so easy to lose. It happens when we stray out of our own area of expertise and claim to be an expert in politics, sports, raising kids, the weather … you name it. Ironically, one of the easiest ways to gain trust is to quickly admit ignorance about anything the customer seems to know a lot about. Showing respect by deferring to your customers’ knowledge and expertise helps them become more receptive to yours.
6. Ignoring the influencers: It’s easy to focus on the key decision maker – presumably the economic buyer. After all, they are the people who will approve the payment. And yet by focusing on only them we are inadvertently insulting the people who may have more say in the matter than anyone. No one should feel like they’re being ignored.
The bottom line: Effective selling has less to do with pushiness and manipulation, and more to do with good manners and respect. Talk less. Listen more. Allow your competitors to blunder their way out their customers’ good graces. Here’s to you not dropping the ball.
This article is based on the bestselling book, “Influence with Ease,” by Hall of Fame motivational speaker Jeff Mowatt. To obtain your own copy of his book or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team, visit www.jeffmowatt.com.
PHOTO: FOTOLIA
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TECHNICAL ISSUES
LILIAN SCHAER | aginnovationontario.ca
A New Propagation Opportunity
There is growing potential for Canadian sweet potato crops
Canada’s first sweet potato variety is expected for release next year. And now work is underway to ensure Canadian farmers can also access sweet potato cuttings – called slips – right here at home.
To help meet booming Canadian demand for sweet potatoes, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre is developing new varieties that grow well in Canada’s cooler climate and shorter growing season.
About 1,700 acres of the healthy tuber are currently grown in Canada – mostly in southern Ontario’s Norfolk County – but they’re all longer season varieties from the southern United States.
That’s also where Canada’s growers are getting their sweet potato slips every spring to plant their crops, but they can be in short supply and quality could be compromised.
“Canadian sweet potato growers use U.S. propagators and breeding programs because we don’t have the infrastructure and varieties here,” said research scientist Viliam Zvalo of Vineland. “Also, slip propagation has to be started in March when the ground could still be frozen in Canada. Our challenge is to figure out how we can produce them here so we can supply Canadian growers with quality slips at a reasonable price.”
The current cost per slip may range from five to
15 cents per piece, depending on variety, market supply and volume purchased. Any Canadian slip production will have to be competitive in order to be successful.
In the U.S., growers bud smaller spuds in fields and hoop houses and then grow the slips, but in Canada, the cooler temperatures mean that type of work should be done in a heated greenhouse, increasing costs.
Last year, Zvalo and his team began testing slip propagation in the greenhouse at Vineland, with work on a covered, heated mat system starting this spring.
Researchers are also growing slips from vegetative sweet potato cuttings – the cuttings are rooted, then pruned several times to create a “mother plant” that develops shoots that then grow into slips.
The third approach is experimenting with a multi-layer rack system with LED lights using either small potatoes or cuttings.
“I don’t think there will be just one system for Canada, but more likely a hybrid depending on greenhouse space, production volume and market for slips – it will vary from place to place,” said Zvalo.
And the slip propagation opportunity is a big one. Canada’s growers supply less than one quarter of national sweet potato consumption, with 51.8 million kilograms of sweet potatoes valued at $52.7 million imported into Canada in 2015.
According to Zvalo, that means 8,000 new acres of production to replace imports and at 12,000 to 15,000 slips per acre, the industry will need 125 million slips every year – an approximately $12.5 million possible opportunity for propagators at average price of 10 cents per slip.
“We hope a big chunk of the 8,000 new acres across Canada will be grown using Canadian slips and Canadian varieties,” he said. “If we can bring a shorter season variety to market in time for Thanksgiving, when sweet potato demand is especially high, that would be a huge success for the Canadian sweet potato industry.”
Vineland’s slip propagation work is funded through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs-University of Guelph Partnership.
Lilian Schaer, AgInnovation Ontario Lilian Schaer is editor of AgInnovation Ontario, an online publication of the Agri-Technology Commercialization Centre (ATCC), which is based in Guelph, Ontario.
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Sweet potato plants growing at Vineland.
PHOTO COURTESY VINELAND RESEARCH AND INNOVATION CENTRE
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PART 2: THE new and the improved AT CAST’17
California Spring Trials put the spotlight on dozens of new varieties and programs
BY DAVE HARRISON
Benary offered helicopter rides to take visitors on a quick flight to the nearby Pacific coast.
Welcome to part 2 of our two-part series on this year’s California Spring Trials. As we noted last month in our introductory piece, touring CAST can be overwhelming. It was sensory overload, with so many new varieties to view, textures to touch and marketing ideas to marvel at, as we noted last month.
Involved are several days of visiting open houses of almost two dozen breeders, stretching from just north of Los Angeles to just south of San Diego. Please visit our website to view Part 1 in this series, along with our daily diary highlights posted during the tour.
I chatted with about a dozen or so Canadian growers touring the trials, and their message was that in an ultra-competitive market, you have to be well ahead of the curve in introducing new and/or improved products. Touring CAST, if even semi-regularly, is a key plank in their business plan.
It may not be in the budget every year, but it is certainly worth the investment of time and money every few years. It’s an incredible learning experience.
There was a lot of talk about “low maintenance” and “pollinator friendly” plants, a broad assortment of combo recipes in both flowers and garden vegetables, and a number of marketing programs were prominently displayed.
And now, we return to California for one final look at what caught our eye.
Niagara Falls, Canada
October 4&5 2O17
Grow your business & your network
Connect with colleagues, suppliers & friends
Experience the newest technologies on the trade show floor
Learn new strategies from the comprehensive speakers program
Registration opens on August 1
ANTHURA
Ferra is a new yellow orchid variety with a very large flower. Orchid sales are continually increasing, said Joost Hendriks (1), orchid account manager for Anthura. “Our company specializes in producing varieties that have double spikes. They offer better value for money for consumers.”
AMERICAN TAKII
Michael Huggett, eastern flowers sales manager with American Takii, poses with ‘Evening Scentsation’ (2). This is the first petunia to receive an AAS award for its hyacinth-like fragrance and stunning colour. The scent is similar to hyacinth with hints of rose and honey. It is a medium-sized multiflora type with a low spreading habit.
The company also had an impressive display of pollinator plants (3), reflecting the strong consumer interest in this segment. The program, introduced this year, features plants that are beneficial to bees and hummingbirds, including the Salvia Summer Jewel series, the Achilles and the Arizona series of augustache.
BURPEE HOME GARDENS
New this year at Burpee is ‘Oh Happy Day,’ a cluster tomato variety (4)
These tomatoes have the beefsteak shape and meatiness, but grow in clusters of smaller fruit. It has both early and late blight resistance, and resistance to verticilium, tobacco mosaic virus and nematodes.
Garden vegetable sales have seen doubledigit growth throughout the past 10 years, says Scott Mozingo (5), product manager with Burpee Home Gardens. “The new generation of gardeners are really getting into vegetables.”
Especially popular are the Take 2 combos (6), matching a pair of delicious vegetables that grow well together. It gives consumers more variety when growing their own food in a limited space, such as a patio or balcony. New this year are the Directors Cut Pepper Combo (‘Tangerine Dream’ and ‘Lemon Dream’) amd the new Blockbuster Tomato Combo (‘BushSteak’ beefsteak and ‘Indigo Fireball’ small-fruited tomato).
CH MOREL
Florence Vaux of Ch Morel said one trend she expects to see more of in North America is the use of cyclamen in landscapes and containers (7)… if the climate is just right. They are used outdoors in some regions of Europe and with great success. She expects they could grow in Vancouver and Victoria, and perhaps in southwestern Ontario in the warmer months.
Vaux (8) is holding two of the Smartiz Fantasia series – ‘Purple’ (bicolour) and ‘Red.’ Smartiz is the smallest Fantasia yet, and features exceptional contrast and compact growth. It works well in micro pots of 2.5" to 4" (6 to 10 cm), and has very low sensitivity to botrytis.
Also new this year is Halios® Funflame Magenta. It features prolific flowering, a great contrasting foliage and a sturdy habit. It’s ideal for 5” to 6.5” (13 to 17 cm) pots.
There are also two new additions to the Tianis series – ‘Deep Rose’ and ‘Rose.’
DANZIGER
Pink is the newest colour in Danziger’s bidens series. ‘Pretty in Pink’ (9) is an
upright, compact variety decorated with an abundance of pink flowers with purple stripes. Fast-growing and early-blooming, it excels as a single plant in a pot and can also be used as a tall element in mixed plantings with low and cascading plants.
Petunia Cascadias ‘Red Lips’ (10) grows into a spectacular basket, overflowing with large glowing red flowers. It is early to flower and has a branched and semi-trailing habit. ‘Red Lips’ looks beautiful even in cold and rainy weather.
The Portulaca Nano Series (11) from Danziger has a compact and moderate habit with big, beautiful flowers. This easy-growing, low-maintenance series includes four intense, vibrant colours for the summer garden.
DARWIN PERENNIALS
After considerable attention to breeding container dianthus varieties in recent years, there is now renewed attention on landscape performers. The Mountain Frost Collection of Darwin Perennials is a landscape plant with great longevity. It has Zone 4 hardiness with excellent rain and wet tolerance, notes Karl Batschke, global product development manager (12). It can take the wet and the cold and then will bloom all summer long.
Another newcomer to add to your product list is the Dreameria series (13), a breakthrough in armeria breeding. It’s very heat tolerant and starts flowering in the spring and doesn’t stop until they freeze.
Another strong introduction is ‘Rose Marvel’ salvia (14). It has very large flowers for the class (about double the size of a typical Salvia nemorosa). It has a long flowering window and re-blooms without being cut back.
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The perennial market is hot. Many consumers look at perennials as annuals, not expecting them to overwinter. And because many of them are in apartments or have small yards, they’re being grown in containers and not in the ground.
FLORANOVA
The Pansy Freefall series (15) is very compact, with a neat habit early on that growers like. There are currently four colours, but expect 12-15 colours in a few years time. It is very cold tolerant. Ideal in baskets and containers, its great mounding and spread habit makes it well-suited for landscapes as well.
Peter Bradford, pictured, is the product development manager for Floranova.
Popstars Flox (16) has a unique starshaped flower, a flower type not seen before in hybrids. There are six colours in the series, with great seed quality and availability. The habit is compact and densely branching. It can be grown cold, but also takes the heat very well. It’s great in combos or mono containers. As the name suggests, the flowers kind of pop up, like fireworks.
Bright Sparks (17) is a new-look celosia. It was bred in India which means it has incredible heat tolerance. The flower spike is incredibly dense and the secondary flowers come right after the first spike, so in landscape applications will get a real carpet of colour. It also works well in containers.
FLORIST
Florist Holland showcased two additions to the Patio Gerbera series – Capitol Reef
(a bicolour pink) and Sedona (black with a red centre) (18). Only one liner is used in a 10" pot and it fills the container in 12-14 weeks. This series has massive flowers and is a great impulse buy.
In the Garvinea Sweets collection, a new red with a green centre called ‘Sweet Love’ (19) made its debut. This series has big flowers and features superior garden performance. They can take high heat and cold weather, and can handle the rain. They also a have strong root system, high disease and pest resistance, and few deer and rabbit issues because they have a harder leaf. They are great in the ground or in a mixed planter.
With the seed varieties, Florist Holland has a new series called Floraline Giants (20) that has especially large flowers and foliage. It is ideal for 6-7" production. This series is great because many growers struggle getting their 6" seed items up to size; the Giants are so vigorous that growers will have no issue getting them up to size.
GREENFUSE
Steve Jones, president of Green Fuse Botanicals (21), says the Fuchsia Windchimes series has really taken off in Canada. It’s a short-day blooming fuchsia that comes into flower earlier than standard fuchsias. They’re great for spring and early summer sales. New this year is ‘Pink Lilac.’
There are several upgrades in the Good and Plenty lineup (22). This series is known for its great mounded habit and bright colours, including ‘Pink Flamingo,’ which was a big hit by
those growing it this year. It was sold as ‘Bublicious’ last year but the name was changed because ‘Pink Flamingo’ is more descriptive. It features a shimmering centre and a soft pink flower.
HMA PLANTS
HMA Plants has a full line of annual vegetative products, with succulents its signature line, representing between 20 and 30 per cent of sales any given year. They have over 100 varieties at present. “Consumers love succulents because they’re so easy to take care of, so easy to grow,” says Jacqueline Azbill, director of business development. “They’re incredibly forgiving, very low maintenance.”
But, of course, HMA is more than just succulents, as they also have vegetative annuals and perennials in its catalogue. It’s completely independent and has relationships with more than 25 different breeders.
HMA sells to Canadian growers through a number of brokers. “Canada is a growing market for us,” says Azbill, shown here holding a Suntory Scaevola Surdiva® ‘Blue Violet’ (23). In the background is HMA’s volcano of plants.
HORT COUTURE
A personal favourite of mine at any trade show is the Coleus Under The Sea Collection of Hort Couture. Quality manager Jarvis Green described the program and its growing success (24) “The leaves all have a very unique crustacean look to them. They do well in the sun and shade, and will flower all
summer long.”
While they can be used in landscapes, you’re more apt to find them in containers. “They mix very well and have controlled vigour.”
Consumers love their uniqueness and how there are slight changes in colour in different light intensities. “Coleus is well known for being colourful,” says Green, “but these add form and texture with contrasts to take it up a level.”
The series is bred by students at the University of Saskatchewan.
ROYAL VAN ZANTEN
Colorita is a new garden alstroemeria series in Canada. There are six colours and the series works well in patio pots or in the garden. It will flower continuously until frost, says sales manager Nico Laan (25), and it has a nice habit.
Royal Van Zanten is active in celosia breeding as potted plants for indoor and outdoor usage. It is not winter hardy, so outdoor use is limited through to the frost. British Columbia and Ontario will be part of North American trials this year to test some new varieties under local conditions. Royal Van Zanten will then select a few of the most promising varieties for commercial sales.
SUNTORY
There’s been a lot of attention on the new Surfinia ‘Trailing Red’ from Suntory, a breeder well known for its impressive reds, notes company spokesperson Delilah Onofrey (26). ‘Trailing Red’ has non-fading colour, great performance and an attractive habit. It works great alone
or in combos. And its red colour will be great for patriotic combos and landscapes in Canada this year, our sesquicentennial. Also new in the Million Bells series is ‘Buttercup,’(27) aptly named because it looks like popcorn – a pale, whitish yellow with a bright yellow centre. It works well with blue varieties.
‘Yellow’ (28) is one of the new additions to the Grandessa Series of argyranthemum. This series has impressive flower size and vibrant colours and is ideal for premium containers, along with landscape uses. Growers will get a big return with only one cutting per container. It pairs well with osteospermum, diascia, nemesia and the Senetti series, among others.
IF YOU CAN’T TRAVEL TO CALIFORNIA, THERE ARE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES EACH YEAR TO VIEW NEW VARIETIES
If you can’t visit CAST, you can always visit local trial and show gardens. Here are a couple of suggestions for future years.
The Sawaya Garden Trials are held each summer just east of Simcoe, Ont. There were more than 3300 cultivars included in this year’s trials –probably the largest container trials in the world. Check the website (www. focusgreenhousemanagement.com/ sawayagardentrials) for details each spring and plan to attend the annual open house
At the end of the trials, the plants are sold by volunteers to raise funds for local charities.
The University of Guelph hosts major garden trials each year, with sites at the Turfgrass Institute of U of G, at the Landscape Ontario offices just off Hwy. 401 in Milton, and at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Visit www.plant.uoguelph.ca/trialgarden for more information.
Les Exceptionnelles is the result of a partnership that brings together the expertise of four renowned Québec landmarks: the Jardin Daniel A. Séguin; the Jardin botanique de Montreal; the Jardin Roger Van den Hende of Laval University; and the Jardins de Métis. The top performers are selected by consumers and industry specialists and are widely publicized to gardeners in the province. The program is coordinated by the Fédération interdisciplinaire de l’horticulture ornementale du Québec (FIHOQ).
And for those attending the Cultivate trade show/conference in mid-July in Columbus, the trial gardens of Ohio State University host a pair of open houses for attendees. In addition to the garden and container trials, visitors can view a large green roof installation.
Special guest at Lufa Farm’s latest expansion
Prime Minister among early guests to view some of the world’s leading urban agriculture technologies.
LUFA FARMS
Lufa Farms is attracting considerable – and high profile – attention for its pioneering work with urban agriculture.
The company has completed its third highly automated greenhouse in the Montreal borough of Anjou. Among the first guests to tour the 63,000-square-foot rooftop facility was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The new facility will have year-round production of over 40 varieties of greens and vegetables.
Its six years of rapid growth and significant success in rooftop greenhouse design, co-operation with local sustainability-focused farmers, and appeal to thousands of Montreal consumers make Lufa Farms one of the most successful large-scale
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urban agriculture models in the world.
In short, it is demonstrating how cities can sustainably feed themselves from within their own boundaries.
Trudeau was given a full tour of the leading edge facilities by company co-founders Mohamed Hage and Lauren Rathmell and their daughter Dani (above), and founders Kurt Lynn and Yahya Badran. The Prime Minister showed great interest in the innovative complexity of the rooftop greenhouse, and even took time to harvest a basket of fresh greens for his family.
The construction of the new greenhouse was supported by Quebec financial partners Fonds de solidarityé FTQ and La Financière agricole du Québec.
The Prime Minister with one of his younger tour hosts. INSET Bok Choy, Lufa Farms Anjou
RODENT CONTROL trapped like rats » They’ll be «
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“Backing innovative companies like Lufa Farms is really what the Fonds’ strategic planning is all about,” says Gaétan Morin, president and CEO of the Fonds de solidarityé FTQ. “And the reason we can make these types of investments is because of the Trudeau government’s reinstatement of the labour fund federal tax credit in 2016.”
FIRST GREENHOUSE OPENED IN 2011
Lufa Farms began operating the world’s first commercial-scale rooftop greenhouse with only eight employees in 2011. It was built with the goal of using sustainable irrigation, energy and growing systems for cultivation of pesticide-free produce. The first greenhouse produced more than 25 varieties of vegetables with weekly delivery to a few hundred Montreal consumers.
Consumers loved the locally grown products and the year-round availability, and the need to expand was soon evident.
Lufa’s second rooftop greenhouse began operation in 2013 with 43,000 square feet. With it, the company
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Lufa Farms grows a large variety of crops.
introduced an online marketplace so that consumers could buy fresh Lufa Farms produce along with with locally sourced produce, meat, dairy, bread and other products provided by hundreds of local farmers and food operations.
It’s a win-win-win situation:
• Consumers receive the freshest sustainably grown goods.
• Local farmers get a viable outlet for their products.
• The city benefits from optimized land, water and energy use.
“Companies in the agri-food sector can and must innovate to ensure their growth,” notes Janie Béïque, senior vicepresident, Natural Resources, Industry, Entertainment and Consumer Goods, Fonds de solidarityé FTQ.
“A novel model from the start, Lufa continues to innovate by adopting new practices and technologies for their third
Recognizing the next generation of the Greenhouse industry!
Greenhouse Canada’s annual search for young industry leaders is again underway! Canada is full of young, skilled knowledgeable people helping to drive the industry towards higher goals. From commercial growers and wholesalers to manufacturers, equipment suppliers and allied trades, they are the best and the brightest in our industry. Join us as we celebrate the future of greenhouse horticulture in Canada.
WHO CAN BE NOMINATED?
Anyone in the horticulture or associated industries who is under the age of 40 as of December 31, 2017. Equipment and technology suppliers welcome.
ALL NOMINEES SHOULD:
• demonstrate a strong work ethic
• show leadership and initiative
• actively seek new opportunities for training and education
• be involved in industry associations NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN
To nominate someone to be recognized as one of the Top 10 Under 40, visit greenhousecanada.com/top-10-under-40 to fill out a nomination form. Nominations close on August 11th, 2017.
The Top 10 Under 40 will be featured in the November issue of Greenhouse Canada magazine.
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Helping host the tour were Kurt Lynn (founding member of Lufa Farms); Inchirah Hage (Mohamed Hage’s mother); Yahya Badran (founding member of Lufa Farms); the Prime Minister; and husband-and-wife co-founders Lauren Rathmel (greenhouse director) and Mohamed Hage (president and CEO), with their daughter, Dani.
greenhouse in Anjou to grow even more fresh products.”
The most recent greenhouse caps six years of steady growth and innovation. The Lufa Farms team now includes more than 140 employees, grows over 70 different vegetable varieties, and delivers more than 10,000 food baskets every week of the year.
“Being able to finance this project in Quebec has been an important milestone for us. It’s testimony that commercialscale urban farming is truly economically viable, and that a sustainable economy is possible,” says Mohamed Hage, president and a founder of Lufa Farms.
“It also represents an important sustainability milestone for a city. Urban growing centres like Lufa, employing local workers, in concert with local farmers that provide fresh, responsible and locally produced goods to thousands of local residents everyday, represent a model for every city in the world.”
Applying greenhouse technologies to structures with a bird’s-eye view of their neighbourhoods is challenging.
“We began this venture because of our passion for rooftop farming. We didn’t start out as farmers and I’d never even grown a tomato before,” says Lauren Rathmell, a founder and greenhouse director of Lufa Farms.
“But we did what made sense to us as technologists and problem solvers.
“Today, we understand that successful urban agriculture requires not only advanced greenhouse technology, but also direct-to-client distribution, and working together with local, sustainable farmers and food artisans.
Founded in 2009 by Mohamed Hage, Lauren Rathmell, Kurt Lynn and Yahya Badran, Lufa Farms now has a combined urban growing space of 138,000 square feet. And they’re not resting on their laurels. There are plans for more projects in Quebec urban centres, and also in select New England locations in the U.S.
The greenhouses recirculate irrigation water and capture rainwater, have onsite composting facilities and offer same-day delivery of harvested crops.
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1001 ways to use predatory mites
There are many species of predatory mites and different formulations. Which do you choose and how do you obtain maximum performance in your greenhouse crop?
BY DRS. ROSE BUITENHUIS AND MICHAEL BROWNBRIDGE
This is part four in a six-part series of articles on thrips (and other pests) integrated pest management, where we will provide practical application tips and tricks, information on new technologies and how it all fits within an overall IPM program. Each article will be accompanied by a short video demonstrating a technique or principle.
The content of this series is based on research performed at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre and is supplemented with ‘information from the field,’ contributed by colleagues using biocontrol strategies in greenhouse production.
For more information on specific biocontrol agents or IPM in general, see www.greenhouseIPM.org.
Predatory mites were some of the first
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Fig 1. Amblyseius swirskii female with thrips larva.
commercially produced biocontrol agents. For example, Phytoseiulus persimilis has been around for 50 years. Other workhorses such as Neoseiulus (formerly Amblyseius) cucumeris and Neoseiulus californicus were commercialized in the 1980s and still are important components of biocontrol programs today.
After parasitic wasps, predatory mites are the most commonly used biocontrol agents. According to a list compiled by Van Lenteren and colleagues, there are now about 45 predatory mite species available as biocontrol agents worldwide. About one third of these were introduced onto the market in the last 10-15 years.
Commercially available predatory mites vary
Fig 2. Mini sachets in a chrysanthemum crop, one per pot.
Fig. 2
Fig. 1
between specialist spider mite predators and generalist species that prey on a multitude of pests. Some also feed on plant sap, pollen or nectar. Some like plants with smooth leaf surfaces, others like their plants to be more hairy. Obviously, one mite does not fit all situations. The more we know about them, the better we can choose the right mite for each crop and location, and make sure we keep them happy so they will perform to the best of their capacities.
In greenhouse crops in North America, we are most familiar with the predatory mites that prey on spider mites (e.g. P. persimilis, N. californicus), thrips (N. cucumeris, Iphiseus degenerans, Stratiolaelaps scimitus, Gaeolaelaps sp.), and the more polyphagous species (Amblyseius swirskii, Amblydromalus limonicus) whose prey includes spider mites, thrips and whiteflies. Most of these species will also munch on other pest mites or fungus gnats. Here, we will concentrate on predatory mites for thrips control. Note that many of these species have had their scientific name changed over the course of the years and often the old names are still used in the industry. Predatory mite species: In 2013, Laura Hewitt, a master’s student at the University of Guelph, compared N. cucumeris and A. swirskii for control of thrips in winter and summer. She found that A. swirskii (Fig 1) provided superior control of thrips than N. cucumeris in summer, probably because A. swirskii survives the hot conditions better. In winter, control by either predator was similar. The experience of Ontario growers over the past few years validates these results. Growers generally find A. swirskii to the better predator in summer, although in some crops the cost of A. swirskii is too high and growers use N. cucumeris year-round.
Amblydromalus limonicus is the newest predatory mite on the North American market. Contrary to A. swirskii and N. cucumeris, A. limonicus also eats the larger, second instar thrips larvae and is active at lower temperatures. It can survive on pollen and other prey species such as whiteflies. However, A. limonicus is currently three times the cost of A. swirskii. Although Dr. Sarah Jandricic (OMAFRA) found it shows good potential for whitefly control on crops like mandevilla and gerbera in the cooler winter months, the less expensive N.
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cucumeris may still be the grower’s best choice against thrips.
Iphiseius degenerans has been around for many years, but seems most effective in crops producing pollen, like peppers. Due to its higher cost, it is not economical to do multiple augmentative releases using large numbers of I. degenerans in non-flowering or late blooming crops. In the past, growers in the Netherlands experimented with Ricinus banker plants to breed this predator directly in the greenhouse and now with the increasing popularity of pollen as supplemental food for predatory mites, I. degenerans may experience a comeback. We’ll have more about these methods later on in this article.
All these predatory mites attack the first – and sometimes second – larval
stages of thrips. However, mites have other tricks up their sleeves: did you know that some also eat thrips eggs? Thrips females embed their eggs into the leaf tissue, making them hard to reach with sprays. However, researchers at Biobest Belgium determined that predators like I. degenerans, N. cucumeris and A. swirskii can consume 3-4 thrips eggs per day, particularly when eggs are just about to hatch and protrude slightly above the surface of the leaf. Yet, when given the choice, A. swirskii preferred to prey on thrips larvae. These researchers also indicated the potential benefits of this egg predation behaviour for management of other thrips species, such as Echinothrips.
Predatory mites can also affect thrips stages that are too large to kill.
Fig 3. Quality assurance set-up to measure walkout of breeding sachets.
Meet Graham
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ENERGY CONSERVATION FOR COMMERCIAL GREENHOUSES
With heating costs becoming an issue yet again, growers cannot afford to not have this resource.
After reviewing the principles behind heat loss, Dr. Bartok discusses greenhouse siting, construction materials, insulation, fuels and heating, ventilation and cooling, space utilization, utilities, trucking costs, and management.
Appendices include an Energy Conservation Checklist, Heat Loss Calculations, Useful Conversions, and Selected Product Manufacturers and Distributors.
Tables and diagrams throughout.
Graham Bolton FCC Senior Relationship Manager
Dr. Sarah Jandricic (OMAFRA) found that harassment by N. cucumeris reduced feeding by second instar thrips larvae and consequently plants showed less damage. In addition, harassed thrips adults laid fewer eggs and did not live as long as their unharassed counterparts, with resulting effects on thrips population growth.
Stratiolaelaps and Gaeolaelaps sp. are soil-dwelling predatory mites that attack thrips pupal stages, so they are a good complement to the other predators that generally go after the foliar thrips stages.
Because these mites can survive on a variety of prey sources, they can persist in the growing medium for many weeks even in the absence of pest prey such as thrips or fungus gnats. Therefore, they are only applied once for a short-term crop, soon after planting. These mites provide some control of thrips in hydroponically grown crops, but they are most effective in crops grown in potting media.
Formulations and release strategies: Predatory mites come in different types of packages, which represent different ways
“ The plants grow faster and I get less root diseases which results in reduced fungicide needs and more importantly, reduced shrink.“
of releasing them in the crop:
Bulk material usually comes as a tube or bucket with predatory and food mites mixed in a carrier material like bran or vermiculite. These materials are intended to be broadcast over the crop by hand or using a mechanical device like a blower. Another option is to make little piles of material on the substrate (breeder piles), although this method is not very popular anymore and has largely been replaced by the use of sachets.
Slow release sachets (Fig. 2) contain predatory mites of all life stages mixed with bran and a food mite at high ratios (e.g. one predator to about 10 food mites). The mites (both predatory and feeder mites) breed within the sachet, ensuring a constant supply of predatory mites into the crop over several weeks. There are many variations on the sachet-theme, depending where they are applied (Table 1, Page 32). You can find more information on the pages of www.greenhouseipm.org, or check out this article http://www.gpnmag. com/article/effective-release-methods-ofpredatory-mites/.
One development that is worth mentioning are the new sachets for A. swirskii that Koppert will soon launch in North America. These sachets are made of a new material and have been developed for use at low relative humidity (where paper sachets do not perform well), or outdoors as the material used for the sachets protects the contents from the weather. In addition, the sachets are biodegradable.
Many growers like to have an idea of the quality of the biocontrol agents before they release them in the greenhouse. For predatory mites in bulk-formulation, it is easy to see if the predators are alive and numerous. Simply mix the product well and spread a few small samples on a sheet of white paper. If you shine a bright light on it, you will see the predatory mites (fast runners) and food mites (slow walkers) moving around.
For sachets, the initial number of mites in the sachet at receipt is quite misleading because the mites will be reproducing and the final output of the sachet should be measured over the lifetime of the sachets. The best measure of performance and quality is to monitor the weekly walk-out. Previous methods such as described in the Grower Guide: quality assurance of biocontrol products (http:// vinelandresearch.com/sites/default/files/ grower_guide_final_version.pdf), suspend a sachet over a sticky card, but the mites
Peter Voogt, owner Voogt Greenhouses
will be easier to count if the sachet is hung over a dish of soapy water (Fig 3). Place the apparatus in the greenhouse in locations where sachets would normally be hung, so they are exposed to the same conditions. This will give a realistic measure of how the sachets are performing in the crop. Top up the soapy water as needed. Count the mites in the water twice a week. The predatory and food mites are easy to distinguish from each other under a microscope.
Alternatively, hang the sachets in a covered bucket containing a saturated NaCl (table salt) solution and hold at room temperature. The salt solution creates a relative humidity of 75 per cent inside the bucket and will provide a measure of the performance of the sachets under optimal conditions.
Keep in mind that how and where the predatory mites are released will influence their performance. Bulk product that falls on the ground or between pots should be considered lost. The mites will not walk long distances over hostile terrain (e.g. plastic or substrate). On plants, they spread through the crop on the foliage. If the canopies of neighbouring plants are not touching, predatory mites will not move among plants but will remain close to the release plant. For slow release sachets, it is especially important to place them inside the canopy, or a shaded area, not hung on the outside of a hanging basket in the full sun. The mites need high relative humidity (above 60 per cent) to breed and to ensure a continuous output of predators into the crop over the course of several weeks. If sachets are held in direct sunlight, humidity inside the sachets is generally too low and the internal temperature too high for sustained production.
Keeping your predators happy: Now that you have chosen the right predatory mite, you checked their quality and made sure you released them in the right way and in the right place, what else can you do to optimize their performance? When predatory mites are released in a preventive strategy, many of them will die, necessitating repeated introductions to maintain a population of predators in the crop to protect against invading thrips.
One method to retain and even increase numbers of predatory mites in the crop is to feed them with supplemental food. Biobest sells cattail pollen under the name Nutrimite that can be blown over the crop. Israeli researchers patented an elegant method to supplement plants with pollen while at the same time providing
predatory mites with a place to lay their eggs, called the “pollen-on-twine” method. Other options are to provide mites with de-capsulated brine shrimp (Artemia) eggs or flour moth (Ephestia) eggs. Several researchers in Europe are even experimenting with releases of food mites (the same or similar to those used in mass rearing) in the crop or on the substrate. Banker plants, plants that provide alternative food and/or a breeding site for biocontrol agents, are also an option, although rarely used much for predatory
mites. In the ‘90s, innovative Dutch growers used Ricinus plants as banker plants for I. degenerans. More recently, research in Florida has investigated several ornamental pepper varieties as bankers for A. swirskii. It is also possible to turn an attractive variety or plant species in the greenhouse into trap plants and to concentrate release of predators on these plants.
Integration with other bios and IPM strategies: Biocontrol agents do not always play nicely together and some
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Sachet type Crops
Regular sachets Vegetables and ornamentals
Mini sachets
Long-duration sachets
Gemini sachets, Bugline
Sachet-on-astick
Sachet (new material)
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Targets hanging baskets and potted plant production
Vegetables and ornamentals
Cut flowers
Seedling propagation or small plants
Vegetables and ornamentals
Advantages
Output 4-6 weeks
More economical, use 1 sachet per pot during early production stages; may be reduced once foliage touches
Increased longevity (output 6-8 weeks)
Suspended from mesh crop support wire
Self-supporting; remains in place in the block (veggie transplants) or pot when they are transferred
Waterproof, use at low RH or outdoors
Table 1: Different types of slow-release sachets.
should not be combined. In the laboratory, different species of predatory mites are able to kill each other for food, potentially
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interfering with pest control. Yet, this does not mean that these interactions will occur or be significant in a commercial crop. Predators may be able to coexist if they have different foraging strategies, plant or habitat preference or defence/avoidance mechanisms.
In other cases, predatory mites clearly have a negative effect: Both A. swirskii and N. cucumeris consume eggs of the aphid predator Aphidoletes aphidimyza, which can cause aphid densities to increase significantly. In contrast, Orius predators can be safely used together with predatory mites and/or entomopathogenic fungi such as Beauveria bassiana (BotaniGard, Bioceres) and Metarhizium brunneum/anisopliae (Met52). In fact, recent work by Gongyu Lin, a student at the University of Montreal, shows that A. swirskii, N. cucumeris and Stratiolaelaps sp. can safely accumulate and carry Bioceres® (B. bassiana strain ANT-03) on their bodies. Similar to bee vectoring of biopesticides, the idea is to use mites to disseminate the fungus over the plants to provide additional thrips control, especially of developmental stages that the mites cannot kill. The next steps in this research are to determine the level of thrips infection and control obtained in a greenhouse setting.
Conclusion: A tool is only as good as the person using it. When used properly, predatory mites are one of the pillars of thrips control. Together with nematodes, fungal biopesticides and other predators such as Orius they will deliver good thrips control.
We hope you are looking forward to the next article in this series. We appreciate feedback, so if you have any suggestions for topics or comments, please let us know (Rose.Buitenhuis@vinelandresearch. com, Michael.Brownbridge@vinelandresearch.com).
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Sam Bourgeois, Agvocate Apple Producer
CONTROLLING GROWTH
The importance of a growing media to make plants vegetative or generative
BY DR. MOHYUDDIN MIRZA
While I have written about the growing media many times, I feel that there is a general lack of knowledge about the importance and techniques to use growing media design and inputs to change the direction of growth, vegetative or generative.
Vegetable growers need to understand this aspect more than bedding plant and ornamental growers because the crops stay longer in the same growing medium. Vegetable crops need a balance between vegetative and generative growth and we would like to avoid domination of one stage versus the other.
On the other hand, we want leafy vegetables to always be vegetative. For example, lettuce, spinach and
many Chinese vegetables should stay vegetative. They are not saleable if they become generative. Basically, vegetative growth is where plants need more leaves, top growth and roots to establish themselves. Generative growth is where plant starts producing flowers and fruits.
A few basic quality aspects of a growing medium: At this time, there are many soilless growing media used in greenhouse cultivation. Many growing media have added biological agents to provide disease reduction possibilities and improve root health. What we should know about the growing medium we are using should include:
• Water Holding Capacity (WHC).
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• Air Porosity (AP).
• Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC).
• Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD).
• pH and EC.
You must know at least these characteristics based on what crops you are growing and how long the crop is going to stay in that growing medium.
Growing media and container sizes: Photo 1 shows what is typical in a bedding plants greenhouses in May. The container sizes vary from small plugs to 12" –14" hanging baskets. Although they are being grown in the same greenhouse, one can see distinct shade in the middle and under the baskets.
MANAGING THE GROWING MEDIA
Plugs: If you are growing in plugs then the volume will be very small. Plug sizes vary, so growers must understand how much volume of growing medium they are dealing with. Plugs are difficult to manage especially if one chooses a high porosity growing medium. Fertility management is also very precise in growing such plugs.
Photo 2 was taken of petunia plugs under serious stress. The grower just could not keep up with the pH of the growing medium.
This is iron deficiency due to an alkaline pH. In this case the pH was 6.8. These plants will take a good three weeks or so to turn around. Also notice that these plants are already flowering, meaning that they have become generative. These flowers have to be removed to initiate a vegetative response when such plugs are planted.
Photo 3 is an example where tomatoes in 4” pots became root-bound. This is a very generative tomato plant. The lower leaves are showing signs of high EC in the growing medium.
Once the growing media gets root-bound, they dry out much faster so growers must water them more frequently.
Photo 4 is another example of a pepper basket that is rootbound. Because such plants dry out much faster it results in a generative response. The peppers started turning colour (to red from green) very quickly.
Photo 5 and Photo 6 are examples where attention was not paid to the proper supply of nutrients in the growing medium as needed by the plants.
Photo 5 shows a cucumber plant showing iron/manganese deficiency. These cucumber plants were getting standard bedding plant feed that was not enough for these plants.
Photo 6 is of a bougainvillea showing serious potassium –and likely some magnesium– deficiency.
I want to emphasize that the choice of a proper growing medium is a good starting point. Paying attention to water holding capacity, air porosity, cation exchange capacity, pH and EC will pay dividends in the form of a good marketable crop.
In hydroponics, there is no solid growing medium. Water is the growing medium. The management of crops will be different than when a solid growing medium is used. How to change plant direction in water based system will be the subject of my writing at a later date.
Dr. Mohyuddin Mirza is an industry consultant, drmirzaconsultants@gmail.com.
COREOPSIS Crop Culture Tips
While long flowering has long been a coreopsis key trait, today’s introductions take that to new levels, holding blooms long after other perennials fade. This longtime consumer favourite still has some surprises to share.
BY JOSIAH RAYMER
A wildflower long tamed, growers and gardeners alike love coreopsis for its low maintenance and long life, but this staple still has a few surprises to share. Many newer varieties of this North American native have been selected for extended bloom time and mildew resistance. While long flowering has long been a coreopsis key trait, today’s introductions take that to new levels, holding blooms long after other perennials fade.
A few of our new favourites include the Big Bang™ (61 cm/up to 24"), Lil Bang™ (31 cm/ under 12") and Satin & Lace™ series (colourful patterns to spare). Some of our favourite single selections include Solar Dance for its double and semi-double lemon yellow flowers and Sunkiss,
ABOVE Solar Dance (top) and Lil Bang Starstruck.
with a touch of deep red at the base. Most varieties are hardy in Zones 4 or 5 to 9. Excellent heat and drought tolerance lets them transition easily from more moderate to triple digit temperatures (Fahrenheit). The huge colour range of the coreopsis family makes it extremely versatile, and a great choice for spring and summer combos and gardens as well as early fall containers.
Coreopsis are produced in a 72 cell tray with a 6 cm (2.35”) soil depth, maximum dry volume 3.65 cubic metres (2.23 cubic inches). Transplant one plant per each trade gallon pot into a media with good drainage. Plants will be ready for spring sales in approximately six to eight weeks.
Recommended Finish Size: Coreopsis
produce best in a standard one gallon pot.
Growing media: Choose a diseasefree, well-draining commercial soilless media.
Growing temperature: Provide daytime greenhouse temperatures of 18 to 24 C (65 to 75 F) and nighttime temperatures of 13 to 18 C (55 to 65 F).
Light requirements: Coreopsis prefers high light levels of at least 5000 foot-candles or full sun.
Supplemental lighting: Coreopsis plants require a minimum of 14 hours photoperiod.
Soil pH: Maintain soil pH at approximately 5.8 to 6.2.
Soil electrical conductivity (EC): Soil electrical conductivity (EC) should be maintained at approximately 1.8 to 2.2 mS/cm using the 2:1 extraction method.
Pinching and plant growth regulators (PGRs): Coreopsis typically doesn’t require pinching or PGRs.
Fertilization: Provide a constant, well-balanced liquid feed with low levels, approximately 100 to 150 ppm, of nitrogen.
Moisture level: Grow plants evenly moist.
Pests and diseases: Follow standard sanitation practices and monitor and scout carefully to prevent any insect and disease activity. In particular, watch for aphids, thrips, botrytis and powdery mildew. In most areas, though, they should not be a problem with the proper protocols in place.
Ensure a good preventive program is in place, including managing humidity levels and maintaining good air circulation.
Apply a broad spectrum fungicide drench at liner planting. You may also follow a monthly broad spectrum fungicide control program.
Vernalization requirements: Vernalization is beneficial, but not completely necessary.
Daylength: Coreopsis is a long day plant.
Josiah Raymer is head grower and general manager for Emerald Coast Growers, one of North America’s largest ornamental grass producers. For further information visit www.ecgrowers.com.
CANADA
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ADVERTISERS INDEX
Retailing by product, pricing and place
At the end of May, I visited several urban agriculture ventures in Pomona, California, with Robert Puro of Seedstock, a Los Angelesbased social venture fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in sustainable agriculture. The trip was to visit “a series of innovative urban farming ventures in inland southern California that have emerged to grow the local food marketplace, increase food access, educate local communities, advocate for food equity, and improve health and nutrition.”1
First stop was a one-acre production enterprise working out of three sites, including one that has recently planted on nearby church land with 63 types of fruit trees and another that was essentially a large residential backyard using permaculture principles for vegetable production, chickens, bees and dedicated compost production.
Host Rishi Kumar explained that Sarvodaya Farms is the “educational, community-based urban farming initiative of The Growing Club” and “seeks to demonstrate how urban farms can be centres of social, economic, and ecological regeneration and healing in (sub)-urban centres.”1
City zoning bylaws mean that urban agriculture produce cannot officially be sold. Does that really make any sense if we want to encourage local, healthy food production? Rishi says that his
pound). Clearly, a somewhat novel approach to pricing that makes managing sales easy!
The final stop was Amy’s Farm, run by Randy Bekendam. Until 10 years ago, Randy was managing a 1,000-head intensive beef fattening lot on this property. Randy is a self-confessed “gross offender” (towards climate change), and at the point he realized that this form of agriculture was “unsustainable,” it went broke! Forced to “re-invent himself,” Randy ventured into SPIN farming, and “at 56 years old I became a farmer.” (I’m not sure what he thought he was doing prior to this, if not being a farmer!)
Amy’s is a working polyculture farm focusing on sustainable, organic methods. Vegetables are produced on 1.5 acres, with several more acres dedicated to compost production (using free, local inputs such as beef-lot animal waste and bedding), with additional area for a café, a shop, a petting zoo, some pigs and a few dairy cows. Amy’s aims to provide fresh produce to the local community and offers educational hands-on, guided tours through its non-profit organization. Amy’s Farm was founded to provide residents of San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles Counties the opportunity to visit and experience a true operating urban farm.
“Educating community members about sustainable agriculture.”
Growing Club members simply provide donations to Sarvodaya, and happen to get fresh produce as and when it’s available.
The second stop was a four-acre community garden in a low-income area of the city of Ontario (yes, but Ontario, Calif.). About 1.5 acres are pure community garden space with 62 family plots. But the main venture was 1.5 acres of high intensity production for CSA members and retail sales. Project manager Arthur Levine explained that Huerta del Valle’s “mission is to create healthy food access for low-income community members, create community empowerment through food, create job opportunities and educate community members about sustainable agriculture. Huerta’s overarching goal is to provide all 160,000 people in the city of Ontario with accessible organic food.”1 All produce retails for one price ($1 US per
Amy’s receives no grant money and Randy says gross income is around $100,000. However, “we cannot sell everything we produce, and we give away about 10,000 pounds of produce [to local food banks] each year. Does anyone have any ideas for selling great, fresh, local food to the people of this West Coast area?”
What can we learn from these very different enterprises? When it comes to their approaches to retail, we see diverse responses to the basics of “product, pricing and place.” Each is being successful in its own way. I once heard a sommelier say “there is no such thing as a bad wine – if you like it, then it’s great.” Maybe we all have to find our own way of doing retail.
1 http://seedstock.com/
Gary Jones is co-chair of horticulture at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Langley, B.C. He sits on several industry committees and welcomes comments at Gary.Jones@kpu.ca.
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