Top: C Congonga Deep Yelloow w a and Sunnsset t K Kiss
Bottomm: Cononga Orange Ki Kis K s, Deeep p Y Yellllow and Dark Blue
Filling in the price tag
Why consumer value is key to breaking profit barriers in the supply chain | 12
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Colouring Pennisetum
How blue LEDs can deepen colour and improve growth
Lighting 101
BY MICHEL SENECAL AND LISA TELLIER
Here’s the right way to measure light in the greenhouse BY
Is cogen right for you? 7 steps to guide your cogen purchase
JAMES WILLIAMS Growing North’s newest greenhouses in Arviat, Nunavut. Photo courtesy of Stonewood Collective | 38
DR. ABHAY THOSAR
HAWKESWORTH
FROM THE EDITOR
GRETA CHIU | @GreenhouseCan
The not-so-secret garden centre
It’s that time of year again – hot, sticky summer turns into crisp, fall weather. Consumers gravitate towards indoor activities, while food establishments draw them in by evoking cozy feelings of warm cider, roasted root vegetables and pumpkin spice everything.
But there’s no reason why garden centres can’t capitalize on these very same themes. Just look at how nice fall mums look with those little gourds. It’s time to bring the outside in – along with the customers.
Stumbling across The Watering Can’s Vineland location a couple months back, I was struck by how large the garden centre was. How did I find it? By searching for “coffee” on Google Maps. Trying to beat rush-hour traffic, I hadn’t intended on deviating from my route east, but was in desperate need of some good, iced coffee after a hot afternoon at Vineland’s container trials.
Once I had successfully located the coffee bar near the back of the establishment (yes, I’ll have that biscotti too while eyeing the lemon square), I had already seen too much
was even an old piano where plants had seemingly started to take over the keyboard, sitting in front of a yellowed piano score. (Note to self: do not throw out old electric organ.)
At this point, consumers like me are already hooked. This is how we could re-decorate our house/loft/ dorm and breathe new life into items we’ve been meaning to get rid of, saved for ‘crafts’ or inherited when grandma downsized. It’s completely doable – all I need are the plants. (Might as well stay until rush hour is over at this point.)
The next room was another indoor plant wonderland – and they were ready to be taken home – giant palms, succulents of every colour, coral cacti and a ‘field’ of Chinese money plants, to give you the picture. Plants are clearly (and very, very reasonably) priced. A dracaena I picked up had clear, succinct instructions about light requirements, soil moisture, fertilization frequency and temperature requirements – there’s no way someone could fail at taking
It was an experience – and I couldn’t stop telling people about it.
of the place to leave. The entire establishment was every indoor-plant lover and devoted Instagram-er’s paradise.
In one room, air plants were housed in glass orbs suspended from the beams of wooden wheels hung from the ceiling. Pre-made succulent combinations were available in containers made of rock, porcelain and what looked like a large tin can that simply said ‘Plants’. Products were sitting on overturned wooden crates, vintage side tables and pre-loved trunks and suitcases, shown against a backdrop of woodpanelled walls and pastels. There
care of this tropical plant unless following instructions is not their forté. At the back was a DIY area for creating my own succulent container, complete with succulent soil mix, succulents, sand and mosses.
It was an experience – and I couldn’t stop telling people about it. When the day-to-day becomes routine, hidden gems are all the rage. As Gary Jones notes in this month’s ‘Inside View’, garden centres are much more than just a plant shop in the UK. Rather, they’re “a ‘day out’ destination”. I stumbled upon mine – how will you help new customers find yours?
Canadian farming technology goes offshore
The Government of Aruba has approved a vertical farming project by VDA Vertical Designs Aruba VBA, using BC-based Affinor Growers’ vertical farming technology.
According to the release, the technology will allow the project to produce crops year-round in Aruba’s tropical climate, making use of land that was previously unfit for farming.
“Not only will this project have a substantial, and lasting, economic impact on Aruba, but this will be
the first step in revolutionizing the farming industry in the Caribbean,” says Nick Brusatore, CEO of Affinor Growers. “This is the perfect showcase for our vertical farming technology and we hope this will act as a catalyst for other vertical farming projects around the world.”
A vertical farming technology company, Affinor Growers focuses on a number of crops including romaine lettuce, spinach and more recently, cannabis.
$8 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ORGANICS
Agriculture and AgriFood Canada has announced a research investment of up to $8.3 million to the Organic Federation of Canada, with an additional $4.4 million in contributions from the industry.
Funded under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, AgriScience Clusters, the goal is to help the organic sector increase productivity through better soil health and fertility management, advanced crop breeding research, improved pest management,
BY THE NUMBERS
and evaluation of the environmental impacts of organic farm practices.
An additional investment of $292,555 will be provided under the federal Canadian Agricultural Adaptation program, also to the Organic Federation of Canada. This will aid in the review process of the Canadian Organic Standards, to improve the Canadian organic industry’s competitiveness and access to international markets.
“This funding will
allow researchers to continue improving the sustainability of agricultural practices, which is at the heart of organic production,” says James Robbins, president of the Organic Federation of Canada.
This funding builds upon the $250,000 announced in January to help the Canadian General Standards Board complete the 2020 review of the Canadian Organic Standards.
According to the release, retail sales of organic food products are estimated at $5.4
billion across Canada, with 4,289 farms that reported organic farming practices in 2016.
Building on Growing Forward 2, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a five-year, $3-billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments.
Slated to end in 2019, the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation program is a five-year $50.3 million program that aims to help the agriculture and agri-food sectors find solutions to issues and remain competitive.
BRING THE POWER OF THE SUN INDOORS
Fireside Ninebark
This new ninebark has stunning foliage. Fireside’s reddish new growth matures to deep red-purple foliage that holds its colour reliably all summer. Pinkishwhite flowers bloom in spring and foliage turns deep purple in fall. This plant has a rounded, upright shape. Zones 3 to 7. 1.5-2.1 m tall, 1.2-1.8 m wide. firsteditionsplants.com
Coreopsis grandiflora
Double the Sun
There’s early – and then there’s Double the Sun. This bright newcomer is two to three weeks earlier than Early Sunrise and other comparable varieties in the early cool season. In summer, it finishes one to two weeks earlier. Plants are naturally compact with semidouble, clear golden yellow flowers. Double the Sun has a great controlled habit with strong flowering. Ideal for quart and 1-gallon
production in spring and summer with 13hour critical daylength. USDA zones 4a to 9b. 36-41 cm tall, 30-36 cm wide. kieftseed.com
Empress Sun Red Verbena
Large flowers with mildew tolerance and reduced cyclical blooming. This verbena from Dümmen Orange is best for patio containers and landscape beds. Full sun to part sun. 20-35 cm tall, 30-60 cm wide. dummenorange.com
Erysimum Sunstrong
If you’re looking for an Erysimum that flowers throughout the summer, Sunstrong is it. This beautiful bicolour variety from Danziger flowers without cooling, allowing growers to treat this zone 5 to 9 perennial
as an annual. Sunstrong is a large garden plant that produces beautiful blooms throughout the season. It’s sure to be a consumer favorite. Sunstrong is recommended for gallon or larger pots. danzigeronline.com
This all-new series features day length neutrality, no vernalization required and outstanding garden performance. The large flowers of this Chinensis x Barbados sit right on top of the foliage. This sterile inter-species cross has phenomenal hybrid vigour. The best part is, it’s zone 4 hardy! green-fuse.com
Geranium Zonal Tango White Splash
Simplify your high-density quart and small pot production with Tango. This dark-leaf series offers a compact habit and medium vigour. Highly efficient and programmable series for bench run production and more profitable sales. Compact vigour and mounded habit. 25-30 cm tall and wide. syngentaflowers-us.com
Blueberry Glaze
The foliage on Blueberry Glaze is similar to a boxwood, and the white spring blossoms ripen into a rainbow event as the berries turn yellow, to red, then a dark blue. The ripe fruit is packed with aromatic flavors and antioxidants that are great for fresh eating or cooking. Perfect for patio pots or the landscape. USDA zones 5 to 8, full sun. 60-90 cm tall, bushy and mounded. bushelandberry.com
Retail innovation: Italian style
Businesses need to innovate or die. The challenge is often coming up with new and innovative ideas. This is one reason I enjoy travelling. It forces you to be exposed to new ideas and new ways of doing things.
Italy has always been known for its innovation in a number of different areas of retailing and manufacturing. The MyPlant trade show held in Milan was one of the most innovative garden trade shows I had seen in some time.
ABOVE
The “Paint Your Plant” kit includes a succulent, paint brush and paint.
The Italian industry is coming up with new innovative ways of enticing the consumer in the garden sector. Many of the exhibitors are in-tune with the millennial consumer and are developing products to attract these consumers into garden centres. Not all the products on display were from Italy. Many other European countries were also exhibiting, and this made the event a truly international platform for the following:
ATTRACTING CHILDREN
Children are the gardeners of the future and we need to connect with them through plants. At the same time, children connect with both their
parents and their grandparents and I was therefore fascinated to see the Dutch development of getting children involved in Grandparents Day by FeliniFoundation. Grandparents Day is normally in October, but this changes around the world.
To engage across the generations the company has developed “Paint Your Plant” www. paintyourplant.com. The package consists of a succulent plant, paint brush and paint. The child can then paint the plant based on their own design and present it on Grandparents Day. What attracted me to this concept was this excellent activity that could be developed in the garden centre to attract new and existing customers.
I can accept that horticulturalists will cringe at the idea of plants being painted, but sprayed and painted plants have proven to be popular, especially in the autumn in Europe for a number of years – and this is just one more step in this process to engage the customer and especially children.
ATTRACT MILLENNIALS
Millennial consumers are not just looking for indoor plants. They are often looking for plants that will clean the air. I was therefore attracted to one company who had identified the needs of a target consumer. The “Air So Pure” branded plants provide an oxygen reading and advises on how many plants a consumer should have in a room. This research has been around for a number of years, but few suppliers have taken this initiative.
IMPULSE SELLS
Once a consumer is in the garden centre, clever merchandising and packaging of plants can create impulse sales. The majority of plants are sold on impulse and a number of suppliers at the show were presenting great ways of developing the impulse package. Impulse can be as simple as telling the consumer what this year’s fashion colour is, and then providing a plant that has the same colour.
Small succulent gardens were also evident and this is a trend that will continue through the year.
MyPlant is held every February in Milan and based on this year’s show, I would recommend that you put it on your show list for next year.
John Stanley is a retail business coach, consultant, speaker and author. His expertise is in customer-focused layout, merchandising, marketing and branding, and customer-focused selling and service. Visit his website at www.johnstanley.com.au.
Lights on for greenhouse berries
ABOVE LumiGrow started partnering with Orangeline Farms in recent years on their LED strawberry production.
With greenhouse strawberries becoming increasingly popular among consumers, how can supplemental lighting be used to help improve their production and potentially open avenues to other berry crops?
LumiGrow’s vice president of research Dr. Melanie Yelton says it is now well accepted that dayneutral strawberries can be more effectively grown under LED lighting, because heat management and other factors make growing under HPS more challenging. Their trials with day-neutral strawberries have shown that a medium level of supplemental LED lighting can help maximize profitability. Strawberries need about 15 to 20 mols of light per square metre per day.
Constant strawberry production is desirable, with staggered flushes of fruit. To maximize each stage of crop production, LumiGrow has studied dynamic light spectrums in lettuce. “Lettuce is our main experimental crop and we’ve studied extensively the use of one spectrum for young plants, another for flowering and another for maturation,” Yelton reports. “In tomatoes and strawberries, we’re also looking at spectrums that increase aromatics, flavour and antioxidant content in the fruit. We want to push growers to experiment with LED light using different crop varieties, along with using different temperatures. We don’t tend to see a single light recipe as optimal for all varieties and growth stages of strawberries or tomatoes or for
most crops. Plants utilize light dynamically as they grow.”
When planning strawberry production, growers should analyze their existing light transmission. “This is different for every greenhouse,” she notes. “After we have looked at light transmission, we use software to create a comprehensive light plan. It’s critical in that plan to make sure light will be uniform. We need to make sure fixtures are hung properly and double-check that the light produced is what we expect.”
The next steps are to look at varieties and production goals, and to go over costs, as Yelton notes that strawberry production could involve increased labour costs compared to other crops. The last step is to set up a trial area. “With strawberries, you don’t want to test with a trial so small that it’s not indicative of major production,” she says. “I like a half acre or acre with supplemental light. It’s not an accurate test otherwise and an area that size also gives the opportunity to look at multiple varieties. It’s typical to have several [dayneutral] varieties grown to market simultaneously, allowing for staging of flushes as well as balancing complementary flavour profiles.”
RASPBERRIES AND BLACKBERRIES
Netherlands-based greenhouse research firm Delphy looked into earlier and increased production of year-round raspberries and blackberries under LEDs. Delphy soft fruit expert Willem van Eldik says it’s already established that greenhouse productivity of these berries is higher than field production. The blackberry variety they grow is Loch Ness and the raspberry varieties are Kwanza, Aurora and Enrosadira.
Growing both types of berries has previously been tried with Son-T lamps, but Van Eldik says neither blackberries or raspberries responded well, even after adding extra far-red light. He says the current LED ‘recipe’ they use is tailored to blackberry. From November 2017 to February 2018, Delphy applied the amount of light needed for early cultivation in April/May – 18 hours of day, from midnight to 6 in the evening at 200 µmol/ m2/s. Of that, 120 µmol is top illumination and 80 µmol is interlighting. Van Eldik says this combined arrangement gives the optimal light distribution for maximum photosynthesis. “What we are going to investigate now,” says Van Eldik, “is whether we can achieve full production with LED lighting from the beginning of March.”
Photo credit:
LumiGrow
HOW DOES A CONSUMER VALUE A PLANT?
Unknowns in consumer decision making are holding the industry back, affecting every level of the supply chain.
BY CASSANDRA SMALLMAN
When a customer walks through your garden centre, how do they decide on a fair price for a hanging basket? Do they value it more because it’s bright and colourful, because it’s in bloom, or according to its overall size?
The truth is that we don’t really know how consumers evaluate plants. To date, there has been no extensive consumer research done to answer this fundamental question. From the auto industry to cosmetics, industries pour millions of dollars into market research and as a result, they know precisely why their customers buy, what they prefer, and how much they will pay.
They are customer-centric because they understand and meet the demands of their customers. Conversely, the horticulture industry is worth over a billion dollars and yet there are many unknowns surrounding customer decision making. That lack of consumer understanding is stunting the industry’s ability to thrive and it’s time to start investing in the future of the horticultural industry by better understanding its customers.
THE OPPORTUNITY IN CONSUMER RESEARCH
How much is this gap costing your business and ABOVE Fashion jeans aren’t priced according to how much they cost to make, it’s based on how much the consumer is willing to pay. The same principle can be applied to plants at the retail level.
the industry as a whole? To assess that, it’s helpful to examine how the horticultural industry behaves, and compare that to other industries with presumably similar customer tendencies.
There are cases where plants serve a practical purpose, like hedging, pollinating, or increasing the list price of a home, but most plants lack a real utility like furniture or appliances. In most cases, you can’t use the plant, you simply admire it. Where else does this happen? Let’s look at the fashion industry.
PRICING PLANTS VS PRICING PANTS
A pair of jeans could easily run you anywhere from $20 to $200. That’s a significant range in pricing and yet they sell at every price in between. How does this happen? Emotion. The way a pair of jeans looks or makes a customer feel has a huge impact on how much they’re willing to pay.
That industry has done decades of research on buying habits and has learned valuable insights about what features, designs, colours, and styles are more sought after and fetch a higher premium. Unfortunately, nobody has done a cost analysis on the long-term value of seeing a beautiful plant in their garden like they would for a pair of pants. Imagine if a little more understanding of your customers meant you could sell a hanging
basket for 15 per cent more simply by including a bee-friendly variety in the basket, or by adding in trend colours. That would mean more revenue for your retail business and the wholesale grower.
UNDERSTANDING THE CONSUMER’S PERSPECTIVE
Ornamental plants are not a necessity. They are a seasonal product, which makes their average price virtually unknown to the average customer. People know the price of eggs because they buy them every week. But a customer looking to buy a hydrangea generally doesn’t know what a fair price would be. So if the consumer doesn’t know what a reasonable price is, it’s up to the grower and retailer to determine what that price should be.
To share one perspective on this question, we turned to garden centre owner, Landscape Ontario President, and LinkGreen CEO, Warren Patterson. “This year, our garden centre significantly raised prices to offset the significant increase in minimum wage. Now a few months into the season, there has been very little, if any, negative feedback from our customers. Why would this be? I believe the typical consumer does not have a point of reference for the price of our products. Put in front of a consumer two, two-gallon pots that have grown to different heights, bloom stage, etc. Then ask them what they think the retail
price of each plant should be. I think you would be very surprised by their answers.” In other words, not knowing what a customer is looking for in a plant keeps us from knowing how much to charge.
SETTING STANDARD GUIDELINES
If each retailer has the flexibility to set their price, why does a standard consumer price matter? It’s because the consumer price drives the price at every level of the supply chain. The jeans we discussed above are not priced according to how much they cost to make. It’s based on how much the consumer will pay for it and the same principle should be applied to plants. If quality hanging baskets are valued at $35 by the consumer, then the wholesaler can sell it to the retailer for $18.50, leaving everyone with higher margins than if the retailer sold the same basket for $30.
Everyone should be basing the pricing off of the consumer price. Through greater collaborations between all levels of the supply chain, the industry can work together to ensure that the industry as a whole remains profitable and sustainable.
WORKING TOGETHER TO GROW AND THRIVE
Now that we have established the importance of consumer research to the overall horticultural industry, how will the research be conducted and who will be responsible for it? Traditionally, research is conducted by large industry leaders that can afford to do it, only benefiting that particular business. The industry as a whole needs access to the research findings which means industry associations are the obvious choice to conduct the research. Each member of the association should contribute to the funding and each member will have access to the information. This solution offers every business the opportunity to better understand the consumers who purchase plants. Through this understanding, the horticultural industry can thrive for generations to come. Stay tuned for our next article as we explore how the cost of production affects the cost of a plant.
Cassandra Smallman is a marketing specialist for LinkGreen, an online ordering and supply chain technology leader in the lawn and garden industry. For information about how LinkGreen could help your business, visit www.linkgreen.ca.
Prodezo RZ F1 (72-760)
Kivu RZ F1 (72-629)
72-761 RZ F1
Kivu RZ F1 (72-629)
• Beef type with large, round and uniform fruit
• Easy year-round fruit set
• Generative open plant character and very productive
72-761 RZ F1
• Large TOV type
• Vigourous plant with easy fruit set
• High quality fruit with good production
Prodezo RZ F1 (72-760)
• Large TOV type
• Good early production and high final yields
• Easy fruit set and strong plant vigour
For Ontario: RZH Canada Ltd | (519) 324 0632
For Quebec: Seminova / Agrocentre Fertibec Inc. | (450) 454 5155
For BC/Alberta: Terralink Horticulture Inc. | (604) 864-9044
For USA: Rijk Zwaan USA Inc. | (832) 455 3000
Advisor Greenhouse crops: Rijk Zwaan Export B.V. | Marleen van der Torre | (226) 344 6670 | Email m.van.der.torre@rijkzwaan.com
Kivu RZ F1 (72-629)
HOT GARDEN PERFORMANCE
This year’s Sawaya Garden Trials had higher than normal temperatures, followed by lots of rain two weeks before the open house. Which flowers did well and which didn’t? Find out.
BY MELHEM SAWAYA
BELOW
This year’s garden trial open house had over 2700 varieties and drew over 400 visitors.
Summer 2018 weather was a true test in garden performance on plants. Temperatures were hotter than normal since the beginning of June, so more care was required for plants that were coming from the greenhouse and into direct sun. After the plants were established, the drip system was great. Warm leaf temperatures and cool well water with continuous fertilizer made the plants explode with growth. Then the rain started two weeks before our open house at the Sawaya Garden Trials, and that put all the petunia varieties to the test. You could see the varieties that stood up to the rain, the ones that recovered fast and the ones that were invaded by botrytis or just refused to wake up.
Some like the lantanas, angelonias, portulacas, and scaevola were slow at the beginning of the summer but picked up very fast mid-July. The double flower impatiens were like miniature roses and had no downy mildew in our trials. No downy mildew was prevalent on the other walleriana impatiens.
The summer heat was too much for the nemesia and diascia. Osteospermum flowered through the whole season so we should stop labeling it as just for cool temperature weather, but promote it for the whole season. Heat-loving crops like lantana, angelonia, portulaca, and dipladenia do excel in hot weather, and I know from other years that they do not mind cool temperatures.
In order to get any benefit from the trials, we need to learn from them so we can apply it to
the next season. It is time to get the horticultural industry on a progressive track that puts the success of the consumer as its top priority. Carrying products that look good on the store shelves and knowing that this product will not perform for the consumer is a total disgrace and lacks integrity. This past summer, the downy mildew on walleriana impatiens did not show up, so some growers jumped to the conclusion that we are to start growing impatiens walleriana again. Yes all that is grown will be sold, as long as a small fraction was grown. But remember that July 2015 season when impatiens walleriana was wiped out by downy mildew. This year, due to the lack of many impatiens grown, the fungus was not able to move from one flower bed to another. The far distances between the beds as well as the dry hot early season kept the fungus at bay. However, this is short sighted because the consumer who buys the impatiens walleriana, takes it home and has it die prematurely on them, will shop somewhere else or worse, give up on gardening.
Most of the time when we go to trial gardens we look for varieties that are good performers – which is great. What is more effective is to look for the non-performers, eliminate them from our program and send a message to the supplier.
The main purpose of the Sawaya Garden Trials is to see the varieties that perform best in our climate. For the past 17 years we have seen some genera perform well and others not quite so much. The calibrachoa increased in production by over 1000 fold, not only in Ontario, but in Canada overall. This drastic increase is due to its excellent garden performance, and the excellent show it puts on from early spring to late fall, as long as we are able to fertilize on a regular basis with every watering. The next genus that is increasing in demand faster than the supply is the Begonia boliviensis which showed an increase of at least 20 per cent from the year before, and with the new varieties, I predict there will be a 20 per cent increase every year for the next three years.
All Sawaya trial plants were donated to charity. The people who came were amazed by the quality of the plants, and were happy to pay $20 a pot for annuals even on August 20. So why are gardeners not getting the full potential beauty out of their plants?
The answer is simple; we are not communicating the information effectively to the ultimate consumer. Unless we are planning to shrink our sales by 2.5 per cent every year, we’d better get together with our buyers (store, garden centre) and official representatives of the greenhouse industry to educate the consumer. This is in addition to doing our homework in selecting the best garden performing varieties.
Here are some steps I’ve mentioned in the past few years that can help increase our sales. Normally it takes five years to adopt change, so it’s worth mentioning again:
1. Only grow the varieties that are garden-performance proven.
2. Sell the plants in larger containers than you are used to. I.e. Place the flat material in much larger cells or 4” containers, and the 4” material in 6” containers. The rule-of-thumb is: if you have to apply growth regulators more than once to make the plant fit into the container, then it is a good indicator that the container is too small for the plant. E.g. Dahlia, Blue salvia, Profusion zinnias, African marigolds, Sunpatiens, and gazania, to mention a few.
3. Plant in good potting media with no weird additives. Prolonging the plant 12 hours or a day to be watered is a false expectation for the consumer.
4. Top dressing the containers with slow-release fertilizer could be a setback for varieties that cannot take a heavy dose of fertilizer at once. That will happen when we get high
temperatures, since all the slowrelease fertilizers are released based on temperature and especially if the plants are not getting watered timely enough.
5. Provide liquid fertilizer for free, as a bonus, when they buy your plants. Mix in a 200 litre barrel, 1000 times concentrated so the consumer can dilute it to end up with approximately 150 parts per million.
6. If we don’t do anything else, we must sell simplified drip kits so the homeowner can water their plants effectively and regularly. I guarantee you that plant sales will increase three to four per cent every year rather than decrease by two to three per cent.
I have first-hand experience with people who visit our trials and they ask about our drip system. I tell them where to buy it and the simple steps needed to put it together. Those who do install the drip system make it a point to come back and thank me for the hint. They also tell me how they are going to buy many more plants because they know the plants are going to do very well and with much less work.
7. Get involved in advertising plants and their benefits.
8. In this industry, there is no sitting on the fence. If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem.
9. If anyone has any suggestions on
how to gain consumer confidence or help sales, please share them with me so I can include them with these suggestions. You will not lose sales by sharing your ideas, but on the contrary, your sales will increase because as an industry we are trying to keep consumers successful.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR TRIALS THIS SUMMER
Remember, if you have never grown any of these varieties before and would like to, just grow a small percentage to evaluate its success and consumer appeal, then you can decide to increase production or drop this variety. If you decide to increase production of a new variety after trialing it for a season, make sure you take a good look at which variety you can drop.
With the popularity of calibrachoa, you can now choose colour, size and habit. Breeders are doing a good job of classifying the series according to their habit, which helps in deciding container size for the variety. Different types of flowers add to the popularity of the calibrachoa, from star-shaped bicolour flowers and different colours along the flower margins, to colours that change with age. Since calibrachoa is taking a bigger share of the market while other varieties are on the decline (this varies with different markets), it is prudent to decrease the production of the cultivars that are not selling as they used to.
This year’s weather was an excellent test for petunias. At the beginning of the summer, the hot weather and drip irrigation made the plants grow faster than normal, followed by rain for many days. After the rain, many petunia varieties collapsed and never went back to what they were before, while others recovered with some damage, and some stayed looking great the whole time.
Here are my observations of the petunias:
• Upright varieties that do not branch much and have large leaves and flowers are the worst after rain (1).
HEADLINER— out-of-this-worldcolors
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Almost all the compact varieties that are grown in 1204 packs or cutting varieties that are advertised as compact and great for density growing fit into this category. They are also the ones that split and are never good in combinations.
• Trailing varieties with medium leaf and flower size with good branching habit, recovered well from the rain with no sign of botrytis. These varieties are good for baskets and the best in combinations because they can add texture and colour without taking over. An example of this in our trials are Petunia ColorWorks Pink Star (2) and Petunia DEKKO Lavender Eye (3), and these varieties do not have to be vegetative because Petunia Spreading Shock Wave Pink Shades, a variety from seed (4), is one colour of a whole series that fits as well in this category.
• Trailing, well-branching varieties with small flowers are not affected by rain and they look as good after the rain as before. An example in this category is Petunia Littletunia Pink
Splash (5). This category is great for hanging baskets and landscape, but it is not good in combinations, because eventually it will take over.
• Trailing, extremely well-branching habits with small leaves, dark foliage and medium-size flowers are the top performers among all petunias before the rain and after the rain, in hot weather, cool weather or any weather conditions. A great example of this would be the Supertunia Vista Bubblegum (6) which is our feature this summer on the petunia tower (see lead image on pg. 16). This series is excellent in large containers and for landscape, but not in combinations because it is too vigorous and takes over.
All calibrachoa series are getting much better year after year, and the breeders are describing their series much better, so the growers choose the habit they are looking for. There are very compact calibrachoa series, with compact, medium and vigorous growing habits. There are mounding and trailing growth habits, in
addition to whether they are day-neutral or not. I look for plants where the flower power and branching power are balanced because that is what will give long plant performance. An example of a habit like this is Calibrachoa Unique.
Golden Yellow (7) keeps branching, setting sites for the next flower bud set. That is what gives it long garden performance. Usually plants of this habit are more resistant to diseases since they are genetically active growers. This calibrachoa and most others are excellent for hanging baskets and great in combinations.
Calibrachoa Superbells Double Chiffon (8) is a mounding-type calibrachoa that has great garden performance for an exceptional show. Best in large hanging baskets.
Calibrachoa Superbells Lemon Slice (9) is a calibrachoa that does not need to be mixed with other cultivars because on its own, there is a show of yellow with striped flowers. It is one of my favorites. I like the colours in addition to its garden performance.
Geranium Calliope Large Burgundy & Large Red (10) are two interspecific
varieties supposedly of the same family, but in plants like humans, being in the same family doesn’t necessarily mean they will have the same performance or habit, especially if they were adopted. Be sure to read the characteristics of each cultivar before generalizing and making a decision according to some other colour of the same family name. The large red calliope is great in large containers and landscape.
Geranium Brocade Salmon Night (11) is a great plant for containers and hanging baskets. One of the few geraniums that have great looking leaves as well as nice flowers.
Begonia Megawatt Rose Green Leaf Improved (12) is a great fibrous begonia that thrives in the sun. Megawatt’s habit is in-between the upright early flowering of Big begonia and the later flowering, more mounding habit of the Dragon Wing begonia. Needless to say, it has great performance in the rain, sun, or cool temperatures, with no after-rain damage and no need for dead heading. If this is not a landscaper’s dream, I don’t know what is.
It was not good weather for verbena. Very hot, the flower buds opened at a
small stage and then the rain demolished them because they were soft and weak. But some defied this habit and kept on flowering like Verbena Peruviana EnduraScape Blue Improved (13) and Verbena Empress Sun Violet (14) which performed well compared to the other cultivars. With all the rain, there was no powdery mildew on the plants but botrytis was prevalent on the flowers. Verbena looks great in the early stages of the growing season but when matured, ends up being high maintenance.
Dipladenia Sun Parasol Original Pink (15) and Dipladenia Summer Romance White (16) are two colours of the Sun Parasol and the Summer Romance series that look good at the beginning of the season and they get even better with the heat. Dipladenia can take some mild drought. Dipladenia are excellent in large hanging baskets and pots when trained to climb on a trellis or teepee.
Angelonia Serenita Sky Blue (17) is the baby on the angelonia block that keeps growing, putting on a great display the whole summer long without any deadheading. Serenita looks great right after the rain, and the hotter it gets the
better it looks. It’s a great performer in any landscape.
Scaevola aemula Blessing Pink (18) like many other Scaveola has great performance – it’s up there with the angelonia. Scaveolas are excellent in hanging baskets alone or in combinations with lantana, angelonia, and in landscape. Just do not try to grow Scaveola for early season because it takes a lot of heat and light, much better if scheduled for early June.
Celosia argentea Kelos Fire Orange (19) is one of the Kelos Celosia which is marketed for potted plants, but I think they are much better for outdoor production. Very minimal dead heading if any, loves the sun and the heat, and gives a great landscape look. Kelos are also great as patio pots where they get better with the season.
Salvia Skyscraper Orange (20) is one colour of the Skyscraper series that is meant for large area landscape. Skyscraper is very vigorous; it is not meant to be grown in a pot smaller than one gallon. Great show, humming birds love it, but it needs some dead heading along the way if you do not like wild looks.
Gomphrena Truffula Pink New (21) is another large cultivar for large landscapes that loves the heat with no deadheading needed. Truffula should be grown in gallons or 6” pots at the smallest. Gomphrena Truffula Pink and Salvia Skyscraper will complement each other in creating great country-looking flower beds where room is generous. Gomphrena Truffula Pink can also be grown in large patio pots.
Coleus Burgundy Wedding Train (22) is one of the semi-trailing coleuses that
are great in combinations where they do not take over, but add texture, colour and synergy to any combination.
Impatiens Sunpatiens Vigorous Orchid (23) is one of many colours in this great series. Landscapers love it and demand more every year. I like the vigorous varieties in the landscape but they are not as easy to produce in the greenhouse. Again, the smallest container to be grown in is a gallon, so we do not need to apply any growth regulators to it. Grows in part shade but excels in full sun.
Euphorbia Glitz (24) is from seed that is much easier to propagate than cuttings because Euphorbia cuttings do not ship well. The glitz is slow to start and does not flower much until it gets established, then it flourishes and puts on great garden performance. Glitz is great grown alone, in combinations with other cultivars and in landscape.
Bidens (25) has come a long way since the first yellow cultivars. Now Bidens comes in yellow with various vigour and habits, dark leaves and different flower colours. Low energy species and does well in combinations.
Diane (26) is the marketing name for one of the perennial combinations from Dümmen Orange, where we planted the liners together at an early stage. All the combinations are first-year flowering without vernalization. I was pleasantly surprised at how the combinations gel together and put on a great show. They were one of the first items that people took at our charity sale. Other mixes are listed in the Dümmen Orange perennial catalogue or online.
Coreopsis Leading Lady Sophia (27) and Veronica Ronica Fuchsia (28) are two other examples of first-year flowering perennials that do not need any vernalization. These varieties flower from early summer to past frost. I would not be afraid to experiment with firstyear flowering perennials in annual combinations.
Viola Admire California Mix (29) and all the Admire series flower all summer long, defying the traditional thinking that violas are only for cool weather. It is time to sell proven viola varieties for the whole season and not just for early sales, which lasts two hours some years, or we miss it.
Gerbera Garvinea Sweet Glow (30) is one of the breakthroughs in gerbera breeding. Garvinea is a multi-flora that produces flowers the whole summer long, in addition to its resistance to downy mildew. This is the third or fourth year
where we’ve trialled garvineas and every year they put on a good show. Garvineas can make a nice centre for high-end combinations.
Orostachys Chinese Hat (31) is one of the succulents that we had in the trials this year. With all the heat, these tough babies were watered only once every 10 days (in full sun) even during one of the hottest summers I remember. So maybe I have to believe that succulents are a group of plants that have a place in the landscape as well as the indoors. Packaging is very important because succulents in traditional pots do not look presentable.
Senecio Angel Wings (32) are a traffic-
stopping, new tender perennial presented by Emerald Coast Growers. You won’t be able to resist touching the long, broad velvety leaves of dazzling matte silver with toothy edges. Easy to grow and with gorgeous, striking colour, Angel Wings is an exciting design option for mixed containers or borders. It reaches approximately 8 to 16 inches high and is hardy in Zones 8 to 10.
Amazel Basil (33) grows great in a patio pot, vigorous, strong and best of all, no downy mildew. The leaves are tender and taste good.
Gypsophila Festival White (34) is not a new variety, but new for patio containers. The way you see it
in this picture, that is how it looked year-round. Gypsophila is added to every cut flower arrangement; why not experiment in combination with other cultivars in patio pots?
For more trial pictures, visit sawayagardentrials.ca. Any questions or comments are welcome to: mel@focusgreenhousemanagement.com
Melhem Sawaya of Focus Greenhouse Management is a consultant and research coordinator to the horticultural industry. You can reach him by email at: mel@focusgreenhousemanagement.com.
A different light for ornamental grasses
Using blue LEDs on Pennisetum can lead to bushier and more vigorous plants with deeper red colouration.
BY MICHEL SENECAL AND LISA TELLIER
Starting a decade ago, researchers focused on the potential of LED (light-emitting diode) lighting for greenhouse horticultural crops, whether ornamental or vegetable. Usually, high pressure sodium lamps (HPS) are the most used in the greenhouse industry around the world. Their efficiency for converting electrical energy into radiant energy (or photosynthetically active radiation, PAR (400 to 700 nm)) is between 26 to 30 per cent. Depending on the lamp model, HPS lamps have between seven and 10 per cent emission in the blue wavelengths (400 to 495 nm). The emission spectrum of an HPS lamp cannot be modified to suit the more specific needs of crop
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species and those of the market. Among all plantspecific wavelengths, blue wavelengths are known to favour photosynthesis and development of anthocyanins, which are responsible for the purple colouration found in plants. In contrast to HPS, LEDs allow such a customization of the spectrum, i.e. selecting only pure blue (wavelengths 450 to 495 nm). Hence, their use in greenhouses would enhance purple pigmentation of purple ornamental grass.
Les Entreprises Normand Tellier Inc. in St-Félix-de-Valois, Québec owns the DECOStyle® brand which supplies to distributors (Ball Horticulture, Norseco, JVK, Frank Zyromski
Figure 1. Overview of the facility, LED illumination at 100 µmol/m2/s at 460 nm.
Figure 2. Pennisetum x advena ‘Fireworks’ in 50 cells. Left: 14 days of blue LEDs (Feb. 27 to March 13). Right: 28 days of HPS.
Greenhouses). However, during the winter production and shipping periods (January to the beginning of March), the low level of natural illumination, even with the addition of HPS lamps, does not make it possible to obtain optimal purple colouration in Pennisetum and in other species at the liner stage. Plants remain pale green to light purple. The company decided to install blue LED fixtures to get better quality plants with deeper colouration – and they got it. Here was the set-up (Fig. 1):
• Placement of 30 one-metre long LED
HPS lighting (Feb. 13 to March 13). As shown in Fig. 2, HPS contributed little to the colouration. Tiller number increased with lighting time (14 days to 28 days), while this number remained stable under HPS lighting. On average, tillers were more vigorous, height was five cm higher and leaves were one to two mm wider than with HPS.
Pennisetum x advena ‘Rubrum’
A 14-day treatment under blue LED lighting resulted in better appearance
compared to a 28-day treatment with HPS lamps. Both pigmentation and vigour were improved (Figure 3).
TRADITIONAL HYBRID LED
3. Pennisetum x advena ‘Rubrum’ in 50 cells. Left: 14 days of blue LEDs (Feb. 27 to March 13).
28 days of HPS.
treatment, the root system was more developed, plants were three cm taller and leaves were wider by two to three mm.
CONCLUSIONS
Data observations and analysis showed that LED lighting contributed to the improvement of liner plant quality. Blue radiation, as cited in the literature, is favourable for photosynthesis and the production of anthocyanin pigments in Pennisetum
All cultivars had more robust foliage, superior colouration and fewer leaves affected by gray mould. Purple cultivars from other species (Musa, Ensete, Colocasia) were tested under LED lighting and also rapidly developed purplish colouration. The combined positive effects of blue radiation improved the quality of these three grass cultivars.
Tillering is an important aspect in the production of quality ornamental grasses. Under LEDs, there was a constant progression of tiller number per plant, except for P. x advena rubrum where it was less accentuated. Under HPS, this progression was slower. For ‘Prince’ and ‘Firework’, tiller mortality under HPS was observed but was significantly less under LED treatment. Mortality reflects a lack of vigour, favouring gray mould development (Botrytis spp.). Scientific literature shows that LED lighting with a single blue beam controls gray mould on lettuce and tomato. Although the test was not scientifically designed to determine the effect of blue
4. Pennisetump. “Prince” tiller number after 0, 14 and 28 days of lighting using HPS or LED.
wavelengths on Botrytis, one can assume that, in regards to the results, LED lighting could have an anti-botrytic effect. This deduction would require additional scientific experiments to establish its full scope and effects on a broader spectrum of species and cultivars.
Finally, installing LED bars for an average illumination of 100 µmol /m2/s was expensive. The cost of lighting and installation was about five to seven times more expensive than HPS. These results showed the same trend as those presented by Nelson and Bugbee (2014). Although it is possible to obtain better quality, longer lamp life and a repressive effect on Botrytis, DECOStyle® will need to assess whether installing this technology on a larger surface will be worthwhile in the long run.
The authors would like to acknowledge the Québec Ministry of Agriculture and Jean-Louis Legault from Lidlum lighting for their financial and technical contributions.
Michel Senecal is a greenhouse consultant in Montréal. Lisa Tellier is head manager and director of research and development at Entreprises Normand Tellier Inc.
REFERENCES
1. Lopez R and Owen G. 2015. Customizing Crop Foliage Color With LEDs: Ornamental Crops. http://www. greenhousegrower.com/technology/customizing-cropfoliage-color-with-leds-ornamental-crops/
2. Lopez R. 2015. Uncovering the potential uses for lightemitting diodes in greenhouses and indoor production of ornamental and leafy green crop. Webinar conference. February 13. Philips Lighting.
3. Kook HL et al. 2013. Blue LED (light-emitting diodes)mediated growth promotion and control of Botrytis disease in lettuce. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B - Soil & Plant Science: 61 63(3)
4. Kim K, Kook H, Jang J, Lee W, Kamala-Kannan S, et al. 2013. The Effect of Blue-light-emitting Diodes on Antioxidant Properties and Resistance to Botrytis cinerea in Tomato. J Plant Pathol Microb 4:203.
5. Nelson JA and Bugbee B. 2014. Economic Analysis of Greenhouse Lighting: Light Emitting Diodes vs. High Intensity Discharge Fixtures. PLOS ONE 9(6): e99010. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0099010
Figure
Right:
Figure
Figure 5. Pennisetumpurpureum ’Prince’ in 32 cells. Left: After 28 days of blue LEDs, the base of the plants are healthier (fewer leaves and dead stems). Right: After 28 days of HPS treatment, there are many dead leaves and stems at the base of the plants. This promotes fungal infections.
ARE YOU LIGHTING for optimum plant growth?
When light is insufficient, it could hinder crop development and yields. Find out how much light is needed, how to measure existing light levels and the amount of light missing from your operation.
BY DR. ABHAY THOSAR
Light is a prerequisite for photosynthetic activity for all crops whether the crops are grown in an open field or grown under cover. When light is insufficient, healthy plant development is hindered, which manifests in a variety of crop issues including poor root development, susceptibility to diseases and pests, stunted growth, delayed flowering, stretch, and low transplant viability.
In contrast, the delivery of optimal light – either natural or artificial – results in faster flowering, strong root development, improved plant structure and better yields. With the development of LED lighting technology, light can now be manipulated to enhance and improve plant growth and drive certain
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plant photomorphogenic responses. These light-induced changes are one of the key advantages to using new supplemental LED lighting technology.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND LIGHT
All crops need light for photosynthesis, which is the biochemical process by which carbohydrates are synthesized from water and carbon dioxide in the presence of light. Carbohydrates synthesized in this process are stored in the plant, then utilized for various processes. They’re channeled to the different plant parts based on activity and need. The requirement of carbohydrates varies based on a plant’s growth and developmental stage, as well as cultivar.
This greenhouse sunlight illustration shows the challenge of winter growing as the sun sits lower on the horizon.
Crops can utilize any light that reaches the plant. However, to optimize crop production, growers should strive to supply optimum light levels to their specific crop or cultivar. When considering supplemental lighting for your greenhouse operation, it is important to evaluate the following four factors:
1. Quantity (light intensity)
2. Duration
3. Quality (spectrum)
4. Distribution (uniformity)
DETERMINING OPTIMUM LIGHT LEVELS
When we focus on the light requirement of plants, we consider photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), which is a measure of light between 400-700 nanometres.
The amount of PAR light that crops need for growth depends upon the crop and crop stage, and may vary slightly by cultivar. The optimal amount of light is known as the daily light integral (DLI) and is expressed as mol/m2/day. It measures the quantity of photons (in mols) hitting an area of one square metre over a 24-hour period.
Note: Foot candles and lux/lumens have been, and in some cases are still being used to measure light; however, both measure light that is detectable to the human eye and are not the best or most effective way to measure light for horticultural applications.
Below is a general guideline of DLI levels that support optimal growth for various crop categories:
Bedding plants (seeded and un-rooted cuttings):
10-12 mol/m2/day
Lettuce: 12-18 mol/m2/day
Leafy greens: 8-12 mol/m2/day
Tomato: 20-25 mol/m2/day
Berries: 15-25 mol/m2/day
Cannabis: 20-40 mol/m2/day
Once you know the optimum DLI for your crop, you can then begin determining the supplemental light needed.
Here is a scenario with Heuchera to demonstrate how to calculate the amount of daily supplemental light needed:
Recommended DLI for high-quality Heuchera crop: 12 mols
Light measured inside greenhouse at crop level: -5 mols
Light deficiency or supplemental light needed: 7 mols
MOLS AND MICROMOLES
While DLI is a measurement of the quantity of photons over a 24-hour period, photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) is a measurement of the quantity of photons or light particles hitting an area of one square metre every second or simply stated as µmol/m2/s .
To determine your supplemental lighting needs in PPFD, the first step is to convert the supplemental light needed from mol/m2/day to µmol/m2/s and compare it to your measured light levels at the crop canopy level. The conversion would be:
(Target mols per day x 1,000,000) / (No. of seconds in one hour x No. of lighting hours)
Back to our scenario with the Heuchera crop. The crop will be lit for 18 hours; thus, the conversion is as follows: (7 x 1,000,000) / (3600 x 18) = 108 µmol /m2/s
If the calculations seem a little too complex or complicated, be sure to work with a reputable lighting supplier or partner to help you with this calculation. In fact, your lighting supplier
Van Belle Nursery in Abbotsford, BC shows a comparison of potted hydrangea grown under LEDs (left) vs potted hydrangea grown under natural light for the same time period.
should work closely with you to measure light levels and then develop a customized light plan based on your crop challenges and business objectives.
MEASURING LIGHT
Light transmission is affected by various structural factors including age and cleanliness of the glazing, as well as the infrastructure inside the greenhouse (e.g. baskets hanging above the bedding plant trays). It is suggested that you measure and validate the light transmission from the greenhouse glazing.
Gull Valley Greenhouses in Blackfalds, AB is using LEDs with their high-wire tomatoes and lettuces.
First, measure the light levels outside the greenhouse and then measure the light inside the greenhouse at plant canopy level. Once transmission levels are verified through measurement, the daily accumulated natural light can be calculated using the software installed on the computer in your greenhouse (e.g. Argus, Priva, etc.).
Based on this number you can determine the deficit of mols/day that is needed from a supplemental light source. Calculate the quantity of light needed for
the number of hours that you can run the lights. Once you have all these numbers you can more accurately evaluate your supplemental lighting options.
To accurately measure light, it is important to use a light meter that measures in µmol/m2/s. I do not recommend using light meters that measure in foot candles or lux. As mentioned earlier, foot candles and lux/lumens, while still being used by some in the horticultural industry, are measurements of light that is only
detectable to the human eye and therefore, not an effective way to measure light for horticulture applications. For example, deep red and far red are not detectable to the human eye but they play a very important role in photosynthesis.
SELECTING YOUR SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHT SOURCE
For some greenhouse operations, the application of high-pressure sodium (HPS) is not a feasible option since the electrical infrastructure of the greenhouse is a limiting factor. In addition, running HPS lights for 18 hours may be cost prohibitive.
Due to higher efficiency and lower power consumption, LED lighting allows growers to deliver optimum quantity as well as quality light for a longer period while managing electrical costs.
When evaluating different lighting options, it is essential that your lighting supplier prepare an accurate layout and lighting plan. The light distribution is important for the consistency of the young plants. Also, it is as important to measure the light levels after installation to ensure the light levels are as projected in the light plan. If there are “hot spots” or more intense zones under the supplemental lighting, these will be challenges for a grower regardless of the grower’s skill or knowledge.
During such situations when the grower knows the limitations, it would be good to look for other supplemental lighting options. The investment cost for LEDs may appear to be higher initially, however, there are calculations available where the grower can look at the return on investment from an electrical standpoint, comparing it with traditional lighting over time versus the initial capital expenditure.
Another important thing to consider is the effect of specific wavelengths on the photomorphogenic response of the plants compared to the plant’s response under traditional lighting. These plant responses can be quantified (e.g. higher yields, more blooms) and used in payback or ROI calculations.
In my next article, I will share information about the quality of light, the effect of different light spectrums on crop growth, and the benefits observed in the plants through our research with growers and research facilities.
Abhay Thosar, PhD is a senior plant specialist with Signify (formerly known as Philips Lighting). He can be reached at abhay.thosar@signify.com.
Discover my recipe for growth
John Bonner Great Lakes Growers, Burton, Ohio
“I’ve been intrigued by the promises and potential of LEDs for a couple years, which is why we initiated a trial here at Great Lakes Growers to compare results of growing under HPS to growing under Philips LED toplighting. With the Philips LEDs, we noted both quantitative and qualitative improvements. We saw an increase in production speed and an increase in both dry weight and mass. We observed less tip burn. And we noted deeper, darker, richer colors in our red leaf lettuces. It’s for these reasons, we switched to Philips LED toplighting.”
COLD GROWTH IN NORTHERN CLIMATES
Photo
GROWTH CLIMATES
LEFT
Growing North’s two new domes in Arviat, Nunavut are expected to be in operation for Spring 2019.
Eight-dollar heads of lettuce in Churchill, Manitoba. Twenty-sevendollar bunches of asparagus in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. Thirteen-dollar cauliflower in Iqaluit, Nunavut. For any Canadian paying attention, it’s no longer a dirty secret that food costs a lot more in the north than other parts of the country and that people are struggling to afford it.
This is particularly true in Nunavut, where, according to a 2016 report from the Conference Board of Canada, one in four people are moderately to severely food insecure. For Nunavut Inuit, that number rises to just over fifty per cent of the population. In other words, about eight thousand people in the region don’t have reliable access to a sufficient quantity of healthy food they can afford.
The reasons for these sobering numbers are complex and multifaceted, ranging from high shipping costs to poverty to declines in plant and animal populations to climate and geographic challenges. Yet as seemingly impenetrable as these barriers appear to be, there’s a growing number of tech-savvy entrepreneurs who disagree. And they believe indoor farms and greenhouses are one of the keys to begin getting more nutritious, affordable food into the hands of people who need it most.
GROWING NORTH
One of those entrepreneurs is Ben Canning, who grew up on a farm outside of Toronto. While his family was able to produce their own food, he realized that this wasn’t the case for
all rural Canadians – especially those living in very remote regions. About five years ago, he and Stefany Nieto launched Growing North as Ryerson University students. Their goal was to help northern communities — particularly in Nunavut — become food sovereign by building infrastructure that sustainably grows fresh produce.
“As we were doing our research and visiting Nunavut,” says Canning, “one of the things we kept hearing was that all the tech exists for this, and it’d be so easy to do it for even six months of the year, but no one was actually doing it. We got sick and tired of hearing that, and so decided we were going to do it.”
And what they did was purchase a Growing Dome greenhouse kit from a Colorado-based company called Growing Spaces and take it to Naujaat, Nunavut, an Inuit hamlet on the northern shore of Hudson Bay right on the Arctic Circle. There they and a group of locals constructed the 1,300-square foot polycarbonate dome with a large tank of water on the north side that acts as a thermal mass, helping keep the internal temperature between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius. Water itself is trucked in from nearby freshwater lakes, though they save about 20 times more water than with traditional methods by using a feedback loop system.
They chose this particular greenhouse dome because it came with everything they needed and, more importantly, it can withstand
How two tech-savvy companies are trying to reduce food insecurity in the north
BY JORDAN WHITEHOUSE
winds of up to 170 km/h and seven feet of direct snow. It’s also culturally relevant (people in the community call it their “green igloo”).
Inside they use raised soil beds and 1.5-metre-tall vertical hydroponic towers to grow a wide range of leafy greens — kale, spinach, lettuce, chard — and other veggies like carrots, turnips, potatoes, beans, beets, radishes and cauliflower. It all gets sold at farmers’ markets and to a food bank at about half the cost of what’s available at local stores.
All of the technology has been working quite well, says Canning, but the biggest challenge has been figuring out how to best deliver education around growing food. What some may perceive as common knowledge — like where a bean comes from or potatoes grow underground — is not necessarily known due to cultural and geographical differences. To address these knowledge gaps, they’ve incorporated a few different educational pieces including an Arctic Farmers Program wherein they teach horticultural
practices, entrepreneurship and healthy eating in the local high school.
Right now, the greenhouse is in operation for six months of the year, but this year will be their first foray into winter growing, which obviously has its own technological challenges to overcome (more on those in a minute). Two more year-round Growing North greenhouses are in the works for Arviat, Nunavut, about 700 kilometres south of Naujaat.
THE GROWCER
The Growcer’s year-round indoor farms couldn’t be more different than those of Growing North. Instead of polycarbonate domes, these are 40-foot-long enclosed steel rectangles — as in refurbished shipping containers once used for transporting food. Inside, it looks like a mini supermarket with a central aisle and shelves on the left and right where usually leafy greens, some brassicas and herbs grow. The difference is that LED lights are on the underside of each shelf.
Right now, the Ottawa-based company has eleven of their systems in the north: one in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, another in Kuujjuaq, Quebec, a third in Churchill, Manitoba, and eight more in Alaska.
Co-founder Corey Ellis says that they went with shipping containers because the economics made sense. “One of the big reasons why working in the north is expensive is just because of the remote nature of the work and the shipping costs. And so if we were able to eliminate that by giving the shipping company a standard platform that they’re used to seeing, we wouldn’t incur any higher costs.”
The base price for one of these is about $180,000, and that includes a two-day installation and a three-day training session. After a few months, most operators only need to spend about 12 to 14 hours per week managing the farm, says Ellis, because these are essentially “plug-and-play” systems. That is, they come with everything needed, and only require power, a 1,900-litre water refill every month, a 20-pound propane tank and an annual material replenishment.
For most communities, these are also commercial systems intended to generate a profit for owners. Which is another reason why they went with shipping containers, says Ellis. “We’re finding that as people make investments and earn money, they reinvest those and buy more systems that can be locked right into the other containers.” Some of those systems are commercial kitchens and dry storage
units, which The Growcer also sells. “It’s kind of like Lego pieces coming together to adapt to each customer and what they’re trying to do.”
For northern consumers, who usually buy Growcer-grown veggies from grocery stores, it all means lower prices. That eightdollar lettuce in Churchill, Manitoba, for example, now costs about half that.
ENERGY CHALLENGES
As different as Growing North and The Growcer are in their technological approaches, both have a common foe: high energy costs. In the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, households pay, on average, more than 30 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh) — the Canadian average is about 13 cents per kwh. In Naujaat, Nunavut, where Growing North’s first greenhouse is located, residents pay over 70 cents per kwh.
The Growing North team is well aware of these numbers, and they know that if they want to use LEDs and still heat the greenhouse this winter, they need to come up with a financially sustainable solution. That’s why they’ve experimented with a few different options, including a combined heating and power unit designed by Ryerson’s engineering department that would take organic material like compost, coffee grinds and even clothing and convert it into power.
They believe a more likely solution, however, will be something that harnesses all of the sunlight the community gets in the summer, which is about 20 hours per day at its peak. “We’ve been talking with the energy company about net metering essentially, where we provide much more solar energy to them in the summer and then pull it back when we need it in the winter,” says Canning. “It’s not as green as we’d like it to be, but it could potentially work.”
With The Growcer’s self-contained systems, owners can also use solar power, or connect to the grid or use oil or natural gas. But Corey Ellis says that because the containers are so well insulated, they don’t need to be heated all that much until the outside temperature reaches about minus 25 degrees Celsius.
All of those LED lights also help with keeping things toasty inside, he adds. Before landing on the LEDs they did, they compared about three dozen suppliers. They went with these, which are at the higher end of the price spectrum, because they’re a lot more efficient than most they’ve investigated. “And even though they are expensive, those costs are recouped over time because you’re saving so much on power,” says Ellis.
Ben Canning and Stefany Nieto launched Growing North to help northern communities become food sovereign.
Photo credit: Growing North
Photo credit: Churchillscience.ca
Come Celebrate Our 60th Anniversary with us!
Myst Lounge – 33rd Floor (South Tower) Hilton Hotel and Suites
Wednesday October 3rd, 6:30 pm – 9 pm
The Growers’ Choice ence
Or come and visit us at the Greenhouse Conference – Booth 959
Managing the rootzone: Irrigation volumes and EC, WC graphs
A structured irrigation strategy can help optimize the crop’s rootzone and improve yields.
BY WILLEM GERICKE
In this article, we will focus on how to plan and execute a structured irrigation strategy, thus optimizing the rootzone, and consequently decreasing plant stress and potentially increasing yields. There are a couple of factors to consider when planning an irrigation strategy. Grodan has devised the 6-Phase model for growing vegetable crops, a model where the growing period of a crop is divided into six phases. Phase 1 starts where the block is transplanted onto the slab, and Phase 6 ends when the last fruit is harvested. As most growers are currently in maximum production or Phase 5, we will interpret two different GroSens graphs which illustrate key points of interest. Note: GroSens measuring unit for WC is percentage.
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SUBSTRATE VOLUME
It all starts by having the right substrate volume. This is one critical factor, which can either have a vegetative or generative action on the crop. The ideal substrate volume for commercial vegetables is between 7.5 to 9.0 L/m 2. When the substrate volume is on the lean side (less than 7.5 L/m 2), it creates a more generative root zone, which forces the grower to increase the irrigation frequency, thus stimulating vegetative growth. During very generative growing conditions this approach is manageable, however, root health and fruit quality will be sacrificed during vegetative climatic conditions. Another problem is that the overnight dry back can become too severe during normal start
Irrigation strategies should consider multiple factors, including substrate volume, drain holes, irrigation volumes, crop phase, water content and electrical conductivity within the rockwool slab.
and stop times, when using a small substrate volume. To counteract this, the grower must either start to irrigate earlier and stop later, or add a night cycle or two, which on the other hand can influence the plant’s physiology.
The opposite is also true. When the substrate volume is larger than 9.0 L/m 2, it will result in plants growing vegetatively due to a small overnight dry back (3 to 5%). This makes steering the WC more difficult without using an extremely generative irrigation strategy (infrequent irrigation cycles). Therefore, root quality is compromised as well as nutrient refreshment.
DRAIN HOLES
Drain holes have a profound effect on WC (water content) and EC (electrical conductivity) management in the slabs. It is recommended, when used on gutters, that one to two drain holes are cut at the lowest point per 1.33 linear metre of a Grodan slab. It is advised that the drain holes are cut on the sides of the slab, approximately 2 to 3 cm from the edge of the rockwool. The cuts should be made from underneath the
slab in an upward direction, and the foil must be opened, thus ensuring the efficiency of the drain holes. Opening the foil will ensure that the drain holes stay open, and the roots are air-pruned. When the slab is longer than 1.33 m, drain holes can be cut in the middle of the slab, but should never be made underneath a block. When this is done, the emitted water from the dripper will simply find the path of least resistance, causing false drain. Water content re-saturation and EC refreshment in the slab will be compromised, and there can be differences in WC and EC readings within the slab. When multiple blocks are used on a slab, and the distance between the blocks is limited, attention should be paid to the distance from the dripper in the block to the drain hole. The ideal distance from dripper to drain hole is 20 cm, and the dripper can simply be moved to the other side of a block, to increase the distance. This will have a beneficial effect on WC re-saturation and EC refreshment, and will also decrease variance within a slab.
CALCULATING IRRIGATION VOLUME
A structured irrigation strategy is necessary to generate a balanced plant, and can aid in counter steering a plant, as determined through crop registration. The first four to six irrigation cycles in the morning should range between 4 to 6% of the substrate volume, and is normally followed by irrigation cycles of 3% of the substrate volume. The following calculations will help to illustrate.
Determining slab volume:
Slab dimension: 100 cm x 20 cm x 7.5
cm = 15 000 mL or 15 L slab volume.
Blocks per slab: 4
Heads per block: 2
Plant density: 4.2
Drippers per slab: 6
Determining substrate volume per m 2:
15 000 mL / (4 blocks x 2 heads) = 1875 mL
1875 mL x (4.2 plant density) = 7875 mL or 7.875 L/m 2 of substrate volume
The time needed to irrigate 100 mL/ dripper when using a 2.2 L/hr dripper is determined as follows: 2200 mL (dripper) per 60 minutes (1 hour) = 36.67 mL/minute, thus: (100 mL) / (36.67 mL/ minute) = 2.72 minutes or 163 seconds.
The same calculations apply when determining a smaller shot of 3% or a larger shot of 6%.
The varying cycle size of 4 to 6% is determined by a combination of factors which are influenced by the season, start and stop times and overnight dry back. Prominent differences between Fig 1 and Fig 2 will be touched on, emphasizing the key points to focus on, which will reduce plant stress and
Fig 1. GroSens graph illustrating the water content (WC), electrical conductivity (EC) and water temperature (T) regime within a Grodan slab.
potentially generate a stable maximum production, which is generated through a structured irrigation strategy.
WATER CONTENT PROFILE
Any grower knows that when plant stress is reduced, a plant will function better. This can be accomplished through applying a structured irrigation strategy per plant growing phase in conjunction with the climate. The first thing to note when analyzing the WC (blue line) in Fig 1 is that there is no WC gradient decrease (purple square) just before the first morning irrigation cycles commence on the different days. This shows that the plants weren’t transpiring when the first irrigation cycle was given, potentially leading to active water uptake or as most growers refer to it, as increased root pressure, which can negatively influence plant physiology. Remember the golden rule, transpiration before irrigation!
Second is the fluctuating morning WC percentage over three days (grey line), varying between 60 and 68% before the morning cycles commence. This varying morning WC percentage creates plant stress that needs to be minimalized, and is determined by the irrigation start and stop times and overnight dry back. A late start and early stop time will generate a steep WC gradient, resulting in a big dry back (black square). In this scenario three night shots were given in Fig 1. to counteract the overnight dry back from becoming too severe, thus avoiding a too-low morning WC percentage. Night cycles are normally applied to compensate for
incorrect start and stop times, thus limiting severe overnight WC decreases. It can also be necessary to give night cycles when the substrate volume is on the lean side, and the heating pipes are on, stimulating a generative growing climate and reducing the slab WC.
The morning cycle volume (4 to 6% of the substrate volume) is determined by the previous night’s dry back, and when the two days are compared it is evident that eight cycles were needed on May 31 vs the five cycles on June 1. If the eight cycles were reduced to five to six cycles while increasing the volume, drain would have been realized earlier and simultaneously increased the efficiency of EC control. The large morning cycles will re-saturate the WC in the slab and simultaneously refresh the EC. Also, the large morning cycles (between 4 to 6%) will ensure that drain is realized on time, thus reducing the EC (red line) before noon. It is advised that the irrigation cycles start two to three hours after sunrise and is big enough to realize drain at around 400 J/cm 2 or around 600 W/m 2, or four to five hours after sunrise. The small irrigation cycles observed in Fig 1. represent a nearly flat line, thus indicating very small dry backs between the cycles. To ensure that the oxygen levels in the slabs are replenished, the WC dry back percentage between the cycles must decrease between 1.5 to 2% before the next irrigation cycle is re-applied. Following this action will ensure that the rootzone stays active, during changing climatic conditions. Also, bear in mind that dissolved oxygen (DO) levels decrease with an increase in water temperature. The decreasing dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the slabs have a profound negative effect on root formation. Newly formed roots are necessary to ensure the active uptake of water and nutrients – this emphasizes the importance of focusing on start and stop times as well as overnight dry back in conjunction with changing climatic conditions. The first key point to focus on when interpreting Fig 2 is the steep WC decrease (between 1 to 2%) which occurs after dawn until the first irrigation cycle starts. Each day tends to have the same curved decrease in WC, and this clearly signifies that the plants were transpiring before irrigation started. It is a well-known fact that root hairs increase the root area and helps with water and nutrient absorption. Also, root hairs are actively initiated after sunrise until the first irrigation, and they are formed within hours. When there is little time from sunrise until first irrigation, root hair formation can be sacrificed. Therefore, it’s important to
Fig 2. GroSens graph illustrating a stable day dynamic WC and EC profile despite the changing climatic conditions
ensure that plants are actively transpiring before irrigation is activated. The starting WC percentage varies by only 2% over a seven-day period, which has a positive influence on rootzone management during the maximum production phase. This was accomplished despite the changing water temperature (green line) indicating a varying climate, and was achieved by focusing on the irrigation start and stop times and achieving a stable overnight dry back between 7 to 8%.
Although the number of morning irrigation cycles and water temperature (green line) differed between Thursday and Friday, the day dynamic WC percentage stayed stable between 64 to 65%, and it was achieved by changing the number and volume of irrigation cycles needed to reach the day dynamic WC percentage. Thus, the volume and number of irrigation cycles necessary to accomplish this was determined by the overnight WC decrease (dry back). An overnight dry back of between 8 to 10% is adequate to maintain an active rootzone. This is achieved by generating a 3% dry back over a threehour period since the last irrigation ceased. It is clear to see that the irrigation morning volumes were large enough as the EC was reduced effectively before noon, and was stabilized during the rest of the irrigation cycles. This is paramount, as plant stress is severely reduced by having the lowest EC during the highest radiation. To achieve this, drain must start around 400 J/cm2 or at around 600 W/m2. Although, the irrigation cycles that followed the large morning cycles (blue line) were
small, there was sufficient WC dry back between the cycles as the graph amplitudes varied around 1.5%, thus ensuring an oxygenated slab and maintaining an active rootzone during maximum production.
TAKEAWAYS
• Small and large substrate volumes influence the ability to control the WC and EC within the rootzone; small substrate volumes force vegetative irrigation strategies and vice versa
• The quantity and placement of drain holes per slab will influence the WC percentage steerability and EC refreshment within the slab
• Irrigation volume strategies are calculated per substrate volume which differs between growers, and large morning cycles between 4 to 6% of the substrate volume is used to re-saturate the WC and refresh the EC, while smaller 3% cycles are used in the afternoon to maintain the day WC and stabilize the EC
• Maximum production is enhanced by maintaining a stable day dynamic WC and the EC is controlled in a managed way through utilizing a structured irrigation strategy
Willem Gericke is a technical advisor at the Grodan Group. He recently submitted his MSc. thesis at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Email him at willem.gericke@grodan.com
hydroponic food production
seventh edition
Hydroponic Food Production, Seventh Edition is a comprehensive guide to soilless culture with extensively new and updated contents from the previous edition published in 2001. The book:
• shows the reader how to set up a hydroponic operation using the many hydroponic cultures presently used in the industry to grow vegetable crops
• provides background in plant physiology and nutrition essential for growing these crops
• describes nutrient formulations and their applications in nutrient solutions with calculations
This practical guide to soilless growing practices provides detailed information on how to design, set up, and operate hydroponic culture systems. Featuring more than 500 photographs, drawings, and tables, the seventh edition of this bestselling book has been extensively updated and expanded.
The text describes the most successful growing cultures to use with specific crops and details media as well as hydroponic techniques. Chapters cover nutrient uptake and mixing as well as deficiencies and their symptoms, plant nutrition, nutrient solution, water culture, tropical hydroponics and special applications, plant culture, nutrient film technique, gravel culture, and more.
TAKING BUYER’S REGRET OUT OF COGENERATION
A step-by-step primer to help guide your decision making.
BY BOB HAWKESWORTH AND JAMES WILLIAMS
Is cogeneration the latest innovation for greenhouse growers or just a passing fad? It’s understandable why growers are assessing the potential. The concept of using natural gas to efficiently provide both electricity and heat is compelling. Once the additional benefits of improved power reliability, flexible power pricing, energy cost control, and reduced emissions are factored in, cogeneration seems to be a slam dunk. “Where can I sign up?” you’ll ask.
But, buyer beware! What is right for your competitor across the street might be wrong for you. Utility rates, the design of your facility and your seasonal operations are only a few variables that can make or break the benefits of
ABOVE
cogeneration.
This article is a step-by-step primer to guide your thinking. It is not essential to do all these steps in the order listed here, but they must all be considered, so that whatever decision you make, it is right for you.
STEP 1: GET A GRIP ON YOUR USE OF ENERGY
It’s amazing how many growers do not understand their energy use. How much is used for lighting, for cooling, for heating? You need to know when you use energy and why. It will vary widely by time of day, month and season. If your site has a big need for cooling, you may not see a benefit from a cogen that is producing electricity
Doef’s Greenhouses in Lacombe, Alberta is partnering with Horseshoe Power to obtain electricity, heat and scrubbed CO2 from Horseshoe’s cogeneration system which will also supply electricity to the Alberta grid. This partnership moved forward following Doef’s undertaking of a detailed cost/ benefit assessment to ensure the project was a good fit.
Cost
Value Difference
and giving off unneeded heat. An energy analysis will provide you with a baseline; a template for measuring energy savings through the project. It is also vital for knowing what size of cogen unit might be appropriate for your site.
STEP 2: KNOW WHAT YOUR ENERGY IS COSTING YOU
Understand the utility rates you pay. This is essential to determine the payback on any energy project. Alberta tends to have low natural gas and power costs. Ontario’s higher
Excess or Deficit?
Where will it go?
Does value exceed cost?
natural gas costs and electricity market design could make cogen a boon in some scenarios and a bust in others. The life of your equipment should ideally be more than 10 years, so investigate the long-term projections for your local energy markets. Getting the technology right is just the beginning. How you manage a cogen and the purchase of natural gas will also impact your outcomes.
STEP 3: DO YOUR ENERGY CONSERVATION MEASURES FIRST
Do you use lights in your operations? If so, have you switched from using HPS lights to using LED lights? LED lights require less electricity. But the less efficient HPS lights might reduce your need for supplementary heating. A full system study of your greenhouse will help identify efficiency measures as well as overall energy needs. Minimizing energy needs first will reduce the required size of any generator, and will influence the overall business case.
STEP 4: REALLY ASK YOURSELF…WHAT DO YOU WANT A COGEN TO DO?
Once you have viable data, you can answer the key questions for your specific operation. Do you just need backup power during outages? Do you want to disengage from the grid during peak pricing/demand response? Would a cogen provide you with electricity for part or all of your operation on an ongoing basis? Will a cogen lower your energy costs overall?
The number of hours you would be running your cogen, and the time of year you need it, will influence the right system for you. For example, when the cogeneration unit and HPS lights are both operating at night, they may provide more heat than is needed. If planned properly, the nighttime excess heat could be captured and stored in boilers to be used in the greenhouse later in the day.
STEP 5: FINALIZE YOUR BUSINESS CASE – ISLAND OR GRID CONNECTED?
Even if your cogeneration assessment looks promising, there is still a key decision before finalizing your business case. Will your cogeneration system operate in parallel to the electricity grid? The grid would provide you with backup power in case your system fails. Alternatively, you may want your cogen
to operate fully independently from the grid. This is known as “islanding”. In some jurisdictions, there can be significant charges for remaining connected to the grid. These charges might make islanding a very attractive option.
Cogeneration units have trade-offs. If they are sized to meet your onsite peak energy use, they will supply too much heat and power for regular operations. Larger units are typically more efficient, however. If your local utility is willing to purchase your excess power, installing a larger unit may enhance your business case.
STEP 6: ENSURE YOUR UTILITIES CAN DELIVER
Once you know the optimal size for your cogeneration unit, contact your utilities to confirm if they can meet your needs. Large cogen projects often require infrastructure upgrades for connection to both gas and electric distribution systems. Overcoming these issues can require time and money. It is best to speak to the utility and plan for these issues before investing in any units.
STEP 7: COMPARE VENDOR OPTIONS
Cogeneration support can be acquired through various business models, including purchasing and operating yourself; a timebound lease agreement with a vendor; and an agreement to purchase power and/or heat from a third-party cogen owner. Each of these models will come with different conditions, risks, costs and benefits; and within each model, there will be multiple vendors who compete with different pricing and conditions. It is critical to understand the full package being sold, in conjunction with your on-site needs, and to shop around so you are comfortable you’re getting a deal that is the right fit for you. In summary, adding cogeneration is an expensive undertaking. It requires careful thought and planning. Answering these questions will help you properly determine if a cogen is right for your greenhouse. It is worthwhile to understand your own needs, research options available, and consider multiple vendors before moving ahead. Any vendor that is not asking these same questions isn’t really working with your best interests in mind. As always, hiring a credible and independent energy management consultant to walk with you through these steps is always a prudent and wise investment.
Bob Hawkesworth is an energy consultant and James Williams is an energy analyst at 360 Energy.
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Box 530, 105 Donly Dr. S., Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5
3 years old, 11,000 sq ft. building on 1 acre of land, Westbrook Greenhouse construction, 2 years operating as Garden Centre, 4 Viessman boilers to heat in slab hot water heating system, automated Peak ventilation and Solar Curtains, Roof Rain Water Recovery system with 7,500 liter concrete cistern, washrooms, office space and kitchen area, lots of parking and fully landscaped. Year round business opportunity. Contact Don at 403-678-8488
ADVERTISERS INDEX
Greenhouse for SALE or LEASE in beautiful CANMORE Alberta
INSIDE VIEW
GARY JONES | Gary.Jones@kpu.ca
Changing times at CanWest
By the time you read this, we’ll be well into the season of trade shows and exhibitions. In line with the theme of this issue, it was opportune to take a look at what is (maybe ‘was’ by now) on offer at the 2018 ‘CanWest Hort Expo’, (Sept 26-27, Abbotsford, B.C.). This event is billed as ‘Western Canada’s premier horticultural trade show, connecting buyers and sellers throughout Canada and the Pacific Northwest’, and the organizing association (BCLNA) sure do a great job (special thanks to Karen and her team). Over the years, the educational program has developed into what is now something not-to-be-missed if your business operates in the landscape, nursery or garden centre areas. So, a browse over the workshop, seminar and symposia topics gives a high-intensity spotlight on what’s currently new and important to those industries. (Are you like me, in that calling horticulture ‘industry’ just somehow doesn’t sit quite right?)
Among the hugely diverse range of topics this year are some of the usual, essential ‘suspects’, such as trends in plant/flower colour (not just green), new varieties, marketing trends, pest management and the importance of water (or lack of) in garden design: managing storm water at one extreme and designing drought-tolerant gardens at the other, with designing bubbling water features somewhere in there too.
Being a Brit, I’m used to garden centres being much more than just a plant shop, and in reality
sessions on ‘Fertilizing for the environment and container’, organic soil management, and Egan Davis’ seminar on ‘Planting Design Patterns Based on Observing Wild Plant Communities’. By the way, if you’ve never been blessed to be part of one of Egan’s talks, get along sometime even just for the pictures – he’s a truly gifted photographer as well as wonderfully engaging speaker and passionate and knowledgeable plantsman.
Then there are presentations related to an issue that all of horticulture and agriculture seems to grapple with constantly, namely labour. Talks on effective leadership and how to properly onboard new employees to help them stay reflect this perennial challenge.
Of course, the gardens themselves are the focus of a number of presentations, reflecting the reality of modern living in areas of high land costs and smaller yard space. Vertical (food) gardening is now becoming a topic of interest, especially here on the West Coast, and consumers are keen to try to grow their own fresh vegetables and herbs at home. There’s also a workshop on intensive backyard food gardening being offered at VanDusen Botanical Garden (Vancouver Parks Dept.) this fall, which is expected to fill up fast.
...the garden centre industry has evolved into so much more...
are a ‘day out’ destination. My second job in horticulture was in a garden centre which has now become a destination centre, with copious coachloads of visitors constantly arriving throughout the day. Others have developed around an up-scale shopping experience including clothing, garden furniture, books, crafts and such like together with restaurants, play areas for kids, even petting zoos and full-on pet supplies retail. So I’m not surprised to see one speaker encouraging Canadian garden centre operators to consider such options.
A few other topics caught my eye as indicators of where we’re heading. Sometimes a little unexpectedly. For example, one recurring theme is that of getting back to nature, as in the
Most of these subjects are not out of the ordinary, and provide a health check of the vital signs of the sector. But even garden centres and landscape exhibitions and educational programs are not excluded from the ‘M’ word these days. At least three sessions relate to marijuana: ‘Scientific basis for producing high quality and yield cannabis’, ‘Cannabis and the workplace – Ag Safe’, and ‘Weed 101: Understanding the Market & Profiting from It’. With presentations such as these, clearly the garden centre industry has evolved into so much more than it used to be. If you missed the event this year, be sure to add it to your calendar for fall 2019 – who knows what the topics might include by then.
Gary Jones is Co-Chair of Horticulture at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Langley, BC. He sits on several industry committees and welcomes comments at Gary.Jones@kpu.ca.
