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Guidelines for Greenhouse Technicians and Graduate Students

It is the responsibility of the technicians and graduate students to keep their assigned greenhouse areas clean and presentable. The following schedule is suggested:

  1. Floors swept or washed down once a week.
  2. Plants checked for insect problems once a week.
  3. Dead leaves picked off plants and weeds removed from pots once a week.
  4. Plants evaluated for repotting and staking once every two weeks.
  5. Floor drain cleaned of debris once a month.

Following this schedule will greatly reduce the possibilities of accidents, diseases and insect problems from occurring in your greenhouse while maintaining a professional work environment.

Plant materials that are no longer needed should be discarded directly into the garbage dumpster outside of the building. Please do not put potting soil into the garbage cans. The garbage cans become too heavy to lift and the plastic bag tears from the weight. If you are discarding a large amount of used potting soil or pots please see the greenhouse staff for assistance in recycling this material.

Plant materials that need to be sterilized should be put into a sterilizing bag and sealed shut to prevent insect and disease problems from spreading. Avoid storing large amounts of plant materials that need sterilizing in your greenhouse. The autoclave is available for use every day.

Keep the door to your greenhouse section closed. This will prevent flying insects from entering your area and help the heating and cooling systems operate efficiently.

If you are working in more than one greenhouse or also maintaining plants in growth chambers, plan on working with your plants that are the least pest and disease infected first so as not to spread problems from your sick plants to your healthy plants. If all of your plants are healthy, it is good practice to work on your plants in the growth chamber first.

Do not bring plants from a greenhouse into a growth chamber without having the greenhouse management inspect them. It is preferred that plants intended for growth chamber studies be started from seed inside the growth chamber to avoid insect/disease problems.

Use yellow sticky cards to monitor your plants for insect problems. They are available in the headhouse.

Equipment that is not being used for long periods of time should be removed from the greenhouse. The high temperatures, humidity and UV radiation can quickly damage most materials.

Please keep work areas, carts and sinks clean. This will help prevent the spread of insect and disease problems and make working in the greenhouse a more pleasant experience for everyone.

Guidelines for Control of Insects and Disease

Cleanliness! One of the most important factors for controlling insects and disease:

The greenhouse staff is there to help you with insects and disease problems. Please feel free to ask for advice on insect and disease identification as well as control measures.