Keeping the show on the road.........................

Hopefully you have all enjoyed a great Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year.

Although our students are all on their holiday break, our plants don't know that we had Christmas holidays so it is very much business as usual with the crops. This has seen daily checks being carried out by staff members who are supposedly on leave, as well as full working days to keep things ticking along with both crop work and harvesting.

Like any other growers we have had a few dramas being caused by external influences. We recently lost a single phase in the three phase power supply from the street supply, which caused the irrigation to stop functioning, Some quick phone calls saw the power company rectify the situation and we were back on track. 

Still, the weather has been pretty cool, so the move towards temperatures in the 30's by the end of the week will obviously bring its own set of challenges.

So all that remains is for us to wish you a very happy new year, and we will be keeping you posted on all the developments of the glasshouse in 2011.  

Cherry Tomatoes in the Glasshouse



  

Rumble in the Jungle..........................

Whilst we are providing an ideal environment for the plants, and our Tomato and Capsicum crops are growing well, we have also had a visit from a few unwelcome visitors!

Controlled environments also provide the ideal climate for both pests and diseases, and we have had an isolated infestations of Russet Mite in the Tomatoes and some Aphids in the Capsicums.

To combat these creatures we have an Integrated Pest Management program in place which means that we have introduced  the pests natural predators in to the crop so that they in turn can feast on the pests.

In the case of the Russet Mite we have taken the steps of spraying the infected plant and the neighbouring plants so that we get immediate control of this  voracious pests.

All of our IPM process is monitored by Dr Paul Horne of IPM Technologies Pty Ltd who provides expert advice and guidance in the process.

Dr Paul Horne

Hopefully  the 'Silent Battle' that is happening in the glasshouse will see our predators win out and keep our plants in the happy and healthy state that we desire. For further details on IPM, please go to http://www.ipmtechnologies.com.au/

Chisholm students to travel to Europe in 2011

Chisholm Institute students studying Controlled Environment Horticulture, will have the opportunity to travel to Europe in 2011 to undertake a study tour in this developing sector of Production Horticulture.

Under the Government VET mobility scheme, Chisholm has won funding that will enable 6 students to apply for a scholarship that will see them travel to the Netherlands for a two week period.

The scholarship will be open to Chisholm C.E.H. students, and the successful candidates will undertake a study tour of key growers and training establishments in the Netherlands.

"The students will undertake a day of specialised climate control training with our training partners Priva, at the De Lier headquarters, as well as a day of crop training with the PTC+ training college,' said Vet Mobility supervisor, Bev Jeffreys.

"The students will initially have to undertake an interview process and then seek industry partners so that they can conduct specific research for industry while they are away. This will be a challenging time for the students, but will also allow them to really expand their horizons" said Bev.

Further details of this fantastic opportunity will be listed on this blog in the next few weeks..

Peninsula School visit

Eighteen students from the Peninsula School visited the Chisholm Institute Glasshouse today to gain an insight in to the Controlled Environment Horticulture  industry, and also look at prospective career pathways in to the industry..

The students were given an overview of the industry and the workings of the climate control and fertigation systems before they donned some appropriate Personal Protective Equipment and entered the crop area.

Here the students saw first hand how the Capsicum and Tomato crops are progressing as well as looking at some of the issues that are currently affecting the crops.

Chisholm will be offering the Certificate 2 Production Horticulture course as a VET in schools course in 2011, as well as full and part time Certificate Two course . A Certificate 3 and Diploma course will also be offered in 2011.

For further details - contact our office on 03 5990 7162

Peninsula Students in fashionable Tyvek coats

From the begining...................

Our glasshouse began life back in January 2010 when we had sunny weather and dry conditions.

However, this all changed and soon we had a water logged site and plenty of issues.

But despite the weather, our team of contractors managed to get the glasshouse ready for the 2010 Hydroponic Farmers Federation conference where it was officially opened by Priva CEO - Meiny Prins.and Chisholm Director, Malcolm McPherson

Overview of our facility

Chisholm Institutes Glasshouse is the only training facility for Controlled Environment Horticulture of its type in Australia.

The facility was built by a consortium of companies - Faber Glasshouses, Powerplants and Greenworks. Between them, these three companies have built a world class training facility that will provide industry with a resource to utilise for many years.

The Priva company of the Netherlands have been heavily involved in the technology side of the climate control system, as well as signing a formal training agreement with Chisholm to deliver training in Australia.

Visitors are always welcome to the glasshouse.

Welcome to the Chisholm Institute Glasshouse!

After many months of work, we now have our Tomato and Capsicum Crops growing in the new Glasshouse facility.

The crops have now been in place for 4 weeks and are growing well - in fact a little too well! At this stage they are fairly vegetative, so our growing strategy is focusing on steering the plants towards a more generative growth pattern.

At this stage the Tomato's are setting their 3rd and 4th trusses.

In the next few weeks we will start putting more detail on the Blog so that you can follow our progress