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/