Irrigating with rainwater - it's not all about free water

With the wettest summer on record has come the benefit of plenty of free water. Chisholm's glasshouse roof provides the perfect mechanism for harvesting rain water which is piped in to our storage tanks. With a storage capacity of some 200,000 litres of water, we were certainly surprised to have seen our tanks at full capacity a couple of times this summer!

But although the water is plentiful at the moment, it has some inherent problems. The pH value of the rainwater is around 6.2, but we have found that once we add our A and B solutions of fertiliser, the pH changes to a value of 4.2. This is not good for plant growth and can cause root damage.

The reason for this is that the rainwater has no 'buffering' capacity. In basic terms it is too soft. To counter this we are now injecting Potassium Bicarbonate in to the irrigation water through the Powerplants Nutrimix Fertigation system.

Powerplants Nutrimix Fertigator

The Nutrimix links directly in to our Priva Integro system which is now allowing us to have a finite amount of control on the irrigation water content. This now means that after treatment our water is being supplied to the plants at a more acceptable pH value of 5.6

But just supplying water is only half the story. We are also monitoring our gro slab moisture content, pH and EC rates, as well as recycling the irrigation water and sterilising it as well. But more on that side of our system in a future blog entry!

Priva Training the Trainers

The past week has seen us hosting training for Priva systems on a number of levels. Priva Engineer Koos Wijsman joined us from the Netherlands to deliver training to Priva Dealers from Australia and New Zealand. This training was focussed on the new Priva Connext systems and the installation and networking of the same. This training allowed the dealers to not only learn about the systems but also to exchange ideas and thoughts with their colleagues. (Details of Priva Connext can be found at the the following link:-  Priva Connext )

Pictured above are the representatives form the dealers who attended the training. 

This included from left to right:- 
Ian Williams, AgCon, NZ, Alastair McLean, Powerplants, Aus. Koos Wijsman, Priva, Nl. Jeroen van Loon, Powerplants, Aus. Jan de Kok, Horticom, Aus.  

Front row - Martin Schotte, Commercial Glasshouses, Aus. and Bill Bright, Powerplants, Aus.

Koos also spent time with Chisholm Trainers Tony Bundock and Peter Boyd to assist them in heightening their ability to deliver training with a 'live' system in the Chisholm Glasshouse. 

Chisholm Trainers Peter Boyd, Tony Bundock and Priva's Koos Wijsman

"Having an industry training partner in Priva allows us a great opportunity to not only further develop our own staff's skills but to facilitate high end industry training" said Horticulture Manager, Peter Curson. 


Chisholm will shortly be advertising the commencement of its. "Introduction to Climate Control" course which will give participants a basic overview in to the issues surrounding climate control as well as  allowing students to gain practical experience in the use of a Priva Integro system. 


Details of this course will be published in the next few weeks on this blog.

E Learning Project

In 2010 Chisholm Institute was successful in securing funding to develop a E learning system to compliment the Controlled Environment Horticulture Glasshouse.

The project is being funded by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework and conducted under the guidance of  eWorks, who are a leading exponent of e-learning solutions and technology training. eWorks are continually reviewing products and services to develop solutions that match the pace of change in industry and technology.

The project will see the introduction of "webcams" in to the glasshouse to facilitate on line vision of the crops, and a direct link to the Priva Integro climate management system.

We have developed a further blog site that will track the progress of this project, which will ultimately allow individuals to see exactly what is happening within the glasshouse. The link to this site is located on this blog site and will be updated as the project progresses.

This project is an exciting development in both the educational and technology areas, and will enhance Chisholm's capacity to deliver courses to a wider student cohort.

 

Vanessa's Viewpoint

Certificate IV Production Horticulture student, Vanessa Caldarera has been assisting us with general crop work across the holiday period. This experience has been of mutual benefit to both Chisholm and Vanessa.

"I have really enjoyed the chance to undertake some practically based work experience whilst enhancing my knowledge base" said Vanessa. "Not only have I learnt more about crop production, and the associated issues, but I have also learnt a great deal about the operation of the PrivAssist labour tracking system and the Priva Integro,".

Vanessa's time as a part time employee for Chisholm will end soon as she returns to full time studies next week.

"Having the ability to give current students a positive and paid work based experience is a great positive for both us and the students" said Department Manager Peter Curson. 

                                                                 Vanessa Caldarera