Our new greenhouse was built and closed within three weeks. As temperatures are still high (28 – 30°C), it’s important that the ventilation system works. But the electrician is working on a big job somewhere else. And he doesn’t want to send someone over to us because we’re in such a remote location. So, we’re ventilating manually. I guess that’s how it’s going to be for a while.
The parts for the heating system were delivered. The installer is coming in October. Before that, we’ll hang up the hooks and paint the pipes. A job that needs to be done either early in the morning or at the end of the day, considering the heat. It’s a shame to see the days getting shorter again.
In the meantime, we’ve started planning for the new season in the existing greenhouse. We’re planting bromeliads where we used to have hibiscus. We’ll be busy levelling the sand and putting in ground cover and heating tubes. We’re also replacing the shade cloth in there. Most of that work is done by ourselves too. The installer replaces the cables. But we’ll handle the cloth, including the cutting and sewing of it. Once that’s done, we’ll move on to the irrigation pipes. We’ll replace the old strands and caps. Plenty of jobs to keep us busy for a while.
The plants for the new season are on their way. The bromeliads were loaded nearby Orlando, one day before hurricane Irma damaged many of the nurseries in south and central Florida. We’re expanding our bromeliad assortment with 7.5-cm, 10-cm and 12-cm pots. The unrooted hibiscus cuttings are from Vietnam. Our North American supplier has switched to a new intermediary. Nothing has changed to the import and distribution of the cuttings. But the fees have gone up by 18%.
At the end of last week, a new bromeliad customer came by with some young employees. They were very interested in our greenhouse, cultivation method and assortment. They’re going to upgrade our 10-cm bromeliads, as well as their own product. Selling a unique and high-quality product is a concept that’s currently attracting a lot of interest from florists in Ontario. We had a fascinating exchange of knowledge and experience. And after all that, it was time to relax with a beer at our local microbrewery.
Angelle van Kleef
Grower of potted plants, Ontario, Canada
