Learning Greenhouse - Summer Checklist
Your greenhouse is finally empty (or not), you’ve reflected on this year, and ready to move onto next year. Over the summer you’ve got a hefty to do list, SAE visits, curriculum building, FFA convention(Texas Friends), preparing for Nationals, the list goes on and on. Caring for your greenhouse may not feel like a priority but a little work now goes a long way when we have students back in August. Here’s a few things you can do to get ahead:
Every thing alive in your greenhouse needs to be dead. (Favorite Weed Killer) Sucking and chewing insects will feed and reproduce on most any living plant. Stop the bug cycle and clear out your greenhouse.
Clean up under benches. If you have weeds, kill, pull, etc. If there’s plant debris rake it up. Soil clogging you our drainage, dig it up. Bugs LOVE this space. Lots of places to hide & breed.
Clean & Drain your cooling pad, maybe add some algicide
Scrub & Disinfect growing spaces
Clean up your water lines/drip irrigation install new lines, solenoids etc where appropriate.
If you have a shade system it’s appropriate to cover your greenhouse over the summer. It will help your system by not having to run as hard. Shade can decrease light quite a bit.
We can do most of this for you, pesticide treatments, pad maintenance, and sanitation close off the school year and start the summer off well. Maintenance should happen when your space is empty to avoid interruptions in plant growth.
As usual if you have any questions comments or concerns feel free to reach out.
-Georg