My first day as a greenhouse volunteer

I began volunteering at the Conservatory and Biological Collection greenhouse, in the University of Minnesota’s College of Biological Sciences. In early 2021 I contacted the director of the greenhouse, by email, asking to be added to their list of volunteers. She replied that due to the pandemic the greenhouse was closed in the first half of 2021, but reopened in July of 2021.

I had initially searched the internet for volunteer opportunities in my neighborhood. Given we were still in the throws of the covid pandemic, and that there are vulnerable members of my house, it was necessary to limit exposure for lots of unmasked people. I searched the internet for volunteer opportunities in local greenhouses. Miraculously, the very first search result described and opportunity at our local university greenhouse, not more than a few miles from my apartment.

On my first day, I was assigned to watered plants in two of the four collection rooms, C2 and C3. A... briefly described the goal and technique for watering each pot. Eventually, I was handed the greenhouse manual which described the process in detail. Perhaps I didn't do such a great job with watering pots since I have only rarely been assigned to watering pots a few times since then.

Comments

Thrip control: peppermint and clove

Here's a question: how many natural plant scents do you find repellent? The one that comes to the top of my mind is the scent of the newly blossomed corpse flower, Amorphophallus titanum . It smells very much like the name implies. If I could produce a scratch-and-sniff blog post, I would be tempted. The odor is horrible to humans, but sweet to some flying insects which are also attracted to rotting flesh. But perhaps you cannot tolerate the scent of clove, or eucalyptus? Insect pests are like us in this respect. Pests in the garden and greenhouse Insects, arachnids, fungi, and viruses. Their numbers are legion. The battle is constant. The most effective weapon is vigilance. In addition to vigilance, there are biological controls made from natural compounds which are generally non-toxic to humans. Included in this category are essential oils. For example cinnamon, rosemary, sage, neem, clove, peppermint and many others. These oils are repellent, and even toxic, to many of the pests...

Nerding out in Japan, autumn of 2025

We celebrated a bit of good news in our household with a spontaneously planned trip to Japan in November. Completely unintended, the trip coincided with the full regalia of fall colors. Particularly notable were the popular Japanese maples of every size and variety with their brilliant reds, yellow, oranges, greens, and rusts. But happy accident, we learned a few things about the art of sculpting full-grown trees - niwaki - and how to protect plants from ice and snow over the winter - yukizuri . Winter is coming The fall colors were still in full swing with crowds of adoring leaf-peepers - like me - filling the famous gardens and parks. Despite the crowds, there was already serious preparations for the coming winter. Fancifully pruned trees - the tree-sculpting art of niwaki similar to bonsai - were being trussed with ropes and propped up on long poles . As newcomers, the preparations seemed extremely odd, as if some hurricane was about to shred the life out of every branch an...

New roots for an old soul: extreme 30-foot plant cutting

A large contingent of students and staff was gathered when I arrived for my volunteer shift at the Conservatory Greenhouse at the University of Minnesota on the St. Paul campus. The crowd was on hand to help with the gentle felling of the largest plant in the greenhouse, decades old and 30+ feet tall. Native to the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, this fern -- S phaeropteris intermedia the largest of all tree ferns -- has been happily growing in the tropical room of the greenhouse for a number of years, to the point its fronds are brushing up against the glass ceiling panes of the roof. Tree fern fronds brushing against the roof of the U of M greenhouse Rather than cut the tree down and lose the specimen, the staff decided to try to save the tree. The process would involve cutting off the top half of the tree and reinserting it into a new space in the soil of the greenhouse floor. Months of planning and preparation A well-known technique was used, referred to as ai...

City Gardener

Search This Blog