Cleaning the window sills

With temps in the low 50s F, I was happy to continue riding my bike to the greenhouse again this week. The wind was almost zero, and the risk of rain was low. As it happens, while I was at the greenhouse I noticed the rain falling. But, by the time I finished for the afternoon, the rain had stopped and I was able to ride home on relatively dry streets and paths. Yeah!

Adam met me at the door in his office when I arrived at the greenhouse. He explained to me what he'd been working on: an experiment to see which predator is most effective at reducing the population of scale insects and white flies in the greenhouses. He chose three different species of predator. He will add them to vessels containing scale insects and ?white fly?. Then, after some period of time he will assess the efficacy of the predators. The three predators are:

parasitic wasps, Aphytis melinus, that their eggs inside the scale insects
beetles that prey on scale, Lindorus Iophanthae (black lady beetle)
parasitic wasp predators of white flies and their eggs...the scientific name escapes me...

Coordinator A then allowed me to pick from a list of tasks. He said the most important was to clean the aluminum window sills surrounding the walls of the greenhouse. Especially dirty were the sills in the collection rooms 4,3, and 2. I agreed to the task and started the work in room C4 since it seemed to be the room where it was the easiest to get access to the sills. Adam suggested I use warm water with a cap of bleach and a small squirt of dish soap. He said I could probably use a scrub sponge and rag to clean the sill. But, once I started the task in room C4 I discovered most of the sill was out of easy reach, with large dangerous looking cacti up against the sills and outer walls. I wasn't about to attempt moving the heavy clay pots, some weighing hundreds of pounds. So I grabbed an old broom, lifted myself up onto the benches, and dipped the broom into the wash water to scrub the sills from a safe distance. I let the soap and bleach dwell on the sills for several minutes before rinsing off the excess soap with a hose and nozzle set to the "jet" position. I don't think the sills have ever been cleaner since they were installed (if I do say so myself).

Each of the other rooms, C3 and C2, had their particular challenges. Each has a dense collection of shrub-like plants sitting up on benches against the sills. I was able to select reasonably small plants to move out of the way so that I could hoist myself up onto the benches and repeat the scrubbing and rinsing process I had used in room C4. I filled the entire 3 hours of my shift, and then some.
Below are a couple photos of the now-clean sills from rooms C4 and C2:

Comments

I celebrate learning this about cycad plants

I didn't know that the cardboard palm - Zamia furfuracea - is a cycad. It isn't a palm tree (don't judge me, I'm not a botanist). But it also doesn't look like the other more familiar types of cycads with their fluted upright palm-like fronds. I didn't know it is said to be the second most commonly cultivated cycad, after Cycas revoluta . I didn't know this plant is unrelated to the common ZZ plant - Zamioculcas zamifolia - although they have a similar appearance. Before today I didn't know any of these things, but now I am happy to have learned them. From the parking lot I walked to the U of M Conservatory greenhouse in near-zero F weather. Stepping into the tropical spaces was a joy of its own. But being able to learn new information and experience new procedures was a compounding factor. Joy squared. During my 3-hour volunteer shift, my initial task was to clean the parasite critters (mealybugs and scale) from the stems and leaves of the cycad, Zami...

Mobile indoor green wall

Finally, after three years... my plant vines have grown and spread to be green wall that I had hoped for. I'm not sure it would have taken as long if the plants were in a more humid, sunny climate, et cetera. But given our indoor Minnesota location - even with a southwest exposure - the vines have needed that amount of time to climb the six feet from the base to the top rungs of the metal grid supporting them. The result has been worth the effort. And to be honest, I didn't have to wait three years to begin enjoying the green wall. The vines were already attractive when only half way up the trellis. A metal grid is filled with mix of Epipremnum aureum cultivar "Marble Queen", Epipremnum aureum aka golden pothos, and Philodendron Brasil . Architecture of the green wall The initial intent of the project was to grow a green wall, in an apartment, that could be moved around to be able to clean underneath, and also to provide a mobile room divider for our open-plan loft....

Strung out in the greenhouse

The assignment for my four-hour volunteer shift at the University of Minnesota Conservatory greenhouse was clearly listed on a whiteboard, with my name attached. Since most of the tasks involved working with strings of overhead cables or air tubing, much of my shift was spent at the top of a ladder. Vining plants are limited to only a few of the many benches in the greenhouse. Steel cables are strung above the benches to support their growth. Because many plants grow in a small space, part of the challenge is to untangle and separate the vines so that they don't strangle each other. Not many of the vines are blooming at the moment, as it is winter. However, Thunbergia grandiflora is producing a few lovely blue flowers (its tendrils grow clockwise, hence the common name Bengal clockvine). It's a popular houseplant, but it has become an invasive weed in parts of the world, like Australia, especially around waterways. Thunbergia grandiflora; notice small brown scale insects sucki...

City Gardener

Search This Blog