Instead of writing a column on what’s in flower down at the nursery I thought I’d write about something new: What kind of equipment do we use here at the nursery to produce these wonderful plants?
I stock the store with good things I like to use myself. That way, if they don’t sell, at least I can always make good use of them. Take the Swiss-made Felco hand pruners. All the horticulture students had to buy a pair because they make professional quality clean cuts. I’ve had two pairs in near daily use for a total of 35 years between them. Corona Loppers with 26-inch heavy-duty wood handles make the same clean bypass cuts the hand pruners do, only to larger branches. Hammer and anvil type blades tend to crush the tissue and therefore don’t make as nice of a cut. Clean cuts heal better. Wooden handles absorb more of the shock to your arms than aluminum ones. Every year for the last 12 years, Dad and I prune over 1,000 trees with them and one little saw.
I recently located an all steel watering can made in Canada. There was an old one I’d found in one of the back sheds so you know they will last a long time. On the subject of made in Canada, all of the plant material we carry at the nursery is grown in Canada, with the exception of the sour cherry trees. I’m not fond of import paperwork. We have some cedar pots and trellises made in Creston to round out the assortment. I’ve a few other items hanging on the wall for sale, like professional budding knives, compost thermometers and the like.
Also in store are some good quality fertilizers and some neat pottery. The Vietnamese pottery is frost proof, handmade in villages that have specialized in making this pottery for generations.
There are some other specialty tools we use in the nursery, like Max tapeners. These are Japanese-made tools that will tie and staple young trees and vines to bamboo poles or wires in a time saving fashion and with no injury to the plants if used correctly.
Presently I use some wireless thermometers to report the various greenhouse readings to the main house throughout the day. If I need to one day, I’ll get an Argus system installed. Argus is a greenhouse environment and irrigation software/hardware company that is actually based out of White Rock. With a system like theirs installed, you can tell what’s happening in any area of your greenhouse and nursery at any time of day, from just about anywhere you happen to be — pretty amazing technology for less than the price of a new car.
Other neat equipment I use in the greenhouse includes a Blackmore seeder, which is actually a small vacuum pump attached to a foot pedal and some PVC pipe threaded with needles to pick up 12 seeds at a time. It’s a big timesaver if you are seeding 7,500 seeds a week from New Year’s through Easter.
I’m sure there are a lot more than just these items, but that will have to suffice for now!
Evan Davies owns Beltane Nursery at 2915 Highway 3 in Erickson.