Assignment 7
Synopsis- In this weeks lab we planted ‘Profusion White’ zinnia in four 5″ pots. Each pot had one zinnia plant. We were also given one seed flat to plant either ’Durango Tangerine’ or ‘Durango Bolero’ marigolds in. The choice of variety was up to the watering partners. I chose to plant ’ Durango Tangerine’ in my flat. We planted two seeds per cell to ensure atleast one of them germinated into a healthy plant. We were also given a second seed tray to plant various types of seeds that the instructors found while cleaning out the seed bin. There were six types of seeds which included tomato, cosmos, basil, petunia, ornamental pepper, and alyssum. The seeds were planted in one six pack cell within the flat. Each cell were planted with 2 to 3 seeds to ensure germination of a healthy plant.
Pests- There was one new fungus gnat and seven new thrips on my sticky card. I did not see any insects on my plants which is wonderful!
Nutrition- The EC and pH were measured this week for the ‘Sophie Cascade’ ivy geranium which had an average EC of 1.3 and an average pH of 6.5, and Easter lily which had an average EC of .56 and an average pH of 6.45. No changes were made to either crop.
Growth- The zinnia plugs were measured for an initial measurement to compare at harvesting time. The height x width are 3cm x 6cm. We continued measurements on our four crop portfolio plants. The ‘Tango Dark Red’ zonal geranium was measured at 14cm x 24cm with a 4cm x 3cm increase, the ‘Sophie Cascade’ ivy geranium was measured at 15cm x 47cm with an increase by 1cm in width, the ‘Miramar’ mum was measured at 16cm x 28cm with an increase of 2cm x 2cm, and finally the snapdragon was measured at 34cm x 33cm with an increase of 4cm in height. There was an decrease of 1cm in width on the snapdragons.
Cultural Treatments- The ivy and zonal geraniums had the buds and dead leaves removed if there were any. The azaleas had the blind shoots removed in anticipation of flowering. The snapdragons had another string grid tied on 3 inches above the second grid for added support. The sow seeds and the marigolds had the media watered before sowing of the seeds so that they were not uncovered once planted. Up until germination they will be misted during the week. The petunia, ornamental pepper, and alyssum seeds need to be left uncovered because of their high requirement of light for germination. All the newly planted seeds were watered with de-ionized water. The zinnia were watered with 200ppm 20-10-20 fertilizer. The chives, ivy geranium, zonal geraniums, and snapdragons were all changed to 200ppm 20-10-20 fertilizer. The Easter lily fertilizer was not changed. The ferns and azaleas are still to be watered with di-inoized water.