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Dear Dan...

The following advice column provides general rules to help Plant Growth Facility users acheive success in their research goals. Please abide by the rules and above all, respect others in the facility. If you have any questions regarding use of the greenhouses, growth chambers, or other facilities, please read the appropriate information on this website or contact the management for advice.

Letters

Dear Dan, My tomatoes are growing too fast and they are not producing fruit.

They probably are gettign too much Nitrogen. You might try irrigating with clear water on alternate weeks.

Dear Dan, I seem to have a lot of fungus gnats. What do you recommend?

Over watering causes fungus gnats. If you water less and let the surface dry out a little, the fungus gnat population will drop. If they persist, let me know. We have ways of dealing with fungus gnats.

General Advice from Dan

Issues that Cause Failure

1. Bad planning, space, soil, fertility, etc.
2. Problems with a specific plant need
3. Bad horticultural practice
4. Incorrect instruction list on PTR form
5. Lack of plant care by user
6. Disease and pest from very old plants
7. Contamination from nearby plant seed
8. Wrong environment
9. Old plant disease, high PH, root bound, etc.
10. Disease contamination from handling

Advice for Success

1. Talks to the experts. We have seen it all
2. Check on your plants routinely
3. Fill out PTR correctly, completely
4. Clean up when you make a mess
5. Be orderly and organized
6. Make headspace at the top of each pot for water
7. Be polite to your facility helpers, we want to help
8. Remove old material
9. Don’t sub-irrigate incorrectly
10. Fertilize, but not too much

Stuff you should know

• There are two types of water supplied to the greenhouse:
  • Clear water from the side handle-twisty knob
  • Fertilizer water from upper, left-right, flippy handle
• There are four kinds of greenhouse waste:
  • Compost is bio degradable stuff that is processed and reused in gardens. Put compostable material in appropriate container or directly into the outside #1 bunker for compost waste.
  • Transgenic material and containers are collect and steamed to kill seed and plants. Containers are labeled.
  • Recycled things are pots, trays and cardboard. These things are collected in the potting room.
  • Regular Trash includes waste paper, plastic, Styrofoam, etc.
• Pesticide squirt day is Thursday at 5:00 pm. Get out.
• We can really help you succeed.
• The PTR form is to help us help you.
• If requested on the PTR, we water twice a day, at 8:00am and after 1:00pm (or so).
• There are 5 different types of potting soil.
• There are many types of irrigation that can be designed to help your plants. Automation is recommended. Sub irrigation stinks if done improperly. There are drippers, capmats, and hand watering.
• There are shade systems and supplementary lighting.
• There are all sizes of pots, cold rooms, growth chambers, temperature controls, and everything. We got it all.