For nursery growers and their employees across the province of Ontario, the month of February would not be complete without the one-day Grower’s Short Course. This long-standing Growers Group tradition is designed to provide current information on issues affecting the nursery industry of interest to owners, managers and supervisory personnel.
Featuring an out-of-province keynote speaker is part of the Short Course tradition and this year’s agenda included Dr. Hannah Mather of Ohio State University. Having also held research and extension positions for both the British Columbia and Oregon state agriculture departments, Dr. Mather (or Dr. Hannah as she prefers to be called) was able to provide a wealth of information from other key nursery growing regions of North America.
Water was the feature topic of this year’s Short Course, with presentations by Dr. Mather on water quality and irrigation management supplemented by a presentation from Jim Myslik of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food on water permits and local water issues. OMAFRA’s Jennifer Llewellyn and Landscape Ontario’s Tom Somerville were on hand to tackle the other hot topic affecting today’s nursery growers – nutrient management.
Once again, the growers demonstrated their willingness to share new ideas with their colleagues through their participation in the afternoon’s “Good Ideas” session. This year’s selection of new ideas ranged from a simple but effective new elastic product for tying up evergreens, presented by Bakker’s Nursery, to nursery tours as a great promotional idea from Rick Graham of Canadale Nurseries. Weed control strategies were also an important part of the day’s agenda, with a presentation from Dr. Mathers as well as several participants in the Good Ideas session.
A special acknowledgement goes to Dr. Glen Lumis, Horticultural Sciences, University of Guelph for once again organizing a superior learning opportunity for the Ontario nursery industry. This year’s event, held at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington, attracted over 200 people from across the province.
