With the break in the weather of temperatures above freezing and no rain I was able to respray the rhododendron, azalea garden with a product called Deer Stopper that is effective in repelling browsing deer for about 6 weeks. To spray the foliage of the plants required 7.5 gallons of the solution unlike 2½ gallons when the garden was first planted eleven years ago. Now, some of the plants have grown so large they are eight feet tall and are forming a solid mass even though the planting space was 6 to 8 feet on center at first!
Flower cuttings have continued to arrive this week as the transplanting never seems to end in the greenhouse with the previous batch of the now rooted cuttings.
The slightly longer days are more evident as the depth of winter grips northeast Ohio and soon will be followed by warming days beginning in the middle of February. Above freezing temperatures will allow those in the orchard business to start pruning their trees to form the framework for the production of fruit. Winter does have its benefits in that the ceasing of the growing operations of harvesting, spraying and marketing have stopped except for the shipping of apples in coolers ready to be shipped.
In just about 30 days, another safety seminar will ensue to be followed by the required training having to do with the company’s Drug Free Workplace and Safety Program. Through the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, this program is designed to keep the workplace free of illegal drugs through a system of random and pre-employment drug tests which reinforces the vision of any employer to create a safe as possible work environment for all employees. Even the plant business is about a lot more than just growing plants.
Tom