Mindy Neels from Qualitree, a large propagation nursery based in British Columbia, Canada, attended both the 2022 and 2023 Plant Empowerment courses in Canada. Now, she is sharing her personal experiences with the program and the implementation of Plant Empowerment at Qualitree.
As a young student in horticulture one of the first roles at Qualitree was scouting in IPM. Now, a few years into section growing, I look back on that role with high regard. It has helped shape me into being a more successful grower.
Firsthand I would see and experience most crop problems and all disease issues starting from one main challenge: moisture management. However, just knowing this and understanding how to combat the challenge are two different things. That is where Plant Empowerment comes in. As a grower on the team at Qualitree we had been introduced to some of the principles of Plant Empowerment starting at our weekly meetings in 2020. I heard about this textbook that contained a wealth of information on greenhouse climate management that solved a lot of crop problems, and I knew then that I needed to get my hands on one.
The opportunity to learn about Plant Empowerment and its principles arrived soon enough when I had the privilege of traveling to Niagara in 2023 with one of my colleagues. Upon arrival on the first day of the course, I still wasn’t sure what to expect and how I could apply it to the crops I grow. I do know this though, by the end of that first day I had pages full of notes and a very full brain. Everything started to click and come together. What, measuring absolute humidity is more important than relative humidity? Who would’ve thought that if all of our regular sensors only measured temperature and relative humidity? Is there a ratio between light and temperature (RTR) that can be calculated and used to set up my greenhouse environments to have the crop flowering exactly on time? I can honestly say that I have never learned so much and attended a horticulture course that was more practical and applicable than the Plant Empowerment course I attended in Niagara in 2023.
One of the main takeaways for Qualitree from the course was applying the RTR principles the following winter to have the Lavender crop flowering exactly on time for the sales team. I started by looking back at outdoor light levels and temperatures from the last three years. From there I did some research on what the ideal temperature and DLI light levels specific to Lavender are.
Next, I pulled out some good old-fashioned graph paper and a ruler, using the RTR formula it wasn’t hard to draw out where I needed to go with setting up the greenhouse setpoints.
During that winter and spring, there were times when this nagging feeling in the back of my brain wanted to just turn everything off and go back to the old ways because it just didn’t “feel” right. Despite those feelings, I stuck it out and it turned out to be a great success! The Lavender was ready right on time, and we even had some customers later that spring calling us to let us know it was the nicest Lavender crop they ever received from us. Following the Plant Empowerment RTR principle paid off.
Over the last few years at Qualitree, we have started implementing some of these principles that we have learned and measuring new data to help us with our growing techniques. Our goal is to have all of our growers on board and fully equipped with knowledge of the Plant Empowerment principles. To achieve this, we hope to have a few more growers attending the course coming up in November in Abbotsford. I am confident to say that their eyes will be opened to a whole new perspective, and they will come back with a brain full of new ideas for improving greenhouse climate control. Reading the textbook is one thing, and a lot is learned this way. However, when our growers attend the courses, it allows them to engage on a personal level with the instructors as well as glean ideas from other growers who are also using the Plant Empowerment principles for greenhouse management.
