Cornell University CALS NYSAES

• Home
• Greenhouse Staff
• Sanitation
• Cleaning and Disinfecting
• Sanitation Strategies for Greenhouse Growers
• Obtaining Potting Mix
• Watering, Watering Devices, Fertilizer
• Wetting Cornell Mix
• Greenhouse Supplemental Lighting
• Pesticide Application Policy
• Scouting for Arthropod Pests in Greenhouses
• Scouting Form (pdf)
• Pesticide Review Committee
• Guidelines for Handling Pesticide Spills
• Pesticide Use and Selection
• Spot Treatment for Greenhouse Pests
• Thrips Control in Greenhouses
• Experiments Involving Transgenic Plants
• Guidelines for Cold Frame Usage
• Pot Lot
• Mist Bench Procedures
• Greenhouse Fertilizer Storage
• Expectations of Security Personnel
• Interior & Exterior Weed Control

 

Welcome to the Geneva Greenhouses

Introduction for Visitors and New Employees.

Welcome to the Geneva Greenhouses. Here are some of the basics to help you get started.

Information sources:  David Cain is Greenhouse Supervisor. He can provide information on most greenhouse questions. His office is in the Horticultural Sciences range. Telephone is extension 2293, email is dgc65@cornell.edu.

• Information about most aspects of greenhouse use can be found in our Standard Operating Procedures. A printed copy is available in the Greenhouse Supervisor's office.
• Our greenhouse operations are governed by a set of Best Management Practices, (BMP’s) which are also on that web site. You will be held to those practices.

Cleaning Up:  You are responsible for cleaning up after yourself.  There is no custodial service. Trash goes in garbage cans, but plant waste and soil belong in the compost piles outside.

There are pot washing stations in the Barton head-house and the two Horticultural Science potting sheds. Materials from isolation houses HS107 and HS108 should be disinfected before they leave that isolation space and autoclaved.

Chemicals:  The rules on the use of chemicals--even innocuous ones--are very strict.

• Don't use any chemical until you have been trained in the rules and are positive that you understand them.
• You must get Worker Protection Standard (WPS) training because there will be chemical use around you.
• It is safest to assume that there are pesticide residues on greenhouse surfaces, even if you can't see anything.

Access to the buildings:  Sprays are applied Tuesday at 4 pm and Friday at 3 pm. You have to leave the greenhouse until the next morning even if your material is not sprayed. The doors to the greenhouse are locked after business hours. See your department office for keys and after-hours procedures.

Do not enter other programs' growing spaces. Insects hitch a ride on clothes, so short visits can spread infestations. Also, others' experiments should not be disturbed.

Plant care:  You are responsible for taking care of your plants. Only two plant-care services are normally provided by greenhouse staff: watering on the weekends and spraying pesticides. In Plant Pathology and Entomology, there are bins of common-use potting mix; in Hort Science they are bought by each program. You are expected to have an effective pest control plan and to water and fertilize your own plants. Generally you supply all materials, and each program has their own inventory.

The greenhouse staff manages facilities, such as temperature and lighting control.
The tap water is moderately saline. Fertilizer that is compatible with our water (Excel 15-5-15) is available from the Greenhouse Supervisor. Our tap water can injure sensitive perennials over the long term. There is deionized water in many houses as an alternative.  Bear in mind that it is very expensive to make deionized water available.  Use it when necessary but use it judiciously.