The main takeaways
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.
Implementing a success story
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.