Check and Check!

                                                Forklift License, Check!

                                                          Greenhouse Exterminator License, Check!

Who knew Forklifts were so fun?

Starting out in the Greenhouse Industry I never wanted to use pesticides- or drive a forklift for that matter. But sometimes your job surprises you, and you surprise yourself. In my job, I realize now how important it is to have training, both with farming equipment and chemicals. 

Using a forklift comes in handy so often, that now I cant imagine not being trained to use one. It is useful, its easy and its fun! As for the Exterminator license, I have always prefered not to use pesticides. I prefer a more holistic approach to the prevention of the causal agent, rather than cleaning up the after-math. The training I have received by taking the Exterminators course and exam at Guelph University (as well as my hands-on experience using pesticides) has provided me with practical knowledge that I can use in my future with the greenhouse industry. Even in a career without pesticide use, it is important to have a knowledge of chemicals, how to use them, and their effects.

                                                             

Luke, I am your father! lol!

Bret to the left, is back from Sweden for a little bit!
Just enjoying the beautiful Canadian beaches once again.

A gorgeous day by the water!

Scott and Bret

For My Family:)

In Leamington Ontario-which next to The Soo, probably
 has the high populations of  Italians! Represent!

Street Art in The Village

                              Light-up men in The Village,

                              walking in a mosaic street of colored glass: Only in Montreal!

Shasta Grant's Fabric of Fields

This painting and quote were hanging on the wall at Just Us Cafe,

                                   in Wolfville, N.S.- but Im sure someone has scooped it up by now!<3

                                 View Shasta's other artwork on her Gallery Profile

                                      

Frollicking in Wildflowers, just because



  After coming home from a long trip out East, it was time for some us friends to do some frollicking. We ended up down by the river taking a photo shoot in the wildflowers! HAHA-Good friends can have fun doing anything!
 

<>

<3!! Girls just wanna have fun



@Pleasant Bay

This is one of my all time favourite pictures and memories.
On the beach @Pleasant Bay,Cape Breton Island, N.S.
It is such a beautiful, quiet place..I think I even saw I whale spout here!

That Night in Toronto



On our way to Toronto for the night, via GOTrain! We spent the day in China Town and Kensington Market, visiting my favourite spots, enjoying the patios and sipping on Sangria! Then we went to The Smiling Buddha Bar to see the musical group, Nature Move Faster. The bassist is going to marry Scotts sister so we went to support them, and they were soooo good! I love their music! They have a great energy and put on a really good show!

 Visit Nature Move Faster on Myspace Here!
                                                Or play my favourite song by them below:

 

Robert DeNiro, Steve Jobs, and Spartans- OH MY!

Halloween pictures!! 

A Spartan, A Spartans Lady and Steve Jobs- LoL

 

Robert DeNiro and a Spartan! Nice work on the home-made kicks boys

                                           This is a great in-the-moment pic! Absolutely love it. Drum circle!

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
My very creative brother imitating our Highschool French Teacher- priceless!

Growing Greenhouse Flowers

 

Growing Begonias and other flowers in Hanging Baskets



Me and co-worker (and friend!) Katie, hand-watering petunias and impatiens.
 As you can see from the pictures we enjoyed working at Jeffreys and always
made sure to have a little fun too

During my last year at college I began working as a Junior Grower of Greenhouse Flowers under Albert Grimm, it was great! I took part in the production of over 60 types of annuals, as well as potted vegetables and herbs. In my time there,I learned a lot and was able to work with an entire team of growers. Learning to "grow" doesnt come over night, but it helps to be surrounded by other knowledgable people and to get your feet wet! Previous to this I had grown other crops, but was limited in my knowledge of flower production.



Its a beautiful mess after packaging for shipment!

Flower production is challenging sometimes because it is crucial to how the entire plant looks-not just the fruit will be harvested-these crops will be judged by their stems, leaves, and flowers. Often, time is the biggest pressure, since there are deadlines to meet and holidays to conquer!

Getting ready to ship flowers for Independance Day! This train is 20+ carts long!

 My job as a Junior Grower was to manage a few greenhouse compartments. This meant analyzing water moisture content and deciding how to manually water the plants that day. The goal is to direct the plants growth the way you want it. I also mixed fertilizers, distributed biological controls, took soil samples, cared for seedlings, rooted cuttings etc.

 The Head Grower @ Jeffreys Greenhouses was very knowledgable. He often speaks publicly at Greenhouse Events (This year he spoke both at Grower Day in Brantford, as well as at the Canadian Greenhouse Conference Niagara Falls) and writes articles for magazines such as Greenhouse Canada.



To read more, click below:

Interpretation of Nutrient Analysis: By Albert Grimm, Canadian Greenhouse Conference 2003

Growers Toolbox: By Albert Grimm,  Greenhouse Canada, July 2010

Our Experience with IPM: Greenhouse Canada Introduces Albert Grimm, 2008

                                                                *All photos taken by Katie Job**Thank you**

@Leftys

@ Leftys Restaurant on Vancouver Island, B.C.
If you ever go here, don't miss out of the best veggie burger ever!!  Sunflower seeds?! Yum..

Everyday, the gazelle wakes up..

A co-worker of mine was wearing a t-shirt one day that had something written on the back of it. I loved the quote, and when I asked her where she got the shirt, she said she got it years ago from track and field in school. I think it's a great little saying with a fable-like quality, reminding us all that there are 2 sides to everything!

"Everyday, the gazelle wakes up

and knows it must outrun a lion to stay alive.

Everyday, the lion wakes up

and knows it must outrun a gazelle to stay alive.

Whether youre a gazelle or a lion

 when the sun comes up, youd better get runnin!"

The Outlandish Flowers of *The Horse Chesnut*

This is a Horse Chesnut tree.

 It is native to the European mountains, and very common in the UK, but I would guess that most Canadians would know it best by its large, spikey-pod seeds. These seeds drop from the tree each year, and they usually end up in a real mess, on the road or in a driveway- this is where I (and you) usually end up stepping on them. The Horse Chesnut tree may seem like a very ordinary tree, and a lot of work to clean up after, but dont be fooled, this tree gives something else other than shade and labour.  

 

Horse Chesnut Seeds- These are different from the ones you
roast at Xmas time, but are named after them for their appearance

This same tree happens to produce beautiful, rare and exotic-looking flowers. Not only can they be beautiful, but the flowers among with other parts of the tree are can be used for many medicinal purposes.  For more info visit MedlinePlus, a service provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

The Horse Chesnuts Flowers-Makes a crazy looking bouquet,
 with spots of hot pink, orange and yellow.



Project Home: Completed! (for now)

The deck was an easy fix. We picked up this glass patio table and some plastic yard chairs for next to nothing, and then covered the patio in plants. This was the deck it in the Spring and by the end of this summer the whole thing was filled up with flowers, herbs, and vegetable plants.

This was our mini-city garden; but it actually produced a lot!

This garden gave us red, orange and yellow bell peppers (grown vertically on hemp string) marigold flowers for homemade herbal things, swiss chard, dill, chives, cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley, radishes, beets, and winter greens and lettuces! Not bad for the clay soil it started out in. Ive added lots of compost and manure to the  garden bed, plus all of the organic material/ new top soil that was left over from our harvest.

Now for the inside..
The Living Room

I love it!

We are using an ecclectic mix of furniture and decor, and we try to reuse things for multiple purposes and make things colorful, comfortable, functional and affordable .  Most things are recycled, like our side table which is actually an old apple crate painted dark red. My favourite things here our recycled shelves, our retro-chairs and ottoman and I dont think Ive ever loved a coffee table so much! This one was a steal from a second hand store and was purchased for 4$!!!  

One of my favourite things in the livingroom is our simple shelving unit, which was made using recycled cupboard doors from The Habitat for Humanity Restore. For no more than 10$ we purchased the cupboard doors in good condition, and then spared some change to buy brackets at Home Hardware.

They were originally painted brown, which worked great for us, so we didnt need to do any maintenance on them- just put them on the wall, and here they are!

They are fully functional, and can hold a lot of my books, books and other things-we even double the bottom shelf as a small laptop area with speakers!

           I found this Buddha decal at the dollarstore, for 2$
           I really like it & its a nice back-drop for my laptop station.

The red ottoman was a great buy and it doubles as extra storage for blankets and an extra seat. The funkydellic retro chairs-one round, and one square, were also second hand from Scotts grandma and the Restore. Click Me To locate a Restore close to you follow . To find out more about Habitat for Humanity and the National Leadership Council, Click here.

The Dining Area

Our little eating area with blue accent wall

 
 The Kitchen

On the other side of our kitchen we have a small space in view of the back patio doors and window. The space is too tight for a dining area (for my liking) so I decided to use it as a reading nook. We added a new couch to the living room, so I took the round retro-chair, the ottoman and the apple crate full of books, added some plants, and done: A reading nook in the kitchen!