MEMBER PROFILE 



500-gallon water storage tank and 

 the feed tank and injector are set 

 up in the cellar of Wilbur's home. 

 The mix is pumped into a storage 

 tank under one of the greenhouse 

 benches. A swimming pool pump 

 lifts the feed into the troughs. A 

 slight slope returns the feed to a nar- 

 row trough from which it goes through 

 PVC pipe to a sewer pump that re- 

 turns it to the tank — the filter at the 

 end of the return line is old panty 

 hose. A house is watered in half an 

 hour; "the system works super — I 

 never had better geraniums." 



Wilbur buys in plugs, but seeds 

 vegetables, marigolds, some petu- 

 nias, other annuals. He bought a 

 hand seeder with a battery-oper- 

 ated vibrator — "it never worked 

 right and a friend suggested remov- 

 ing the vibrator and attaching an 

 old razor. Now it works fine." 



The flats go into a home-built 

 germination chamber — a 4'xl4'x4' 

 frame of 3/4-inch square tube with 



walls of insulation board. More 

 tube divides the inside into vertical 

 sections. Eighth-inch angle iron is 

 attached to the frame and divid- 

 ers — the lip of the tray slides onto 

 the angle iron — the chamber holds 

 a hundred. Trays of water on heat- 

 ing cable buried in an inch of per- 

 lite on the floor of the chamber 

 give humidity. There are no lights — 

 "this is for germination; once the 

 seeds start to sprout, the flats 

 come out and onto the bench " 



His help includes one full-time 

 employee (for eight years now), 

 Rachel Caruso, and three part-time- 

 when-needed people year-round. 

 They transplant into a variety of 

 Metro-Mixes; geraniums in Metro- 

 Mix 560 Coir; 806s in Metro-Mix 360. 

 They grow 3500 hangers; ivy gerani- 

 ums are most popular ("they hold 

 up"); supetunias (all colors) and 

 Purple Wave petunias sell well; 

 fuchsia, rosebud impatiens, and 

 Proven Winners have their shares of 



the market. 



Wilbur offers a range of perenni- 

 als, potting up 7000 starters in 

 March, storing what's left under 

 Microfoam in winter. 



The summer people extend his 

 season. Jumbo annuals sell well — 

 and plantings sometimes dry out 

 when people are away from their 

 cottages, so bedding plant sales 

 last into August. 



in busy times, there can be as 

 many as seven employees. Material 

 is moved down to the shop and the 

 display benches around it, but cus- 

 tomers can go into any of the 

 houses. There are no trays or wag- 

 ons — "If people need help, we're 

 here to do just that." The one 

 check-out is in the shop. 



FOR SOME, fall is less active— lots 

 of mums, but a lull between spring/ 

 early summer and the start of the 

 Christmas season. Here, fall seems 

 to be the most creative and festive 



Temperature & Misting Controls 

 for Greenhouses of all sizes 



Misting automatically adjusts 



with changes in sunlight 

 rain or shine!! 



increase yields, reduce disease, 

 reduce labor, reduce rooting time 



Solar 3B (3 zones, $385) Solar 12B ( 1 2 zones. $890) 



Temperature 



ter^ure 



Set separate temperahires 

 for nighUsunrise and day. 



Electronic Temperature Control 



2-stages of heating control, and 

 2-stages of cooling control with 

 horizontal airflow (circulation); or 

 4-stages of cooling; or roof vents; 

 or side-curtains. 



DIFtrol24A ($890) 



DIFtrol 22 ($385) 



Northeast Distributors 



Brighton By-Products (800)245-3502 



% 



Fred C. Gloeckner Co (800)-345-3787 

 AVIS Tel: (818)-993-0607 



ngineering ^^^'' ^"^^ 



"The landscape 

 professional's choice 

 for unique, landscape 

 size plant materials" 



Largest tree & shrub inventory in 



Seacoast NH 



Accessible & convenient location at 



Stratham Circle (Rte. 108/33) 



Informative tree and shrub tagging 



system 



Quality ♦ Selection ♦ Friendly 



& knowledgeable staff 



(603) 778-37 11 FAX: (603) 778-3773 

 Monday to Saturday, 7-7; Sunday, 9-5 

 Other hours arranged by appointment 



STRATHAM CIRCLE 



Nursery &' Landscape 



lUNE & JULY 



