Horticulture News

OFFSET YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT USING ENRICH COMPOST

Composting is the circular economy in action. Organic materials are recovered at source from parks and gardens. Without this segregation, these organic materials may go to landfill where they would produce greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as methane. As a GHG, methane is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Enrich compost is a sustainable soil improver, it offsets the use of finite artificial fertilisers and peat. So, the act of composting is, in itself, reducing the release of GHGs.

During the composting process bacteria and fungi in the compost pile transform the organic matter into complex stable organic matter, often referred to as humus. Biologically stable compost contains approximately 200kg of stable organic matter per tonne. Carbon makes up 58% of this organic matter. Therefore, every tonne of Enrich compost used in your project sequesters up to 400 kg (0.4 tonnes) of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents. The average carbon footprint of an Irish person is 13t of CO2 per year. Visit www.enrich.ie. ✽

VEGETABLE PATCH USING ENRICH COMPOST

BLENDED LEARNING PLANT PROPAGATION COURSE AT TEAGASC

The COVID 19 pandemic situation is driving new ways of doing things in education.

June saw the commencement of blended learning modules for Teagasc College with the start of their Level 5 Plant Propagation Summer Course. This involves delivery through live Zoom and recorded lectures, which are made available to the class through their virtual learning environment MOODLE. There are 30 students taking two modules this summer in Plant Propagation and Garden Design.

The college’s recruitment is taking place in earnest at the moment and September numbers look strong. The training delivery will be blended and the college hopes to have theory classes replaced by online options. The practical aspects of Horticulture will be done in small, targeted, socially-distanced groups with relevant PPE in widespread use in both The Botanics and Teagasc Ashtown. ✽

A NEW HORIZON FOR HORTICULTURE AT UCD

As the incidence of Covid-19 disease in the country continues to diminish the number of track and trace centres required have been reduced. As a consequence horticulture students from UCD who had been involved in contact tracing and processing samples for Covid-19 testing have finished these duties. Students have now taken up professional work experience placements in the horticulture food sector and in the amenity sector, in garden centres and in the landscape construction/maintenance industry, under strict social distancing and hygiene guidelines. Horticulture academic staff have completed assessment and grading, and plans are underway for September, to ensure that students have as close to a traditional university education experience as possible.

Our students will have a blended educational experience with some lectures online with face-to-face tutorials and practicals. Those students who are considering attending university in September should continue with their plans. ✽

WILD WETLAND WORK AT FH WETLAND SYSTEM

FH Wetland Systems started out designing reed beds and treatment wetlands in 1996, but have evolved to become involved in a whole variety of new wetland habitat projects.

These include the Living River Project designs for Tullamore; the new management plan for Westfields Wetland in Limerick; and smaller projects for community groups from Cork to Cavan and many counties in between. Each new protected habitat space is part of a growing corridor for bees, bats and a host of native wildlife. Wetlands and wild spaces have long been shoved aside for housing developments, agriculture, roads and almost any other project that comes along - at great cost to these valuable habitats and the wildlife living there. In recent years, however, things seem to be changing for the better. Interest and funding are growing for rewilding, wetland protection and management projects.

See www.wetlandsystems.ie for more info. ✽

FARMONY SIGNS EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH SANANBIO

RODRIGO ANDRADE, DAN O'BRIEN AND JOHN PAUL PRIOR, FARMONY

Irish Agtech company, Farmony, has signed a European distribution deal with Sananbio for their vertical farming Radix systems. The Dublin-based startup, established in 2018, will incorporate Sananbio’s technology into their controlled We argued environment vertical farming solutions.

“As our climate continues to change and populations across the globe expand, food production must evolve in order to keep pace with these unprecedented changes,” says John Paul Prior, Strategy and Sales Director, Farmony “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Sananbio; global leaders in cutting-edge vertical farming technology developed to empower the modern farmer and spur sustainable local food production. Sananbio is the ideal technology partner to complement our own customised, automated controlled environment software and hardware solution.”

“In Farmony we have a partner that adds significant value to our product offering through exceptional sales and marketing, IOT focus and new product development," says

LOCKDOWN BOOSTS SMALL TUNNEL SALES ONLINE

With everyone confined to their homes and gardens during the lockdown, Colm Warren Polyhouses saw an upsurge in web sales from homeowners keen to start growing their own produce. “Since the start of lockdown we have had a huge increase in sales through our webshop,” says Deirdre Warren. “Customers have been purchasing small tunnels and also repair sheeting for their old tunnels, ‘rediscovered’ during the lockdown. “Having a webshop has been hugely important to us through this period. We’ve also been very active on Instagram and Facebook, which has also helped keep our sales brisk. We’ve also spent the last few months working on a new webshop which we will launch during the next few months.” ✽

RISING TO COVID-19 CHALLENGE

As lockdown took hold of the country on March 27, Irritec Irrigation Technology was slap bang in the middle of their busiest March in living memory. Owner, Paul Kunkels, shares his COVID-19 experience. “The month started dry and after a week of no rain, I knew we would be busy, my phone was ringing constantly with requests for servicing and ‘when can you start?’” says Paul. “We had an installation lined up for Saturday, March 28, the only day that week that I could dedicate all five team members to be on-site together. The install was for new raspberry plants – 4,000m of drip irrigation and all the associated pumps, piping and control system. At a push, we would have it done on the day, with maybe a small bit to do on the following Monday. “When the lockdown came into effect from midnight on the 27, my only option was to tell everyone to stay at home for at least two weeks. The plants were already on route to the grower, so the installation had to go ahead, so it was up to me and a helper supplied by the grower to complete the whole installation.” “I started on Saturday, then worked Sunday and every evening that week. The plants were planted Thursday and by the time the last plants went in on Friday, the irrigation was complete.” ✽

NEW SAFETY GUIDELINES ONSITE

Design by Nature has successfully conveyed to sectors of the infrastructure industry and some of the main contractors they work with that all sites where seed sowing is carried out can be deregulated from construction to horticulture zones. That means a zone where no construction workers or machinery are allowed for the duration of sowing and plant establishment. A horticulture zone means no hard hats, no steel toe-capped boots, gloves or long sleeves for seed sowers and planters. Sandro Cafolla, owner of Design by Nature says, “We argued if we need hard hats, then we need full body armour because flying objects are just as likely to hit the body as objects falling on the head. “Instead, we need to isolate our sowers and planters; exchange the hard hat with a cap, the work boot for tough soled double-stitched waterproof and breathable walking boots. With those changes to our workwear, we find the strain caused by hard hats as we stooped to sow or plant has disappeared. The sweat from our boots went too, and we work and walk faster.” ✽

SUMMER LAWN CARE FROM GOLDCROP

Mid-summer is now upon us and lawns should be at their best. The early spring work of weed and moss control with weed, feed and moss control products should all now be completed. If still required, then this should be carried out as soon as possible. The dry weather in many parts of the country has left lawns looking stemmy with patchy growth apparent in many places. Barry Murray, Chief Agronomist, Goldcrop Limited has this advice, “These lawns require urgent remedial action by the application of a good quality slow-release fertiliser such as Landscaper Pro Spring and Summer to feed the grass and encourage tillering (thickening of the lawn). “Regular mowing is essential to keep the lawn nice and leafy and to prevent the plants from becoming stemmy. Raking out of thatch with a metal rake will also help keep your back garden looking its best. Patching with a high-quality lawn seed containing a minimum of 60% dwarf perennial ryegrass, 35% creeping red fescue and chewings fescue would be ideal provided moisture was present.” Barry adds, “Going into the autumn regular mowing should continue and an application of a lawn feed containing phosphate for rooting should be applied.” ✽

Hygeia’s nature safe range and BioGold Vigor

After the recent rainfall, now is the ideal time to put goodness back in soils and also provide plants with all the nutrient requirements needed for vibrant summer flowers and bumper harvests. Hygeia has a range of products that are ideally suited for the gardener at this time. BioGold Vigor is an exciting new tomato and plant food, formulated with Hygeia’s nutrients and Alltech’s 100% natural fermented blend. This liquid feed is simple to use and provides higher root development, greater quantities of fruit and vegetables with more succulent fruit and tastier vegetables. The Nature Safe range contains no animal by-products, providing organic and vegan-friendly solutions for gardens. The unique formulations are specifically designed to put goodness back into the earth, while also providing the ideal environment for healthy plants. Hygeia’s Nature Safe range provides plants with immediate feed requirements in forms easily absorbed by plants, while also helping to maintain healthy, disease-free plants. ✽

Bayer launch brings turf benefits for greenkeepers

Bayer’s latest new fungicide to be launched in Ireland introduces a radical preventative approach to disease management, offering a new active ingredient and new chemical group to the turf industry. Greg Collins, Bayer national account manager for Ireland, says Signature® Xtra Stressgard® is Bayer’s most advanced turf formulation to date and has been scientifically proven to maintain overall plant health, providing consistency of playing surfaces and increasing golfer satisfaction. “This new active ingredient fosetyl-Al combined with Stressgard® Formulation Technology has been engineered to optimise the product’s performance and to tackle two of the most prevalent golf course diseases, Microdochium Patch and Anthracnose.” Signature® Xtra Stressgard® is the first true systemic fungicide to offer shoot to root protection. “This fully systemic solution allows the fungicide to move up the plant’s xylem, and also down into the phloem. This means plants are healthier and better equipped to combat disease and mitigate stress,” explains Greg. ✽

Positive results from Nangle & Niesen’s two-year soil improvement program

Hils Murphy, the South African born soil guru based in London, carried out a soil analysis for Nangle & Niesen recommending a two-year program of work and treatments. “We began by clearing the land,” says Ronan Nangle. “At the end of the first year, we removed tree stumps and treated the fields with locally-sourced cow manure, followed by locally-quarried lime. “We sourced fine basalt from Scotland that was high in the minerals and trace elements in which we were deficient and spread it on the prepared ground. We then seeded with a special mix which contained eight grass seeds, four clover seeds, chicory and plantain. The resulting green crop grew fantastically well through the summer and autumn of 2019, visibly improving the structure of the soil. “We mulched and spread another layer of cow manure then ploughed, power harrowed, subsoiled and planted. “The soil was the best we have planted into, in many years, with a very rich humic content. The trees have coped well with the stress of the long drought during April and May and the growth, despite the cold weather in June and July, has been well above expectations.” ✽

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON GLYPHOSATE

There is no doubt there has been controversy around glyphosate, and its use in the public sector. Bayer’s Mark Buckingham says it is time to set the record straight on the active

.“Glyphosate, like all chemical pesticides, has been a rigorous registration process, which involves a careful scientific assessment of the evidence around the product. This is carried out by independent scientists, who are funded by the governmnet, " says Mark.

"Because glyphosate - the chemical active found in Roundup branded products - has been around since 1974, it's been extensively tested, often with studies being repeated several times.

"Because of this wealth of data, our confidence in what we know about the active is high, " says Mark.

Why the controversy?

"One of the questions you're probably thinking is - if it is so safe and cost effective then why the controversy and why am I reading about it everywhere?"

Mark explains that, in 2015, a research group called IARC, linked to the World Health Organisation (WHO), published a paper stating that they thought glyphosate was 'probably carcinogenic' and this kicked off the controversy.

"However, since 2015, many government regulators have looked carefully at what this research group said, as well as all the other available evidence, and concluded that glyphosate is not carcinogenic."

Impacts from the loss of the product

Mark explains that the loss of this product could lead to a significant increase in costs for groundskeepers.

"Typically, the costs of larger scale weed control on pathways and in parkland, for example, can be up to ten times more expensive without the use of chemical controls."

"Add to this that non-chemical methods typically require more visits, so more travelling to and on the site. This would not only increase fuel and labour costs but also increases greenhouse gas emissions."

"With the vast investment in herbicide research over many years, it's rare to find such a combination of effectiveness and safety, so it is worth looking after." concludes Mark ✽

YEAR ROUND USE FOR VALDOR FLEX GRANTED

The residual herbicide, Valdor Flex®, has received a label update, extending usage periods and application areas, providing contractors with an opportunity to adopt a flexible approach to weed control.

Greg Collins, Bayer national account manager for Ireland, says this updated authorisation will allow contractors to adapt their approach depending on weather conditions and weed growth.

“Valdor Flex® can now be used around amenity vegetation, permitting applications to be made around the base of trees, shrubs and other plants in amenity areas, allowing this herbicide to be used in a wider range of situations,” he adds.

In addition, this product could previously only be used from March to June, however, the application window extension permits it to be used year-round allowing users to take a different approach to weed control. “This herbicide prevents the emergence of a broad spectrum of weeds for up to four months, reducing the frequency of traditional applications. It provides residual control of the hardest to manage weeds on a wide range of surfaces, allowing contractors to keep public spaces weedfree,” Greg explains. “Valdor Flex® can be used as a pre- or post- emergence application. It can be applied alone on bare ground before weeds emerge or if weeds are already present. It can be mixed with Roundup®, which provides the initial knockdown.” To benefit from these extensions of use, contractors must be using the new product with the updated label. ✽

THE ART OF DIGGING HOLES

Retied landscape horticulturist, Terry O' Regan, continues his series of articles reflecting on his adventures in the landscape sector.

I cleared out the office belonging to our business enterprise last year. Emptying filing cabinets and storage boxes and trying to decide what must be destroyed or what could be recycled. It felt like I was speed-scanning the intestines of our erstwhile enterprise.

I asked myself again and again, “How did we manage it all?” When lumped together, the multitude of demands involved in operating our small landscape services operation seemed unsurmountable, and yet we survived. The answer to my question was double-barrelled. Each morning, there were clients waiting for work to be done and employees, vehicles and machinery waiting to go to work. So regardless of any crisis that may have landed on my desk, the show had to go on. Or to borrow from Samuel Beckett writing at the end of his novel The Unnameable, it was a case of “You must go on. I can’t go on. I’ll go on.” You do not really have a choice.

So, as you face the fallout of COVID 19, I am not trying to enrage you in suggesting that you too “must go on.” I will not tell you what to do. I will, however, tell you what I did when facing impending crises, when I may briefly have been frozen like a rabbit caught in headlights. I invariably shook myself like a wet dog and silently said, “I’ll go on!” Sometimes I went on alone, but more often it was a team response. None of my frozen moments could match the enormity of the COVID 19 tsunami, but a crisis is a crisis and crisis-management is the name of the game.

Everyone involved in horticulture digs holes. We know all about holes; we could sing about holes. That said, when you are in a hole there are times when you should stop digging and there are times when you need to dig faster.

Every few years when we hit contract commitment overload, around the end of April or early May, we’d be running around like headless chickens trying to finish up the planting jobs that had been held up by a wet March; trying to get on top of the first flush of grass growth on maintenance contracts and trying to make a start on the grassing jobs that we had blithely promised for April back in January. We were in a rapidly expanding hole and had to stop digging. I made a fresh list of what was feasible and began to call the clients whose jobs were getting deferred start dates. We may have lost a few contracts along the way, but we saved our sanity and probably our bank balance.

In contrast, in 2012, we faced the possibility of the collapse of our business as bad debts mounted up and both turnover and profit margins plummeted. We could not afford to stop digging as we had a substantial term loan with years to run, plus lease agreements and our own creditors, so, we dug faster. Along with running the business on a day-to-day basis, in our “free” time we worked out a three-year business plan with tentative candlelight at the end of a long tunnel. We prepared daily and monthly monitoring systems and pulled like dogs for five years until we exited the tunnel in 2018. That three-year plan was rewritten and revised many times over. There were still times when the ice underfoot was thin and cracking, but we dug our way through that hole.

The critical elements in that plan were tight cost-control, cash-flow management and early intervention. We kept to a comprehensive annual budget, a very detailed costing template, diligent recordkeeping, minimal personal drawings, daily monitoring/management of our bank balance and a monthly report on total outstanding debt.

But now it is you who must go on. You will devise a plan that works for you and hopefully, it will be with your current enterprise. But your three-year plan could also be about extricating yourself from one career path and embarking on another. To go on you must know how you got where you are, where you would like to be and what your options are; then decide your road-map for the next three years. A degree of luck will not go astray and I wish you same, but more importantly, you need hard facts, accurate figures, determination, realism and stamina.

They tell us this is the “new normal,” but we can only work with the proven tools and skills acquired in the “old normal.” ✽

TERRY O’REGAN pursued a career in the Irish landscape sector for some 50 years as contractor and consultant before retiring recently. For much of that time, he was also an active advocate for the bigger picture perspective and thinking outside the landscape box. He can be contacted at 087 240 7618 and terryjoregan@gmail.com.