December 2015

Well here we are at the end of another year, where did it go!  We were so busy we missed it.

First off I’d like to thank everyone that brought our orchids over the last year, both for supporting us and our retailers.  That support enables us to source new varieties for you to grow and enjoy, improve our nursery to increase our plant quality, expand our greenhouses so that we may grow all those new varieties, and to keep our staff happy and comfortable in their jobs.  That support has enabled us to start work on a new staff rest area in early 2016, one that will have an amazing view and some pretty neat landscaping to enhance the subtropical atmosphere.

Secondly I apologise for not posting anything for the last eight months, when I said we were so busy that was no understatement.  When I look back over the last eight months we’ve made some major improvements and expansions to the nursery, some of which you will see reflected in our orchids going out in 2016.

The big thing for 2015 was the expansion of our top greenhouse.  Although the top greenhouse doubled in size and the expansion is the same type as the first one, the expansion added a few improvements that will increase plant quality and the ease of nursery operations.  Fernland Agencies at Yandina Queensland were both designers and builders.  When you want a greenhouse that is well built, top quality, bolt upright, pin straight and dead level you go to David Parsons at Fernland Agencies.  As you can see in the couple of photos those posts weren’t small and we went to the added expense of putting concrete pathways down between each bench to make it easy to work between benches.  The area between the concrete pathways is lined with black plastic and filled with gravel, which holds irrigation runoff allowing it to evaporate during the day and keep the greenhouse humid.  The fit out and filling of the new expansion is what takes the time, filling between the concrete pathways with gravel (over black plastic), installing irrigation lines, cutting benches and installing them, and then potting, potting and more potting!

Both a nursery industry development officer and an experienced ex-nurseryman who have visited since construction was finalised, have both made the same comment that the greenhouse environment has a ‘good feel to it’.  As you can see from the photos we don’t just produce orchids, our Willy Wagtails love our greenhouse environment for raising their offspring.

Not everything we did this year was a big thing like a new greenhouse, some were changes to the way we did things (fertilising, propagation methods) and others improved what we already did.  One of the latter was an additional media filter at the pump.  This means that the water we pump from our dam and treat (filtration and sterilisation as per NIASA guidelines) for irrigation will be cleaner, it was clean before but the second filter means quicker more efficient pumping.  This all fits with our continued improvement ethic in the nursery.

Also I have a couple of photos of new varieties coming through, one is of Miltoniopsis Banana Fandango that will be released in 2016 and the other is a new Wilsonara that has just entered propagation but won’t be ready until later in 2017.  More new varieties will be coming in 2016, hopefully I’ll have time to post about them!