March 15, 2012
A few of the 190 in attendance take a break from the full-day of education at the annual Growers Short Course in Guelph.
Growers Short Course increases attendance
Each year the Landscape Ontario Growers Group Short Course provides nursery growers with a chance to hear about the latest research and best practices in the industry. The event also allows attendees to network with fellow industry members.
This year the short course returned to the Royal Canadian Legion in Guelph after several years at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. The Legion was packed with over 190 growers in attendance, which is up slightly from last year’s number.
Among the presenters were members of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, University of Guelph, Niagara College and Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.
The morning session began with presentations on using nematodes effectively, managing black weevil, cover crops that suppress pathogenic nematodes, biocomposites for greenhouse and nursery, and concluded with using native species for green roofs and root-pruning pots for native oaks.
A new product showcase drew a great deal of interest among those attending. Lunch was sponsored by Gro-Bark
The opening talk in the afternoon was entitled Are Fungi Having Sex? This was presented by Tom Hsiang of the University of Guelph. Other subjects included water quality for plant production, irrigation and acidification in the nursery, wetland biofiltration, management strategies for verticillium, organic versus biological pesticides and stinkbug identification and identifying invasive pets.
The Growers Good Ideas session is held at the end of the day. The popular presentation allowed many to learn from their peers. Thanks went to Glen Lumis, Jen Llewellyn, Christian Schramp and Tom Somerville for their work to make the event successful, and much appreciation went to Plant Products, the generous sponsor of the 2012 Growers Short Course, and other supporters, ASB Greenworld, Agrium Advanced Technologies, FreeLink Wireless Irrigation Systems, Gro-Bark (Ontario), Kam’s Growers Supply and Natural Insect Control.
This year the short course returned to the Royal Canadian Legion in Guelph after several years at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. The Legion was packed with over 190 growers in attendance, which is up slightly from last year’s number.
Among the presenters were members of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, University of Guelph, Niagara College and Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.
The morning session began with presentations on using nematodes effectively, managing black weevil, cover crops that suppress pathogenic nematodes, biocomposites for greenhouse and nursery, and concluded with using native species for green roofs and root-pruning pots for native oaks.
A new product showcase drew a great deal of interest among those attending. Lunch was sponsored by Gro-Bark
The opening talk in the afternoon was entitled Are Fungi Having Sex? This was presented by Tom Hsiang of the University of Guelph. Other subjects included water quality for plant production, irrigation and acidification in the nursery, wetland biofiltration, management strategies for verticillium, organic versus biological pesticides and stinkbug identification and identifying invasive pets.
The Growers Good Ideas session is held at the end of the day. The popular presentation allowed many to learn from their peers. Thanks went to Glen Lumis, Jen Llewellyn, Christian Schramp and Tom Somerville for their work to make the event successful, and much appreciation went to Plant Products, the generous sponsor of the 2012 Growers Short Course, and other supporters, ASB Greenworld, Agrium Advanced Technologies, FreeLink Wireless Irrigation Systems, Gro-Bark (Ontario), Kam’s Growers Supply and Natural Insect Control.