10th Feb

First day at prop. Had a brief intro to the department -

Different houses and areas:
- Plant Reception - polytunnel and outdoor bit - where plants sit for a short to be observed, to ensure that new plants brought into the garden do not have any bad pest and diseases.
- Stanley Smith is for overspill of plants
- Trop. Prop. is a heated greenhouse - where Paul keeps some of his Display plants for Glass, he is mini-propping Chrysanths in gel in modules at the moment. It has a protected mist area.
- Then there is House 1, 2 & 3 - their misting, temperatures and ventilation are auto and are controlled by a HOK switchboard
- House 1 has a germination bench (with heated base and misters). It has an area where seeds have germinated and doesn't need bottom heat anymore. It also has a Hotbox and a humidistat.
- House 2 is where tipped tender perennials go, and things potted in 6 x 6 jiffy or have been potted on.
- House 3 is for Rhododendron and Camellia that need a bit of protection. There is an outdoor shade area outside that these are moved to in summer. The Nerine collection is kept here too.

Outdoors
- The Tree Line area is for shrubs and trees, there is a drip line for particularly big ones.
- The Capillary Beds are for hardy plants split into different departments - works like a toilet cistern - initial watering is required then water is drawn water up through the capillary matting via transpiration. Good if all pots were the same size. DON'T stand on matting area - as this will indent the surface and cause water to pool in one area, then the matting would be ineffective. Can step on it via these special plastic boards. Pathyways are put in either side of beds to make it easy to reach from either side into the bed without going on it.
- Single Span polytunnel - general plants that need some unheated protection.
- Twin Span polytunnel - is heated to 8°C.

- Sticky traps - placed just above pots with peasticks they are most effective when facing south - insects attracted to shinyness.

Introduction to bio-control.

In Photo 1: parasitic wasps for aphids - use a small pot - thumb/ 9cm one, put a moist fleece/ tissue at the bottom and tap eggs of these in. Sometimes they arrive hatched.

Photo 1: Parasitic wasps Aphidus ervi and A. colemanii for aphids.

Photo 2: Hypoapsis miles - a mite that goes for sciarid fly larvae and thrips - sprinkled lightly onto plants like pepper.

Photo 2: A pepperpot of mites.

Atheta coriaria - a beetle that eats anything it can get its hands on (except humans) and get its teeth around.

Photo 3: An allrounder beetle.

I also repotted some trees that were to be presented to the Queen at Chelsea as a birthday present - these were to be put into airpots - potting airpots is quite strange in that you really compact and press in the soil - contrary to what you're always taught. Sylvamix was used for potting - with 1g Osmocote per litre - a wheelbarrow's worth of soil is approx. 60l. These were placed on the drip line.

Photo 2: Potting in Airpots.