Greenhouse grower gathering fruitful

NANTICOKE – As cooler weather wilts even the hardiest of backyard-garden denizens, local greenhouses are already preparing for next spring, examining trial breeds that fared well this year and investigating better ways to defend their crops.

About 50 growers from throughout the region spent Tuesday at the Luzerne County Community College for Penn State’s Northeast Greenhouse Growers Seminar. There, they received advice on marketing, worker protection, pest control and what could be next year’s hot sellers.

“It just keeps us up to date on things in the industry,” said Gary O’Malia of Lawrence O’Malia & Sons greenhouses in Plains Township. “It’s something that every grower should be doing every year to stay on top of his game.”

During the presentation of this year’s particularly well-performing at Penn State’s Horticulture Trial Gardens, O’Malia said he was struck by Rudbeckia “Tiger Eye,” which resembles a Black-eyed Susan. “That’s one that I didn’t have planned for next year, but I’m gonna add it,” he said.

The plants were presented by Alan Michael, a Penn State Cooperative Extension floriculture educator, who pointed out advantages he noticed with each plant during the growing season. Of the Tiger Eye, he relayed a colleague’s comment that “they do a good job of covering their dead.”

Later, Virginia Brubaker, a technical support specialist with Griffin Greenhouse and Nursery, took a crime-scene investigation approach to identifying and eliminating crop damage.

The major problems are ones that have existed for years, including black root rot, pesky insects and aphids.

“If you’re using more nitrogen than you need, you’re also increasing the number of insects in your greenhouse,” she warned.

John Esslinger, a cooperative extension educator, said the sessions are geared toward helping greenhouses present the best products to customers.

“The customer won’t see the thrips,” he said, “but they’ll see the damage. … What’s challenging is sometimes the grower doesn’t need to do anything about it. … There’s lots of competition with big-box stores. They’ve got to keep up with things.”

Another purpose of the sessions was networking, said O’Malia, who used breaks to discuss buying and selling starter plants with other growers.

“I probably attend at least three seminars like this each year. If you learn one thing at each one, it’s worth it,” he said.

One of those things hopefully was chrysanthemum white rust, which Rick Malak of the state Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry said was found in 71 samples taken in 2009, including in Luzerne County.