Water plant maintenance

The weather is glorious today, so of course, I cycled to the greenhouse.

Student T... was given instructions from B... that I should clean the water plant reservoirs in room C2. In preparation for the job I tried without success to decouple the hose between the upper and lower reservoirs. I don’t think it is possible without cutting the hoses, so I just let them dangle while I drained and lifted the large upper reservoir/tank - I estimate it measures 4 x 10 feet, and 1.5 feet deep (about 150 gallons). The lower reservoir is 40 gallons, and holds R/O water which is pumped to the upper chamber constantly to provide waterflow and aeration to the plants. Both chambers needed emptying and cleaning.

I first removed the plants from the upper chamber, setting the small plants on a cart, and the large plants on the floor. I opened the valve of the upper chamber to allow the dirty water to flow onto the floor and into the nearby floor drain. I then tilted the now-empty large chamber up on its side where it rested against the tall. I used the hose and tempered tap water to blast the dirty surfaces, then scrubbed them with a scour sponge. There were many snails, which I had to sacrifice, although many more remained attached to the plant pots and their roots - so I didn’t feel too badly about losing some of them in the cleaning process. I reset the tray onto its base, and used R/O water to refill it.

Next, I emptied the lower chamber by tipping it on its side to drain the dirty water onto the floor. As with the upper chamber, I used tempered water to scrub and rinse the surfaces. After returning the lower chamber to its position, I replaced the hoses and allowed the upper chamber to begin draining into the lower chamber through the hoses. I restarted the circulating pump, to send water from the lower reservoir back to the upper reservoir, thereby completing the circulation loop.

Then, the plants were hosed down to clean the roots and outer surfaces of the pots before they were placed back in the upper reservoir. I trimmed out dead leaves as I returned the pots to the water.

After cleaning the reservoirs B had a small shrub (Illicium floridanum) to be repotted. I used #1 mix, pre-wetted, to line the bottom of the new pot to prevent the soil from falling out of the drainage holes. This is a trick I overheard Curator J suggest to someone else. It works!

Comments

A Sensitive Plant and Common Weed

Mimosa pudica, also commonly called the sensitive plant was a popular houseplant when I was growing up in the 1970s. It was popular for its ability to quicky change shape by folding up its leaves to protect them from herbivore predators. At the slightest touch the plant is able to expell water from special cells in the leaves, changing the shape from frond-like to a stick-form. The plant creeps along the ground, never for than a foot or so in height. In tropical parts of the world this plant is considered and invasive weed. Today, as I was treating plants to remove pests I happened to touch the leaves of a Mimosa pudica , one with a pretty puff-like flower. Sure enough, the leaves all folded up to almost nothing. Mimosa pudica , the sensitive plant Other more routine chores during my four-hour shift at the U of M Conservatory included cleaning three plants of Hibiscus clayi, native to Hawaii. These three plants in particular have suffered repeated infestations with a variety of in...

A Thames River Walk Through Time: Repurposing Tow Paths

I love it when old technologies are repurposed to solve entirely different problems. A perfect example is the extensive system of canals and tow paths throughout England. Before the Industrial Revolution and the advent of railways, these canals were built to transport goods between cities and towns. Narrow boats pulled by horses or mules along tow paths were a common sight. Today, however, these tow paths have found a new purpose: recreational walking. They offer picturesque routes through the English countryside, allowing people to explore the beauty of the canals and rivers. The commerce that once flowed along these waterways may have shifted to railways, but the paths themselves continue to serve a valuable function. This year, I had the privilege of joining three other hikers on a journey along the River Thames tow path, from the city of Oxford to its source, a distance of about 50 miles. Farther upstream, the river gradually narrowed, eventually transforming into a swollen creek b...

Plantulary: Botanical Dance

The title of the dance performance was Plantulary. The theme, botanical. On a whim, my partner suggested we attend a performance of a new dance work by a small immersive arts collaborative, Aniccha Arts. Through the arc of a single year—from growth through to dormancy—the dancers describe the story of plant life using percussive dance rhythms, music, literary, and various vegetable props. For me, this dance performance was a challenge to appreciate; it was no Swan Lake. I didn’t fully understand the connection between many of the sound and dance elements. But, curiously, the memory of it has stuck with me for the past few days. To set the scene, the stage consisted of a simple dark room lit by spotlights and early evening sunlight coming in through large windows. Along the baseboard of the stage were narrow trays of green seedlings lit by fluorescent grow-lights, forming the outer limit of the performance space. To further imbue the stage with plant life, several moss balls (kokedama-l...

City Gardener

Search This Blog