Planning, preparing and receiving your cuttings
Planning The goal of planning is to reduce the time from when you receive the cuttings to when they’re stuck – to shorten the time from the box to the bench . To help this move as smoothly as possible, you need to plan ahead. What your plan should include: • How many cuttings are coming each week? • How many trays will you need? • How much bench space will you need? • What days will the shipments arrive? You can check with your Ball Seed ® Sales Rep or on WebTrack ® to find out the exact day your cuttings will arrive. • Do you have enough employees ready and available to stick the cuttings once they arrive? Preparing Before your cuttings arrive, it’s important to check that everything is functioning properly. Start with your heating system – is everything in working order? If not, now is the time to correct any issues. Next, check that your misting systems are ready to go and there are no surprises once the cuttings arrive in the propagation zone. Clean filters and nozzles, test your booms or misting systems, solenoids, temperature and humidity sensors. Another important factor to consider when preparing for your cuttings to arrive is sanitation. Be sure to clean the walkways and floors under the benches, clean the tops of benches and remove any weeds. It’s important to make sure everything is sanitary before your cuttings arrive. Furthermore, it’s equally important to continue your sanitation protocols throughout the season.
Preparing your employees is another important step you should take before your cuttings arrive. Instruct them how deep they should stick cuttings. Should they be using rooting hormone? Make sure they are trained to properly tag liners so there’s no confusion down the road. By planning how many cuttings are coming on what days, you can ensure that you have enough employees to stick efficiently and timely. Storing and handling upon arrival The ideal temperature to store your unrooted cuttings (URCs) is between 50 to 55°F (10 to 13°C) for the vast majority of the unrooted cuttings you’ll propagate. There are a few outliers from this temperature range, like geraniums and chrysanthemums, which you can store at temperatures closer to 40°F (4°C). In addition, crops like portulaca, basil and sweet potato vine prefer warmer temperatures, between 55 to 60°F (13 to 16°C). You also want a high relative humidity to maintain strong, turgid cuttings until you’re able to get them stuck: Dry fog systems are a great method to increase humidity. For smaller growers who don’t have computerized systems, you can raise relative humidity by wetting down the floors and by covering your cuttings with wet newspaper. Your cooler can actually be a very dry environment, so it’s important to maintain high humidity to ensure turgid cuttings.
Arrival
After 24 hours in a cooler with a fog chamber, the cuttings look better
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