In case you missed it: Greenhouse Virus Presentation

This presentation was part of the Dec '09 Front Range Greenhouse IPM workshop: Viruses Affecting Production. I'm hoping to get a narrated version up but it won't be for a few weeks.
Enjoy and as always contact me if you need more information!

Common Greenhouse Viruses

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New Diagnostic Reporting System

As of March 1^st, the Adams County Plant Diagnostic Clinic is using a new method to communicate with our clients. We have always been anonymously reporting our plant sample results to the National Plant Diagnostic System and now the software has been revised. The upgrade is designed to communicate diagnostic information pertaining to your sample submissions back to you more efficiently. Preliminary and final diagnostic reports as well as billing invoices can now be sent directly to your email address. Ultimately the system is designed to deliver written diagnostic information into your hands within 24 hours of sample receipt and keep you informed the duration of the diagnostic procedure. Naturally with every new database, some bugs will need to be worked out before the system proves to function at its full potential. Hopefully this transition will flow smoothly with very few malfunctions or delays.

During receipt of the new diagnostic emails, we hope to receive input from our clients regarding the quality and efficiency of the diagnostic reports and billing invoices. We welcome feedback regarding the new email system during this transition period. And as always, if you prefer phone calls or paper mail over email just let us know!

Upcoming Greenhouse Grower webinar

Benchmarking: How Effectively Is Your Team Performing? Join us for a free webinar on March 23 Space is limited. Reserve your webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/210704024 Paul Thomas Charlie Hall Get a better handle on your bottom line profitability from the University of Georgia's Paul Thomas and Texas A&M's Charlie Hall in the latest installment in the Greenhouse Grower webinar series. One of the most difficult aspects of running a business is assessing the effectiveness of employees. There are many ways to do this, and each has social and economic consequences. In this webinar, Employee And Management Assessment, Paul and Charlie will present several techniques to evaluate individual and team performance, set performance benchmarks based on your company's situation, and establish the economic parameters to allow you to make fact-based personnel and task-staffing decisions. The establishment of supervisory team performance and upper management performance benchmarks will also be discussed. Even if you are a very small company, it is useful to know how well the boss is really doing. This 4-part series, Using Benchmarking To Track Your Recovery Performance, is designed to help you make more informed managerial decisions in the aftermath of an economic downturn that literally turned markets upside down. Title: Employee and Management Assessment Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

It's not too late: CO Agriculture Big & Small Conference

The Colorado Agriculture Big & Small Conference is this week! Thursday and Friday with a special Small Acreage day on Saturday!

Don't miss my presentation on "Managing Diseases in Hoophouses & Greenhouses" Friday at 10am!

This is THE conference for sustainable agriculture in the state. View the full program here.

This year the conference is being held in Adams County, so if you want a tour of the Greenhouse and Nursery Plant Diagnostic Lab, I would be happy to show you!

In case you missed ProGreen 2010...

Here is a link to the talk that Keith Funk (Gard'n-Wise Distributors, Inc.) and I gave on diseases of annuals and houseplants. Geared toward garden centers, there are photos of the most common diseases and management options.

Diseases Of Houseplants And Annuals

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Local produce tops on national chef's survey!

Check out this post from a colleague in North Carolina: Results of the 2010 national chefs survey!
It's looking good for Colorado greenhouse growers interested in producing for local markets!

Japanese Beetle Quarantine in place Jan. 2010

For a summary of the new Colorado quarantine against Japanese Beetle, please click here. This quarantine affects the following plants and plant products brought into Colorado from states that are under quarantine:
Sod
Soil, compost, and manure
All rooted plants in containers or with root balls greater than 12 inches in diameter
All ornamental grasses and sedges
Bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes of ornamental plants (these are exempt when free of soil)

If you bring these items in as a nursery, landscaper, other business or even a private citizen you are required to follow the guidelines of the quarantine language. Make sure to request the full quarantine language from the CDA as it provides details of what is required.