March/April 2017 – After winning the prestigious FleuroStar award in 2016, ‘Unbelievable Miss Malibu’ will cross the pond and join the ‘Unbelievable’ Begonia series offered by Dümmen Orange. Fitting perfectly into the existing lineup of strong branching double flowering begonias, ‘Miss Malibu’ features excellent garden performance in both sun and shade locations.

March/April 2017 – You’ll be impressed by this big and beautiful plant for both its flowering performance and its garden performance. Starting in spring, the 4.5" wide leaves are chartreuse and mellow to lime green in summer. The huge, 5" wide clusters of medium pink flowers are produced continuously starting in midsummer and going until early fall.

March/April 2017 – New this year ‘Brother Stefan<rm>’ does well in full sun and part shade in Zones 4-9 and grows to a height of 5-7'. Named in honour of legendary clematis breeder Brother Stefan Franczak, its large and ruffled blue flowers are borne profusely on both old and new wood from early to late summer.

March/April 2017 – This coleus from Ball FloraPlant offers stunning colours and patterns for full sun and full shade gardens. ‘French Quarter’ is a versatile, premium variety that is very late to never flowering. This low-maintenance, high-impact plant is perfect for large pot programs and landscaping.

March/April 2017 – A perennial first: now growers can produce high-quality, affordable Perovskia atriplicifolia from professional-grade seed. With higher and much more uniform germination, top-notch plugs are easy and efficient to grow as a late-spring/summer crop or in fall for overwintering production.

Feburary 2017 – Two new colours are the latest members of this successful New Guinea impatiens series Red and Vivid Pink (pictured). They are great for your garden and will give it a real boost of colour and beauty.

February 2017 – While until now all the members of the Bidens series were quite large, ‘Blazing Glory’ is compact and easily managed, without losing its abundance of flowers.

February 2017 – Exclusively from Emerald Coast Growers comes Miscanthus sinensis ‘Fat Cat’. This Japanese silver grass displays graceful, spherical masses of green leaves with prominent white midribs, turning rich ruby in cool weather.

February 2017 – Get connected with Miscanthus sinensis ‘Bandwidth’ (‘CP12511’) PPAF from Emerald Coast Growers. Its broad, bright gold bands span rich green blades.

February 2017 – The heat-tolerant Mirage series has more colour for gardens and containers, and blooms from the early season through the summer. Mirage is a self-branching S. greggii with a mounding habit that resists breaking.

February 2017 – …boldly goes where no petunia has gone before! ‘Night Sky’ has a never-seen-before bloom pattern that is causing some buzz in the garden media. This petunia is an excellent choice for hanging baskets or patio containers for a unique display.

June 2017 – It’s -10 C outside and a foot of snow already covers the ground. An intense orange light appeared in the northern Lac Saint-Jean skies just over a month ago showing some signs of industrial development. But forget about any forestry or aluminum development like the region is used to. This time around, it’s all about cucumbers.

April 17, 2017 – Philips Lighting took a select group of leading global tomato growers, owners and consultants to visit three innovative French tomato growers with 100 per cent LED installations during the fourth Philips High Wire Event.

April 17, 2017, Toronto – Lighting is not only for illumination. New lighting technologies are enabling opportunities across different industries, including agriculture.

March April 2017 – While the benefits of diffuse light for plants in the greenhouse have long been proven, recent research reveals that the quality of diffuse light is also an important factor in plant quality and productivity.

March April 2017 – Curtain systems are an integral part of climate control for many greenhouse growers, yet there are still numerous greenhouses not using this valuable tool effectively, or even at all. The main function of greenhouse curtains are shading and energy savings, however a good curtain can be valuable for controlling the greenhouse environment in other ways as well. Proper climate control is the result of integrating various systems, and no addition to your greenhouse should be addressed in isolation.

March April 2017 – The need to grow food in the North remains strong, and new high-tech innovations are on the cusp of making large amounts of local greenhouse-grown food a reality.

March 6, 2017, Vancouver – Affinor Growers will showcase its growing technology at the BCTECH Summit on March 14 and 15, at the Vancouver Convention Centre, and in partnership with University of Fraser Valley.

March 1, 2017, Saskatoon – Philips Lighting has completed the installation of Philips GreenPower LED production modules at Ecobain Gardens, the largest commercial vertical farm operation in Canada.

Feb. 24, 2016, Fort Collins, CO – Colorado State University (CSU) and the horticulture LED lighting group from Philips Lighting recently collaborated to host the first ever LED Horticulture Lighting Research Summit.

Jan. 25, 2017, Lynden, Ont. – Greenbelt Microgreens is modernizing a new 3.5-acre greenhouse facility with state-of-the-art technology, assisted with funding of up to $640,585 from the Growing Forward 2 AgriInnovation Program.

February 2017 – I don’t very often check out the business section of the BBC News page, but a recent headline caught my eye. “In the not-too-distant future, our fields could be tilled, sown, tended and harvested entirely by fleets of co-operating autonomous machines by land and air.”1

May 29, 2017, Vineland, Ont. – Plant treatments with biopesticides can prevent or mitigate root-borne diseases.

June 2017, Vineland, Ont. – This is Part 2 in a six-part series of articles on thrips (and other pests) integrated pest management, where we will provide practical application tips and tricks, information on new technologies and how it all fits within an overall IPM program.

May 2017, Vineland, Ont. – First in a 6-part video series: There are many interactive variables that affect the growth of greenhouse crops, the incidence and impact of pests and diseases, and the performance of biological and chemical controls.May 2017 – First in a six-part series: The May 2017 edition of Greenhouse Canada launched this series of articles on thrips integrated pest management. The goal is to provide practical application tips and tricks, information on new technologies and how it all fits within an overall IPM program. Each article will be accompanied by a short video (the first debuting here) demonstrating a technique or principle. The content of this series is based on research performed at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre and is supplemented with ‘information from the field,’ contributed by colleagues using biocontrol strategies in greenhouse production. Click here for the accompanying feature.

May 2017 – In Ontario, we continue to struggle with control of western flower thrips.  Even those growers religiously using preventive, mite-based biocontrol programs can suddenly find themselves throwing out a significant portion of their crop due to visible damage.

May 2017 – In this six-part series of articles on thrips integrated pest management, we will provide practical  application tips and tricks, information on new technologies and how it all fits within an overall IPM program. Each article will be accompanied by a short video demonstrating a technique or principle.

May 2017 – It’s long been recognized that greenhouse vegetable growers have been using biological control options more than their floriculture counterparts.

May 2017 – A high-tech form of insect birth control connected to nuclear power could solve a devastating pest problem for Ontario farmers, says a University of Guelph researcher.

March April 2017 – At this time of year, the two-spotted spider mite makes its very predictable appearance in greenhouse crops. Despite our familiarity with this pest, it continues to challenge us.

March April 2017 – I write this a couple of weeks before his inauguration, and president-elect Donald Trump is in process of picking his cabinet. He’s done Education, Transport, Energy and, of course, all the military/security positions. In fact, he’s done all cabinet and senior advisory positions except for two. Right, he’s down to the last two and at this point, and he’s not appointed anyone to hold the Agriculture portfolio.1 (In case you’re wondering, the only other outstanding vacancy is Secretary for ‘Veterans Affairs’.) Firearms before food is such an interesting concept, don’t you think?

March April 2017 – Writing about root zones for greenhouse crops has been an important subject for me and I have written a number of articles on this subject in Greenhouse Canada.

August 2016, St. Catharines, Ont. – Dr. Michael Brownbridge is the research director in Horticultural Production Systems at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. He was a featured speaker at Grower Day 2016, discussing the various resources in the growers' IPM toolkit.

May 29, 2017, Guelph, Ont. – Ontario Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn recently released the Changing Workplaces Review.

June 2017 – “They” (whoever “they” are) say that the only thing that’s constant is change. We face change continually. Home, family circumstances, career, country … and businesses change. Change of crops, markets, employees, technology and eventually, if they survive long enough, ownership. Transition to a new owner is often difficult enough. Succession to a new generation within the family has particular challenges, and especially, for some reason, to a third generation.

June 2017 – Ontario’s greenhouse vegetable sector is maintaining its commitment to leading edge innovation and automation.

June 2017 – I can recall in the early years of my beginning a career in which I write about all things greenhouse how fixated almost everyone here was on Europe.

May 2017 – This year’s Grower Day (June 21) is focusing on what we view as the top seven issues that are not just important but are essential to the long-term viability of any greenhouse operation.

May 2017 – Combine anecdotal feedback from growers mingling at industry events with results from our sixth annual Grower Survey, simmer and stir, and you’ve got a recipe for another fairly successful year (2016) in the commercial greenhouse sector.Sales were solid, or at least above average for many, and the weather last year was largely on the side of growers.Energy costs are becoming an issue, as growers tend to use lighting to extend the season and serve new markets. Electricity costs in most regions have been rising. Helping buffer those challenges is the fact natural gas prices remain at relatively low levels, and the pundits are calling for this trend to continue for some time. But cap and trade (or carbon taxes) costs are coming into play; the impact is now being felt and will be reflected, no doubt, in next year’s survey.Our survey is far from scientific, and provides only a cursory glimpse of what’s going on in the sector. (Numbers in brackets are percentages. All numbers are rounded off.)Who filled out this year’s survey? About half were wholesale growers, followed by vegetable growers (23 per cent), retail growers (20), and seven per cent were in propagation.And where are they from? Ontario represented 60 per cent of the respondents, followed by British Columbia (19), Alberta (9) and Saskatchewan (7). We also had respondents in New Brunswick (2), Nova Scotia (2), and Quebec (2).Size of operations: As in the previous five surveys, most of those taking part have smaller operations. About a third were less than 50,000 square feet, with 13 per cent between 50,000 and 100,000, and a further 13 per cent were between 500,00 and a million square feet. At 11 per cent each were those operations in the range of 100,001 to 200,000, and 201,000 to 350,000 square feet, while about nine per cent of respondents had between 350,001 and 500,000 square feet. About 11 per cent were over one million square feet.Serving which market: On the question “Who Is Your Primary Customer,” 21 per cent listed “Own Retail Shop,” followed by “Wholesale Distributor” (20), “Mass Merchandisers/Box Stores (16), “Farmers’ Markets” (13), “Independent Garden Centres” (11), “Other Growers” (nine), “Supermarkets/Grocery Stores” (seven), and “Independent Retailers/Florists” (four).What are the “Primary” crops represented in the survey? Some 27 per cent grow “Greenhouse Vegetables,” while about 22 per cent grow “Ornamental Bedding Plants” and a similar percentage grow “Flowering Potted Plants.” Rounding out the survey were “Perennials” (seven), “Herbs and Vegetables as Bedding/Container Plants” (five), “Fresh Cut Flowers” (five), “Trees” (three). Filling out the list were “Tropicals,” “Woody Ornamentals,” and “Plugs and Propagation Material.”Among “minor” crops grown were: “Herbs and Vegetables as Bedding/Container Plants” (45 per cent); “Flowering Potted Plants” (36); “Ornamental Bedding Plants” (32); “Greenhouse Vegetables” (25); “Perennials” (25); “Foliage” (19); “Plugs and Propagation Material” (19); and “Fresh Cut Flowers,” “Woody Ornamentals,” and “Trees,” all at about 11 per cent. (Respondents could select more than one “minor” crop.)Sales up or down: Last year was definitely a good year for most respondents with 23 per cent having year-over-year sales increases of more than 10 per cent, and 32 per cent recording increases of between five and 10 per cent. Thirteen per cent had sales up by less than five per cent, while 23 per cent had 2016 sales levels that were about the same as 2015. Only eight per cent had lower sales in 2016.Taking a look back three years ago, growers listed the following margins: Over 20 per cent (eight per cent); 11-19 per cent (16); five to 10 per cent (33); less than five per cent (6); no profit margin (12); and “Do Not Know” (24 per cent).Sales forecasts: Again, on the question of sales forecasts for this year, only one per cent of respondents say they’ll have lower levels in 2017. Thirty-nine per cent are eyeing a stand-pat year, while of those anticipating increases, 31 per cent are hoping for hikes of up to 10 per cent, while 29 per cent are looking at increases of over 10 per cent.Crop threats: We were also curious about pests and disease pressures in each quarter of 2016 compared to 2015, with the following feedback. Early Season of January through March: Worse in 2016 (Pests – 11 per cent, Diseases – seven ); About The Same (Pests – 70, Diseases – 76); and Not As Bad (Pests – 19, Diseases – 17). Spring (April through June): Worse in 2016 (Pests – 22 per cent, Diseases – 11); About The Same (Pests – 54, Diseases – 74); and Not As Bad (Pests – 24, Diseases – 15). Summer (July through September): Worse in 2016 (Pests – 24 per cent, Diseases – nine); About The Same (Pests – 63, Diseases – 78; and Not As Bad (Pests – 13, Diseases – 13). Autumn (October through December): Worse in 2016 (Pests – 17 per cent, Diseases – seven ); About The Same (Pests – 65, Diseases – 83); and Not As Bad (Pests – 17, Diseases – 11).   View the embedded image gallery online at: https://www.greenhousecanada.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=latest&layout=latest&Itemid=1#sigProGalleria34adfa0764 Labour: There was a slight increase in employment, with 20 per cent having increases of up to 10 per cent last year, while five per cent welcomed more than 10 per cent. Seventy per cent held staffing levels to those of 2015, while about five per cent saw decreases of less than five per cent.Off-shore workers remain an important resource for the industry, with a little more than a third of respondents (36 per cent) employing off-shore workers.Looking ahead to this year, there will be a modest gain in employment from among our respondents. Most (68 per cent) are maintaining employment levels, while 25 per cent are anticipating staffing increases of up to 10 per cent.Investing in facilities/equipment: Our respondents reported little expansion last year, with only 18 per cent citing projects of 10,000 square feet or less. Some 76 per cent did not have projects last year.On the question of “Investing in New Equipment/Technology in 2016,” about 27 per cent had nothing to report. However, there were new installations/replacements at a number of greenhouses. Twenty-three per cent invested more than  $100,000, while 14 per cent had $25,000 to $100,000 in purchases, and an additional 14 per cent spent $5,001 to $10,000. Nine per cent invested between $10,001 and $25,000, seven per cent spent $5,000 or less, and another seven per cent spent $1,000 or less.Business threats and opportunities: We asked about “Business Threats in the Coming 3-5 Years.” Leading the way was “Energy Costs,” followed by “Market/Prices.” Rounding out the top three was “Taxes/Regulations.” The other threats included “Labour Shortage,” “Currency Fluctuations,” and “Imported Competition.”On the question of  “Business Opportunities in the Coming 3-5 Years,” it was virtually a dead heat among “Non-Traditional Products,” “Buy Local Movement” and  “Organic/Green Products. All three are definitely strong contenders. Finishing a little behind the pack this year was “Export Markets.”Pricing forecasts: A good indication of market confidence are pricing forecasts. Among survey respondents, the majority are hiking prices, with only 27 per cent holding the line. Of those increasing prices, 52 per cent are making adjustments of less than five per cent, while 15 per cent are looking at hikes of between five and nine per cent and six per cent are increasing by more than 10 per cent.Thanks to all growers who participated this year, and we look forward to reconnecting next January…and hopefully to equally positive survey results.

Over the many years that I’ve helped teams strengthen trust with their customers and co-workers, I’ve discovered that typical approaches to enhancing teamwork not only don’t work – they’re actually counter-productive. Here are three common approaches to strengthening teamwork, and why you should take a different approach to building stronger bonds within your team.

April 10, 2017, St. Jacobs, Ont. – There has never been more demand for making the most of your urban living space.

April 10, 2017, Guelph, Ont. – The University of Guelph is among the top agri-food universities in the world, according to a new global ranking of universities.

March 19, 2017, Mississauga, Ont. – Seasonal workers from five Caribbean countries and Mexico have already begun arriving on Ontario fruit and vegetable farms as a supplement to local labour for the upcoming growing season.

March 16, 2017, Toronto – Taking a stroll through the feature gardens in Canada Blooms this year, the presence of water is unmistakable.

March April 2017 – Spring is a time of hope and renewed energy with longer days of sunshine and warmer weather. It is also a great time to reflect on how energy costs in the past months have impacted your bottom line, and to work with your team to make your greenhouse more cost-effective for the year to come.

March 10, 2017, Guelph, Ont. – Ontario farmers can finally expect some relief with lower electricity bills on the way.

Nov. 25, 2016, Guelph, Ont. – Affordable energy is a serious issue in Ontario. Rural Ontario is the hardest hit by energy inflation with most businesses, residents and farms relying on electricity, propane or heating oil to support their way of life.

Nov. 7, 2016, Guelph, Ont. – The need for natural gas across rural Ontario is a top priority for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and rural municipalities.

November 2016 – Greenhouses provide vegetable and flower growers with the ability to control all the inputs needed to yield healthy, plentiful crops. In a greenhouse, growers can tailor the amount of light, CO2, moisture, heat and cold, and other variables in order to improve both the quality and quantity of their production.

June 2016 – If it’s true that each food unit we consume now takes about 10 units of carbon energy to produce, then perhaps the food system is broken. Surely it does not make sense to use more energy to produce something than we can get back out of it in useful food energy. What options do we have?

June 2016 – In our August edition last year we presented an overview of a few of the new alternative energy projects across the country. This year, we have more exciting news to share, along with some recent updates.

Oct. 1, 2015, Moberly Lake, B.C. – The Saulteau First Nations are replacing a plant nursery’s propane heating with a biomass heating system, with funding support of $150,000 from B.C.’s First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund.

June 23, 2015, Windsor — Greenhouse operators in the Windsor-Essex Region will reduce their electricity costs and expand their production by taking advantage of electricity programs offered by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

Juned 2015 – This month we carry on the theme looking at alternative energy options, now considering potential “free” energy opportunities.

June 2015 – Natural gas prices may have dipped the past few years, but there’s still considerable interest in biomass heating.

April 21, 2017, Flamborough, Ont. – Green Relief Inc. has become the 31st licensed producer in Canada to receive its license from Health Canada to sell medical marijuana, initiating an unprecedented era in the industry.

April 13, 2017, Simcoe, Ont. – Marijuana production in Canada is about to scale up, and we have a free webinar on May 11 to help with decisions related to facility design.

April 13, 2017, Smiths Falls, Ont. – One of Canada’s largest marijuana companies is preparing for big news out of Ottawa later today.

March 23, 2017, Smiths Falls, Ont. – Tweed Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation, has announced the licensing of additional facilities at its flagship Smiths Falls campus, including new grow rooms that will increase flowering space by 50 per cent.

March 9, 2017, Whistler, B.C. – Whistler Medical Marijuana Corp (WMMC), Canada’s only 100 per cent certified organic producer of medical cannabis licensed under Health Canada’s Access to Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), is preparing for a 65,000-square-foot expansion.

March 7, 2017, Vancouver – Future Harvest Development Ltd. has generated $1.578 million in revenue for the eight months ending Feb. 28, 2017, with a gross margin of $807,846, representing a 51 per cent gross margin compared to the same period in the prior year gross margin of $617,779, and a 39.6 per cent margin.

Feb. 23, 2017, London, U.K – A fruit and vegetable intake above five-a-day shows major benefit in reducing the chance of heart attack, stroke, cancer and early death.

Feb. 22, 2017, Smiths Falls, Ont. – Tweed Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation, has completed an intensive process of sourcing a diverse genetic seed bank and legally importing it into Canada.

Feb. 17, 2017 – Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) is launching its annual “Always in Season” winter cucumber program today.

Jan. 24, 2017, Leamington, Ont. – Aphria Inc. is proceeding with a $137 million capital project, known internally as Part Four expansion.

February 2017 – In a similar article last year, a number of visitors’ favourites from an open house at the container trials at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) were presented.