Students prepare Palmer greenhouse

PALMER — Spring cleaning started early at the Palmer High School greenhouse. Students and instructor, Don Berberich, have removed everything but the growing tables in order to sanitize and insure the growing environment is free of anything that might hurt this year’s crop of flowers, herbs and vegetables.

“We gutted it,” said sophomore Chris Echternacht looking in on a mostly barren greenhouse. After moving everything out, tables were picked clean and the floor swept. Next, a spray of strong sanitizing soap was laid on every surface, and Echternacht followed up with a pressure sprayer.

The house cleaning is the first step in making sure plants are healthy and free of pest and disease.

“We need to make sure we have a clean start,” said Berberich, “Then just hope we can make it to summer without any of the bad guys sneaking in.”

The bad guys include pests like thrips, spider mites, whiteflies and aphids. These can hitch a ride on clothing or get brought in on plants. Tobacco mosaic virus is devastating to tomatoes and peppers and can be introduced into the greenhouse by any tobacco user.

“We even cleaned the insides of the hoses!” declared Kiana Hampton, a sophomore and crew leader in charge of flowers. “Algae can start the first time you water, if you don’t get it out of the hoses.”

Berberich is adamant his students learn the basics.

“My goal is these kids get hired by one of the many greenhouses or farms in the area and immediately start helping that business. Every owner does things a little different, but they all need good sanitation,” Berberich said.

The students will soon be planting seeds, rooting cuttings, and transplanting. Lots of transplanting. Knowing they started right should give them confidence the final product will be healthy.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun. I actually enjoy it,” junior Izzy Woody said.

Don Berberich teaches classes in forestry, plant and animal sciences and Geospatial Information Systems at Palmer High School.