Big Leaf Wholesale Nurseries is located at North Arm on the Sunshine Coast, and is operated by Kieran Studders and Greg and Jackie Phillpott, with a staff of 10. In the first of two podcasts Kieran shares his experiences with moving the nursery to another site, and the improvements that have been made in irrigation and production efficiency.

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Improving the scheduling of an efficient irrigation system provides the best opportunity to achieve savings in total water use without adversely affecting plant growth. Historically growers have selected run times for an irrigation zone or block using their experience. The Portable Weight Based Scheduling Tool has been developed to enable the changes in water content occurring within a container to be seen by recording the weight of the container. This information can then be presented in a form where the changes in moisture in the growing media can be displayed on a graph.

This video describes how using a biological water clarifier was used to improve water quality in a nursery water storage. The storage contained increasing levels of algae, plankton and surface floating weeds, leading to costly management and maintenance activities, crop production issues and an unpleasant odour. Ten weeks into the treatment, the water turbidity had significantly improved, algal blooms had disappeared, and the previous unpleasant odour was no longer evident.

The effective management of water quality in storages needs to be flexible, and quickly react to changes in water quality. This video explains strategies that can employed in managing water quality in water storages.

The management of irrigation in a production nursery directly affects plant growth and profitability. Excessive irrigation can waste water, energy and labour, can leach nutrients, and reduce growing media aeration. Insufficient irrigation can stress the crop, affecting plant quality and reducing crop uniformity. Irrigation scheduling refers to how long, how often and when an irrigation system is operated to replenish the amount of water lost from a container since the last irrigation event.

The selection of an appropriate sprinkler is a crucial part of having an irrigation system that operates to Nursery Industry Best Management Practice. The following video explains considerations that need to be taken into account when selecting an appropriate sprinkler for an overhead irrigation system.

pH and Electrical Conductivity meters are extremely useful pieces of equipment used to measure and monitor basic chemical characteristics of water and growing media. Regular and correct calibration of this equipment is necessary to ensure the results are as accurate as possible. The following video describes the basic procedures for calibrating pH and EC meters.

Constructing growing benches to the standard recognised and encouraged under the nursery industry best management practice program, NIASA, provides a range of significant benefits to assist in the production of quality containerised nursery stock.

Constructing growing beds to the standard recognised and encouraged under the nursery industry best management practice program, NIASA, provides significant benefits in the production of quality containerised nursery stock.

Coir, coir fibre pith or coconut fibre is a one hundred percent natural, sustainable and renewable product. Coir is a ‘peat like’ byproduct produced from the processing of coconut husks, and is composed of the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell and the outer coat of a coconut. Coir is lightweight, retains moisture and is an affordable growing media substrate or component for adding to growing media blends, producing stronger, healthier and more fibrous root systems.

Improving water use efficiency in a production nursery begins with having a clear understanding of the infrastructure and practices currently in place. Irrigation, Drainage and Energy Management Plans, or IDEMP's, describe the infrastructure and management practices in operation at a business, and outlines opportunities, suggestions and designs for on-farm improvements, to ensure the business remains profitable and sustainable into the future.

The potting operation is a major component of most production nursery operations. Increasing the overall efficiency of the potting process, can free up resources for use in other parts of the business, and improve plant quality. The following video describes the different potting methods used in the nursery industry.

To achieve maximum efficiency within a potting operation, and to minimise production bottlenecks, the ‘work-flow’ process from potting to plant placement must be efficient. The following video highlights the areas that could be considered when making improvements to the overall productivity of the plant setting out operation.

Weeds or pest plants can have serious economic, environmental, and social impacts. Weeds reduce crop growth, compete for nutrients water and light, harbour insect pests and pathogens, damage the aesthetics of the plant, reduce the ability to apply crop amendments, and can be one of the most significant input costs to production.

Plant roots require air as well as water to remain healthy. The amount of air held within a growing media is referred to as Air filled porosity or AFP . Testing procedures for AFP aren't difficult and can be done at minimal cost with simple equipment built from readily available materials and a little bit of time. This video shows a process for carrying out a practical on-site air filled porosity test on growing media.

Knowing the amount of water held within a growing media, referred to as Water Holding Capacity (WHC) of your growing media can help you manage irrigation scheduling more effectively and ensure plants have adequate moisture.