Holly Greenberg

Hi everyone! Thank you for reading about my second week with Extension. This week was busy but very fun! 

This is one of the prepped sites around a Crape Myrtle in Rockville. From left to right, it is Alexandra, Suzanne, me, and Laura. 

 On Monday, the Ornamental Horticulture Team’s new shed was delivered! I began the day by moving supplies and tools into the new space. Later in the day, we headed back to the Rockville sites to remove sod and prepare the ground for the native flower sod install later in the week. This required the use of the sod-kicker, which, as the name states, requires repetitive kicking to cut through the grass roots. While laborious, it is still very enjoyable and quite satisfying! 

 Laura and I joined Andrew Ristvey, the Commercial Horticulture Specialist based at the Wye Research and Education Center, and Ginny Rosenkranz, the Commercial Horticulture Educator for the Lower Shore, on tours of Eastern Shore stakeholders on Tuesday and Wednesday. Andrew brought us to Murphy John’s, a wholesale greenhouse grower. The greenhouses were well organized, highly maintained, and beautiful. John gave us a tour of his property and discussed the pest problems he is facing, which are unusually few. The lack of pests could be due to the late spring frost. As we went around, Laura, Andrew, and John identified two-spotted spider mites on the trap crop. After, we headed to Holly Hill Farms, a wholesale nursery. Here, we toured the property as David, the co-owner, told us about the pest problems faced and how he counteracts them. This was my first behind-the-scenes view of the ornamental horticulture industry, and all that is necessary to protect plants and treat pests. 

This is the inside of one of the greenhouses at Murphy John's.

These are the Zinnias at Murphy John's. Andrew suggested using this as a screensaver, and I just might! 

On Wednesday, Ginny brought us to Marshall’s, another wholesale nursery. Phil, their IPM specialist, gave us a tour of their many properties, which all face individual pest problems. This was a great learning experience on Extension-stakeholder interactions. Phil expressed his appreciation for our visit because it provided our team with the necessary understanding of Marshall’s operation to effectively address their pest concerns in the future. We then visited How Sweet It Is, a large garden center and market, followed by Tidal Roots, another garden center and market. As we ate lunch and discussed getting to know the stakeholders, I shared the idea that there is more information than comes across from a name, along with the importance of curiosity. I also brought up the other topics we discussed in the Weekly Connection, such as teamwork and navigating conflict, which they emphasized the importance of. 

 These are two of my favorite days so far! I am very grateful for the opportunity to join Laura on this trip. Interacting with the growers and Extension agents showed me the importance of community and how important Extension is to these businesses, and vice versa. 

This is a fallen piece of wood from John and Maureen Murphy's wild honeybee tree at their house! The bottom half is the wax comb built onto part of a tree.

 On Thursday, I learned to drive the new gator and mower! I measured and rated the Matricaria and Snapdragon flowers in the morning before joining the MNLGA conference planning meeting. During the meeting, I observed how large-event speakers are selected and sessions are planned. After the first half, I began my field work for the day. I cleared the sod of three 4’x5’ plots on the CMREC campus. I prepped the rectangles for Friday’s sod laying day. The majority of the sod will be placed at the three sites in Rockville, but there is a surplus that will allow us to keep a close eye on it on-site. This was especially fun because I got to drive the gator to the plots and around the property as I placed the grass sod in compost. 

Here I am filling up totes with water for the native flower sod. Next to me is one of the two pallets of sod (it was a lot of sod)!

 Overall, this was an amazing week. Every day makes me more excited to go back the next day! I could not ask for better mentors and coworkers who make each day engaging, fun, and educational.