Archive for the ‘Horticulture’ Category

Lela’s Tales from the Road: Griffin Grower Expo – West Springfield, MA

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

On August 18th I participated at the Griffin Grower Expo in West Springfield, MA and boy, what a great time it was. I led a training seminar to those attending, right in front of the Dosatron booth. You can see the great turnout from the pictures below.

Lela's Seminar at Griffin Expo

Lela's Seminar at Griffin Expo

Lela's Seminar at Griffin Expo

Lela's Seminar at Griffin Expo

A special thank you to one of our best, long-term, horticulture partners, Griffin Greenhouse & Nursery Supplies, for putting on such a successful event. If you missed me in August, catch up with me in September at:

Griffin Grower Expo
Knoxville, TN
September 15, 2010

Griffin Grower Expo
Lancaster, PA
September 29, 2010
 

Until my next Tale from the Road

Lela

Wrap Up: 2010 OFA Short Course

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Well, the 2010 OFA Short Course show is now history. There was an unbelievable amount of activity at this year’s show, and Dosatron was right in the thick of some of the show’s hottest action. Here’s what we had going on:

The Dosatron “Conversation Bar”: Did you stop by for a drink at our Conversation Bar? The bar served drinks on Sunday, but it was a hot spot for communication during the entire show. It was especially popular on Sunday afternoon, when we hosted coverage of the World Cup finals in our booth. Check out that crowd!

World Cup Crowd 6

Button Game: Button, button, who’s got the button? Almost everyone we saw at OFA participated in our button game, where people tried to find the other show attendee with their matching-numbered button for a chance to win $400 in cash! We even heard of people making announcements on shuttle buses, looking for their match! Unfortunately, the matching buttons never found each other, so we donated the $800 cash prize to America In Bloom, where we know it will go to good use.

Craig at partyBioSafe/Natural Industries/Dosatron Party: Another OFA hotspot was the annual party we throw with BioSafe and Natural Industries at the Frog Bear & Wild Boar night club. This year, we included karaoke, which turned the party into an even bigger hit than in years past. Also, our own Craig Peterson shocked us all by breaking out his swagger. Who knew he was a karaoke king?

The Debut of the Li’l Bud-D: Maybe the most exciting thing that happened at OFA (at least in our eyes) was the debut of our new 5-gallon Li’l Bud-D DosaCart! The Li’l Bud-D is a great choice for people seeking economy, mobility, and the ability to cart around smaller amounts of concentrate.

The Li’l Bud-D was a big hit; if you didn’t get a chance to meet him, you can learn more here.

So, what were your favorite moments at this year’s OFA show? Did you run around looking for your button match, or belt out a tune at our party? Tell us about it in the comments!

World Cup Fans: Watch With Us at OFA!

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

World Cup LogoDon’t worry, soccer fans! Just because you’re headed to OFA doesn’t mean you’ll have to miss the conclusion of the World Cup. Dosatron’s got you covered!

We will be showing the final World Cup game, live from South Africa, in booth #2017 on Sunday, July 11th.

Kick-off is at 2:30 PM, so make sure you come early enough to get a good vantage point, and grab at complimentary drink at our Conversation Bar. Just ask for Lela or Pam when you arrive so they can issue you a drink ticket.

Of course, we’ve also got some great new products to show you this year, including our brand-new Li’l Bud-D DosaCart, our most affordable cart ever.

Drink service will be from noon to 4:00 PM, so even if you don’t come for the game, stop by to grab a drink and chat.

Don’t forget: Booth #2017. Hope to see you there!

Dosatron Included in Greenhouse Grower’s Pest Management Coverage

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

 Did you catch the “Fine-Tuning Production” article in the June issue of Greenhouse Grower? It was a great piece that recapped the 2010 Pest and Production Management Conference, particularly the discussions at the conference that covered the different scientific aspects involved in keeping plants healthy and disease-free.

In addition to the excellent article, the piece included pictures of the grower tour at Hermann Engelmann Greenhouses. If you look closely at the photo, you can see a Dosatron D20S – 100 GPM unit being used for water treatment. Click here to see a scan of the article that includes the photo content. Here’s a link to the online version, which is text-only.

Don’t forget that Dosatron chemical injectors can do a lot more than just inject fertilizer – they’re great for injecting pest control chemicals, plant growth regulators (PGRs), fungicides, algaecides, water treatment chemicals like ZeroTol, and much more. To learn more about all of the different ways your Dosatron injector can be used, check out the Horticulture page on our website, or call us at 800-523-8499.

How do you control pests and manage production in your greenhouses? Share your tips in the comments section.

Dosatron Gives Back: Texas A & M University

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Dosatron has always been committed to advancing the future of horticulture; for years, we’ve contributed equipment, funds, and expertise to university horticulture departments, so that the young students who are the future of the industry will have all the resources and education they need when it becomes their turn to lead horticulture innovations in the coming decades.

Texas A & M University’s horticulture program has long been one of our favorite programs to support because of the great work they do. In fact, our own Lela Kelly sits on the advisory panel for the Ellison Chair of International Floriculture at Texas A & M.

Recently, we donated one of our award-winning D14MZ2 – 14 GPM injectors to Dr. Terri Starman’s class at Texas A & M. The students were so grateful that they sent us this photo of them with the Dosatron:

TexAM_Students

It’s so great to see the faces of the actual people who benefit from our charitable contributions. Thanks, Dr. Starman and your students – enjoy your Dosatron!

Lela’s Tales from the Road: Griffin Road Show

Friday, March 26th, 2010

lelaThis week I’m in Maine, where I had the opportunity to participate in a road show with one of our best horticulture partners, Griffin Greenhouse & Nursery Supply. The presentation focused on water and fertigation issues, with growers bringing in water for Griffin professionals to test, while I and my co-panelists spoke about how our respective products could address their needs.

Lela at Griffin Road Show Lela Presentation

Turnout was wonderful; we had 63 participants in attendance representing 42 companies. The topic of my discussion was Dosatron calibration and maintenance. After our presentations, my co-panelists and I answered questions in an open forum. During the Q&A, one grower mentioned his 20-year-old Dosatron… that still works!

When people ask me, “How do you stay on the road so much? Don’t you get tired?” I think about events like these, and how valuable it is for me to spend face-to-face time with the people who are in the field every day, depending on their Dosatrons to grow and protect their crops. A little road-fatigue is a small price to pay for participating in events like these.

I’d like to thank Griffin for putting on such a successful event, and for giving me yet another all-important opportunity to speak to growers personally.

Until my next Tale from the Road,

Lela

Dr. Armitage Is a Dancing Star!

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Check out Dosatron friend Dr. Allan Armitage shakin’ his groove thing for charity on Dancing With the Athens Stars. Great job, Dr. Armitage!

Catch Dosatron and Geremia Greenhouse on GGTV

Friday, March 5th, 2010

In case you missed it, Dosatron recently hosted a spot on GGTV’s Supply Channel with Geremia Greenhouse’s head grower Paul Barnes. In the video, Paul explains how Geremia’s uses Dosatron injectors to direct-inject Zerotol, growth regulators, and other chemicals to keep their crops beautiful and healthy. Check it out:

Dosatron and Geremia on GGTV

Thanks so much to Paul for taking the time to talk to us. Did you know that Dosatrons can be used to direct-inject Zerotol? What unusual chemicals do you direct-inject? Tell us about in the comments!

Lela’s Tales from the Road: Washington, DC

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Well, 2010 has gotten off to quite the start – I hit the ground running at the MANTS show during the first week in January, and I’ve been criss-crossing the country pretty much non-stop since. It’s hectic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

A few weeks back, I was back in Washington, DC for another maintenance seminar. This time, I was speaking to a group of growers at a small greenhouse.

As always, it was a delight to meet the growers, listen to their stories, and get their feedback. Here’s what Rachel Aiken, one of the growers we spoke to, had to say about Dosatron:

We’ve been using Dosatron injectors exclusively for the past 12 years. They work really well, and they’re a breeze to work with. And now with the new 14 GPM model, they’re simpler to use and maintain than ever.

Lorien Bristow (left) and Rachel Aiken (right) were two of the growers at our recent maintenance seminar in Washington, DC

Lorien Bristow (left) and Rachel Aiken (right) were two of the growers at our recent maintenance seminar in Washington, DC

The growers all seemed pretty excited that we came out to explain the injectors to them in-depth, and we were excited to be there, too. Fortunately, we got out before all the snow came! Hope all my DC readers are staying safe and warm right now.

Don’t forget, we do maintenance seminars all over the country, and we sometimes invite folks to our Technical Service Center in Clearwater, FL for private sessions. If you’re interested, give us a call at 800-523-8499 to schedule a seminar for your group.

Until my next Tale from the Road,

Lela

Greenhouse Grower Talks Fertilizer Injection

Friday, January 15th, 2010

If you haven’t seen it, Greenhouse Grower ran an amazing article on fertilizer injection this month (click here to see the online version). In the article, Peter Konjoian discusses how greenhouses can use their fertilizer injector set-ups in optimum ways, and features some great installations from several different greenhouses, including our longtime-friends at Geremia’s Greenhouse. Best of all, our own Lela Kelly served as technical advisor on the article, and was instrumental in helping Peter choose these best-of-the-best installations to discuss.

If you’re looking for innovative ways to install your Dosatron, this article will give you lots of ideas. Check it out, and then come back here to discuss your installation and usage insights and questions in the comments.