Greenhouse Maintenance and Plant Studies
By
Susan M. Carnathan

May 5, 2007

Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School had just completed renovations which had disrupted the school for more than two years. The science labs reopened and the greenhouse that had been renovated for handicap access was once again available for use.
It was time to fill it with greenery. The revitalized greenhouse came with a new potting bench and wider access to plant tables. I had previously written and received a grant that allowed us to purchase a new garden shed that we located next to the greenhouse. This allowed us to store potting mixes, buckets, shovels, pots and boots! I knew little about running a greenhouse however.

I was teaching Ecology during semester one of the 2006-2007 academic year. I decided that one way I could get the greenhouse back up and running would be to have my Ecology students learn more about plants. We began by conducting a competition study planting bean seeds in pots, some with few and some with many.

The first day that I brought students into the greenhouse, it was a cloudy, rainy winter day. They stood in the empty greenhouse with the rain dropping noisily above their heads. Amazingly, they expressed their wonder and pleasure about just being in this big glass room. And then, getting their hands dirty at the potting bench was another joy. They asked daily to check on their plants. And their plants grew! They pressured me to allow them to plant other things. I searched my garden shed and found packets of seeds that were certainly more than two years old. We planted them. To our collective amazements, many of them grew. We had sunflowers, marigolds, coreopsis, herbs, lettuce, and radishes. The space was becoming greener and greener.

When the semester was coming to a close and final projects were submitted, I asked my students to reflect on their experience in the greenhouse. Their response was more than positive. I asked them to suggest how I might use their bean plants during the next semester’s Ecology class. They responded that no one should touch their plants! In fact, they asked if I would provide a course in horticulture semester two. I explained that it takes time to develop a curriculum and that new courses also had to be approved by the School Committee. There were only five days between semesters to accomplish this feat. I did say that I could offer an Independent Study Course for any students who could fit it into their second semester schedule. Within that day, several students appeared in the guidance office to sign up for this Independent Study. I rushed myself to the Principal to request his permission to proceed with my proposal. He was delighted to do so.


Two students were able to adjust their schedules to take an Independent Study in Horticulture. None of us knew anything about greenhouse management but all of us liked to work with plants. The School to Career Coordinator at D.Y. sent me a message that an Externship Grant was available. She wanted to know if I would be interested in applying. What timing! I immediately applied to learn about greenhouse management and the propagation of plants. I have since worked for three different nurseries, Country Garden, Hyannis, MA, Hart Farm, Dennisport, MA and Seashell Gardens, West Dennis, MA. The experience not only informative but also amazing!