How to Keep Your Plant Nursery Clean
Give your nursery a thorough cleaning before winter., Make room to clean., Clean from top to bottom., Scrub your nursery down., Choose your disinfectant., Disinfect everything., Try to keep your nursery clean throughout the year.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Give your nursery a thorough cleaning before winter.
Keeping the nursery or greenhouse clean works well as a defense against plant diseases and insect infestations.
Begin with a thorough cleaning of the entire nursery in the fall.
The growing season is over at that time, the weather is beginning to cool and insects are looking for a warm home for the winter.
Disease organisms also survive the winter in greenhouses, only to attack with a vengeance when the temperatures warm back up. -
Step 2: Make room to clean.
Remove the plants from the nursery, if possible, or move them all to one side and clean one side of the nursery at a time. , Sweep all of the dirt and debris off the walls and on to the floor.
This can be done with a broom and dustpan but a good shop vac will make the job much easier and will do a more thorough job of picking up small particles.
Work from the top down, getting cob webs and dirt off the walls before cleaning up the floor.
Pay special attention to getting dirt out of the corners and along the edges of the floor.
Any dirt left on the walls or floor will reduce the effectiveness of cleaning solutions and disinfectants. , Scrub the walls, floor and all surface areas with a cleanser designed for greenhouses, such as Strip-It.
These cleansers remove dirt and algae which can make surfaces slippery and attract fungus gnats and shore flies.
Rinse everything thoroughly using a hose with a spray nozzle attachment or, if possible, use a power washer to rinse the cleanser off the walls, floor and other surfaces. , Common household bleach is an effective disinfectant.
This substance should be mixed with water in a 9:1 ratio in order to thoroughly disinfect your nursery.
However, all materials that need to be sterilized should be cleaned before they are placed in the solution because dirt destroys the working potential of the bleach mixture (see the previous step).
Bleach should only be used in areas that are well-ventilated because heavy concentrations of the substance can cause illness or even death.
A solution of 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 100 parts water can also be used for sterilization purposes; this is a less toxic alternative to the bleach mixture.
Imported water can be treated with chlorine at a rate of 1 ppm to render it usable for disinfecting your nursery.
This treatment reduces the risk of damping off (a disease that can kill seeds before they germinate) and also keeps other harmful water borne substances from infecting nursery stock. , Disinfect all of the surfaces in the nursery with a disinfectant designed for greenhouse use.
The disinfectant should be sprayed on the surfaces and left for at least an hour , but this amount of time varies depending on the disinfectant that you use.
Reusable containers, work surfaces, and tools should be properly sterilized before and after use.
This will help prevent the transmission of harmful elements from plant to plant.
Waterproof equipment should likewise be soaked for a full day in disinfectant solutions so that the chemicals have plenty of time to work. , Keeping the greenhouse clean throughout the year will help reduce diseases and insect infestation.
It will also make the annual fall clean up that much easier.
Leave a broom and dustpan or shop vac in the greenhouse and clean up small messes from repotting or pruning as soon as they occur.
Never leave debris around the plants or on the floor.
A good, thorough weekly clean-up of all surfaces and floors should keep your nursery looking neat and tidy.
Do not use more water or fertilizer than is absolutely necessary.
Surfaces that are constantly wet provide an excellent breeding area for algae and bacteria. -
Step 3: Clean from top to bottom.
-
Step 4: Scrub your nursery down.
-
Step 5: Choose your disinfectant.
-
Step 6: Disinfect everything.
-
Step 7: Try to keep your nursery clean throughout the year.
Detailed Guide
Keeping the nursery or greenhouse clean works well as a defense against plant diseases and insect infestations.
Begin with a thorough cleaning of the entire nursery in the fall.
The growing season is over at that time, the weather is beginning to cool and insects are looking for a warm home for the winter.
Disease organisms also survive the winter in greenhouses, only to attack with a vengeance when the temperatures warm back up.
Remove the plants from the nursery, if possible, or move them all to one side and clean one side of the nursery at a time. , Sweep all of the dirt and debris off the walls and on to the floor.
This can be done with a broom and dustpan but a good shop vac will make the job much easier and will do a more thorough job of picking up small particles.
Work from the top down, getting cob webs and dirt off the walls before cleaning up the floor.
Pay special attention to getting dirt out of the corners and along the edges of the floor.
Any dirt left on the walls or floor will reduce the effectiveness of cleaning solutions and disinfectants. , Scrub the walls, floor and all surface areas with a cleanser designed for greenhouses, such as Strip-It.
These cleansers remove dirt and algae which can make surfaces slippery and attract fungus gnats and shore flies.
Rinse everything thoroughly using a hose with a spray nozzle attachment or, if possible, use a power washer to rinse the cleanser off the walls, floor and other surfaces. , Common household bleach is an effective disinfectant.
This substance should be mixed with water in a 9:1 ratio in order to thoroughly disinfect your nursery.
However, all materials that need to be sterilized should be cleaned before they are placed in the solution because dirt destroys the working potential of the bleach mixture (see the previous step).
Bleach should only be used in areas that are well-ventilated because heavy concentrations of the substance can cause illness or even death.
A solution of 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 100 parts water can also be used for sterilization purposes; this is a less toxic alternative to the bleach mixture.
Imported water can be treated with chlorine at a rate of 1 ppm to render it usable for disinfecting your nursery.
This treatment reduces the risk of damping off (a disease that can kill seeds before they germinate) and also keeps other harmful water borne substances from infecting nursery stock. , Disinfect all of the surfaces in the nursery with a disinfectant designed for greenhouse use.
The disinfectant should be sprayed on the surfaces and left for at least an hour , but this amount of time varies depending on the disinfectant that you use.
Reusable containers, work surfaces, and tools should be properly sterilized before and after use.
This will help prevent the transmission of harmful elements from plant to plant.
Waterproof equipment should likewise be soaked for a full day in disinfectant solutions so that the chemicals have plenty of time to work. , Keeping the greenhouse clean throughout the year will help reduce diseases and insect infestation.
It will also make the annual fall clean up that much easier.
Leave a broom and dustpan or shop vac in the greenhouse and clean up small messes from repotting or pruning as soon as they occur.
Never leave debris around the plants or on the floor.
A good, thorough weekly clean-up of all surfaces and floors should keep your nursery looking neat and tidy.
Do not use more water or fertilizer than is absolutely necessary.
Surfaces that are constantly wet provide an excellent breeding area for algae and bacteria.
About the Author
Aaron Hamilton
Writer and educator with a focus on practical creative arts knowledge.
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