ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 10, 1996 TAG: 9605100014
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RUIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: VIRGINIA JORDAN SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
This is a production line any corporate executive would like. There is no smoke or dust, no clatter or bang. There is no time off; work goes on all through the night. And the products bring in good revenue.
This is flower power, working along with people power through all of Virginia Tech's five greenhouses.
Spring is not just the growing season, but also harvest time for Tech's Horticulture Club, which every May holds a flower sale to earn money for its trips to national competitions and other activities.
Among its 60 members, work - and plenty of it - is the rule. "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link," said Ryan Clouse, president of the club, "so I try to get the word out" and get members involved.
From a welcoming ice cream social in September, to barbecue tailgate parties at home football games, a disadvantaged children's Christmas party, a road litter cleanup, a trip to the national horticulture competition, a final "banquet" and the fund-raising plant sale, the club year keeps everyone busy.
Clouse, a senior, is a natural for his volunteer job. He graduates Saturday with two bachelor of science degrees, one in horticulture and one in agricultural economics. Summer study had a lot to do with this, including a session in Russia as an exchange student at the Ulyanovsk Polytechnic Institute on the Volga River. Dr. Rodney Thompson, who teaches corporate finance at Virginia Tech, was the instructor.
Going to Russia, however, is not the only way to learn. Every club meeting is a painless education, as long as Meg Moran, program chairman and president-elect, is in charge.
It is in early winter that the plant sale really begins. The catalyst is Rachel Rudy, who starts by ordering plant cuttings, which will be repotted, from nine or 10 sources all over the country. She is the teaching assistant for the floriculture class, working under horticulture instructor Kevin Grueber. With teamwork, they have created a completely organic greenhouse, used for herbs. "Notice how clean these leaves are," Grueber said.
"I try to stay away from insecticides and commercial fertilizers," Rudy said. What are the alternatives? " For fertilizers, a fish emulsion and chicken manure are good," she said.
As for aphids and whiteflies, one way of controlling them is with other bugs, lacewings and parasitic wasps, which are imported. Another alternative is a soap dilution bath.
All of this expertise helps the plant sale, which brings in the majority of the club's funding. Some of this money helped send student contestants to the Association of Landscape Contractors of America Career Days in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Virginia Tech had the largest school group attending. About 26 students took part in 29 events, including irrigation assembly, pest management, weed and turf identification and small engine repair. Out of 30 group contestants, Tech placed sixth.
Robert McDuffie, landscape design instructor, masterminded the entire trip. Did he lie awake nights? "I made lists," he said. "Even lists of the tools everyone had to take."
The club's faculty advisers are Robert Lyons and Roger Harris. "The sale helps them to learn about handling money," Harris said, "but basically the club runs itself."
"We give some guidance," Lyons said, "on unresolved issues or options." Whatever the guidance, it seems to work just fine.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: LORA GORDON. 1. Horticulture major Doug Croft (left)by CNBpicks off discolored leaves from lavender plants raised in Tech's
organic greenhouse. 2. A celosia seedling (above) is prepared for
repotting. color.