Rotating Work Station For Planting Flowers

Rotating work station for planting flowers CROPS New Techniques 16-5-31 As the owner of a greenhouse business, I grow hardy mums for sale in the fall. In past years, the planting of 1,000 mum cuttings into pots took several days. The pots were filled from a bag of soil on a wagon, laid out on the ground, watered, planted and watered again. Backaches were par for the course. I decided to try to make the job easier. I built a rotating work station that mounts on a pallet, carried by a 3-pt. mounted forklift which I built. It consists of a half-V shaped hopper which holds 12 cu. ft. of soil. Bolted to the center rail of the pallet is a 2 by 4 which supports a 4-ft. dia. turntable. The hub consists simply of a 1 1 /4 in. pipe mounted vertically inside the 2 by 4. A 1-in. dia. pipe, attached to the underside of the turntable, turns inside the larger pipe. Eleven 10-in. pots bolt to the turntable to hold the 8-in. pots that we plant into. An electronic timer activates a 24-volt water valve which moistens the soil. A shelf mounted on the back of the dirt hopper holds the cuttings. In operation, as shown in the photo, the girl on the left fills the pot with soil, places it in a 10-in. pot on the turntable under the water nozzle, and starts the timer, which runs the water for 5 sec. The girl on the right plants the mum cuttings into the pots and then sets the pots out onto the ground. This unit cost me the price of one sheet of 3/4-in. waferboard, one 24-volt sprinkler valve, eleven 10-in. pots, and some nuts and bolts. It has worked flawlessly since the first day of use. Because it mounts on the forklift, height can be easily adjusted. Two people can plant over 1,000 pots in only 5 hrs. I'm sure other growers of potted plants, including trees, perennials and shrubs, could put such a unit to good use. I know of nothing like it on the market. (JlmKwllelckl, J & L Floral, 23200 Sprague Rd., Olmsted Falls, Ohio ph 216 243-8822)

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