Swimming upstream...

DISCLAIMER: This post in no way lays claim to any form of incompetence on my part, whether stated or implied. ;0)

There are times in my life when huge diversity in the scope of my work can be a little bewildering...

Right now I've been dealing with sporadic outbreaks of Verticilluim, which now seems to have actually been imported in the cuttings to our farm by the supplier. A pretty detailed breakdown of what that entails is in the link.

Then there's the little matter of our trade-mark application for the new logo and a minor accounting error on the attorneys part that needs to be resolved, but they seem to be incapable of rectifying (3 months in).

Then we have a relatively high tech shade cloth installation that was supposed to be done by 15 September, but it's still ongoing and frought with specification and installation problems - and now perilously close to litigation. So now the extensive correspondence to the sub-contractors, contractors and suppliers (in Holland) has to be very carefully worded.

In a similar vein; we're developing a revised irrigation system, which will help us increase our production per sqaure meter in the greenhouses AND delivery improved quality too. First off on that is a survey (and consequent drawings) of the current water reticulation system including pipe dimensions and materials.

Aside from that, we're busy with a number of 'innovations' to do with, night lighting (energy saving attempts) and temperature control (retrofitting) that are all being trialled at the same time, along with a research project on stem elongation during propagation in our Rooting Greenhouse.

Then there's the bane of my existence - the Spider Mite - which despite my attempts at a total chemical onslaught in order to control them have somehow seemed fruitless. I will post about Spider Mite one day (just not now, for fear of detracting from today's thread).

And of course there's the regular stuff around production planning, ordering and following up on Plant, Chemical and Fertilizer stocks, crop protection planning; labour relations; basic first aid (when required); keeping an eye on best (and sometimes not the best) practice; meeting customer flower demand (six months after having planned the production otherwise) and so on and so on.

With all this going on it can get a little confounding at times. Trying to allocate priorities helps a little, but there's almost always something or someone else that comes along and swallows a former priority, spits it out and re-directs an entire process.

Like the Rainbow Salmon, there're days when I don't quite manage to get anything completed, even if there's progress on many fronts. I can feel like I'm fighting against powerful currents from all directions. All in an efort to get to a non-descript and uncertain prize.

Make no mistake, I love the challenges of my day, and diversity beats the mundane hands down. But it's the little victories, like completing at least one item on my ever changing list of tasks and projects, that gives me a great sense of satisfaction.

It does still sometimes feel like I'm swiming upstream all the same. :0)

Ciao 4 Now