CAITLIN Sawyer has returned from her horticultural visit to the UK inspired and full of schemes for Wingham Nursery and Florist.
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Caitlin chatted with grandfather Ralph about the “loads of ideas” she wants to try out, but he had to slow her down, saying “woah, one at a time”.
“He can see how passionate I am and he knows he fuels a lot of it. The fact that I’ve got a ‘playground’ is really cool,” Caitlin said.
One of the eye-openers for Caitlin was seeing how plants are marketed in the UK. She says the Australian horticultural industry needs to “move that way to survive”.
While in the UK She saw how a new chilli plant was grown as a ‘lollypop’ plant and marketed as a gift plant.
“It’s all about marketing. Not ripping people off, not about gimmicks, just different, and growing something cool – something that you’d want as a present.”
She was intrigued at how the UK has a different soil medium to Australia. Where as ours uses a lot of sand, grit and bark, the UK’s is very heavily peat based, which gives a much higher rate of production.
As a result Caitlin is now experimenting with new soil mixes, seeing what works well but is still financially viable.
“Something else I’m really excited about and I have to convince the rest of the staff about is integrated pest management (IPM),” she said.
Caitlin has developed a fascination with using insects and live larvae as predatory insects to fight pests and diseases on plants.
She explains it has so many benefits, as it cuts costs, is sustainable and environmentally friendly.
“All we have to do is literally buy this stuff, open the jar, sit it down by the plant and watch them do their stuff.”
She intends to do a lot more study on IPM. “It’s really exciting learning about bugs!” she said.
Another lesson that Caitlin has returned with is that of the value of networking. “As an industry we really have got to network.”
Right now, as an ambassador of YoungHort Australia, Caitlin is heavily involved in networking with other members of the organisation, which aims to promote horiticulture as a career to young people.
“I want people to have as much fun as I do every day!” she said.