Specialized Nursery Worker

Job description

Harvest of field and container grown nursery stock:
1.Harvest field grown plants through manual labor and mechanical harvesting techniques, transplant and pot
into containers.
2.Apply identification tags to field and container grown plants.
3.Haul and spread potting soils and fertilizer or other materials using carts, scoops or shovels.
4.Move containerized shrubs, conifers, and trees.
5.Weeding, cleaning, and pruning field container grown plants.
6.Use hand tools such as shears, pruners, blowers, trimmers, rakes, and shovels.
7.Maintain tools of all kinds in the manner in which we train you to do.
8.May be trained to operate tractors, ATV’s, forklifts, and other field digging and potting equipment.
9.Plant in prepared ground or containers: bareroot, plugs, or containerized starter plants. Mechanical planter
or manual labor techniques may be used.
10.May assist with field irrigation activities to water field and container plants.
11.Work to keep all work and production areas clean of debris and dead plants.

Shipping: Order pulling and loading of container grown nursery stock:
1.Work as a team to pull and tag plants for shipping to customers.
2.Work as a team to hand load and stack bareroot and container plant material into semi-trucks.
3.Utilize equipment related to truck loading such as tractors, ATVs, or forklifts.
Support Nursery Teams:
Work to support the entire team by cleaning work areas, lunch areas, and general support to production
employees. Work to support the nursery with special projects such as digging trenches, spreading gravel, sewing bed fabric together, and irrigation improvements.
Skilled Labor Opportunity:
Workers may have the opportunity to work towards more skilled job duties as listed in the job description
below. Also see Addendum C A.8E Additional Wage Information.
Budder: Worker performs the budding technique onto each young plant (seedling). Using skilled tree propagating techniques, the Budder makes a small cut into a young seedling low to the ground and inserts a living tree cultivar “bud” into the cut ensuring a proper fit and size.
Tier: A worker who follows Budder and wraps the new “bud” with tape to ensure good healing.
Loader: A worker carefully hand stacks tree bundles into an enclosed trailer for shipping so that the maximum amount of trees fit into each load without breaking any portion of the trees.
Helper: Hands the loader the appropriate sized bundle of trees during trailer loading seeking to maximize the number of trees per trailer.

Culture of field and container grown in nursery stock plants:
1.Plant in field or containers in a manner to result in the highest quality plant.
2.Haul and spread mulch, fertilizer, and debris using carts, shovels, rakes, or other tools.
3.Tools such as pruners, shears, blowers, trimmers, rakes, shovels, and other tools to produce plants may be used.
4.Prune or shear plants to direct growth and proper development.
5.Stake and tie plants to direct growth and proper development.
6.Apply trunk protection where needed.
7.Remove sucker trees.
8.Weed or cultivate between trees.
9.May be trained to operate support trees.
10.Work to keep all work and production areas clean of debris and dead plants.

Special Requirements

B.2 Workers must have 3 months work experience as a nursery laborer.
B.4e) Must be able to lift and/or load 75 lbs.
B.4f) Work may take place when temperatures are below freezing and above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. B.4g) May
require extensive pulling and/or pushing of tools, wheelbarrows, crop containers, etc.
B.4h) May require worker to sit and/or walk for extended periods of time while sorting, picking, examining,
weeding, transporting, pruning, etc.
B.4i) Workers will be required to stoop and/or bend over while performing nursery labor such as weeding,
irrigating, pruning, picking, removing debris, etc.
B.4j) There will be repetitive movements while performing most of the nursery labor duties, for example
picking, sorting, pruning, shoveling, weeding, etc.

GENERAL CONDITIONS: Field work begins at the assigned time shortly after daylight. Work may be performed
during light rain and in high humidity and in freezing or high heat temperatures.