Nursery Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities: nursery stock.
Work in greenhouse facility to plant, cultivate, harvest, transplant, spray, weed, fertilize trim, and water plants, using hand tools and gardening tools. Other activities include, but are not limited to, shoveling, hoeing, ground preparation, lifting, carrying, loading/unloading plant supplies and other manual tasks. Clear debris from field and clean/maintain greenhouse buildings, structures, equipment, and work areas. Assist with greenhouse maintenance and repairs. Worker will also apply pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other crop protectants. Mix and apply fertilizers, plant growth chemicals, and other plant related treatments at the correct time depending on plant type, growth, climate, and crop conditions. Assist in shading and/or blackout covering of plants.

Prepare soil for planting. Plant, cultivate, and maintain nursery stock and/or bedding plants in condition for shipping and sale to customers. Harvest, pack, label, tag, hanger, transplant, pot, dig, store and pull/select plants by variety. Take cutting according to specifications. Stick cuttings by hand and transplant liners by hand or mechanical planter. Clean trays and pots. Make flats by placing inserts or pots into trays or saucers into pots and placing into soil machinery. Stick plant cutting into medium. Run a plant fixer removing dead/immature plants. Perform cleaning and sanitation in production areas as required. Load/unload carts with plants and move to designated locations. Perform general plant maintenance. Prune, trim, space, transplant, and cull plants to ensure availability of marketable products. Irrigate and apply fertilizer. Move and install irrigation pipes and equipment. Dig, count, grade, and inventory plants. Prepare plants for digging by tying or wrapping as necessary. Dig plants. Workers must understand greenhouse quality control standards and have working knowledge of production procedures. Must harvest crops according to specific standards. Plants must be handled carefully to prevent/avoid damage.

Load and unload plants and supplies from trucks. Lift, carry and organize orders or products for sale. Monitor crops to determine if it is necessary to irrigate plants. Measure EC and Ph measurements of soil to help determine fertility. Assist in making spray applications to control insect and diseases. Change sticky cards to monitor insect populations in greenhouse. Record insect counts and scouting records. Assist in measuring crops to determine actions necessary to hit target sale heights of crops. Perform routine checks on growing areas and take notes of concerns and report to assistant grower. Assist or direct crews on plant maintenance tasks. Assist in maintaining a clean greenhouse appearance. Assist with monitoring greenhouse temperatures and humidity levels. Assist with fertilizer and making sure proper feed is being applied through irrigation.

Pick, move, and lay down plants for orders. Lift, carry and pack orders or product. Load and unloads plants and supplies from trucks. Remove and apply shade tarps to greenhouses. Operate tractors, plant fixer machine and other machinery and equipment to fertilize, cultivate, harvest, de-leaf, and spray plants. Pull flats from the greenhouse for customer orders or to throw away. Locate flats in the greenhouse, pick them up, set them onto a rack, and relocate them to the appropriate area. Assemble racks for plants to be shipped on. Racks are custom built for each individual order and may vary in size. Workers may use powered tools in the assembly and disassembly process.

Assist in preparing the ground by leveling and removing old ground cover cloth and replacing with new cloth to place plants. Remove and apply shade tarps or plastic to greenhouses. Cover and uncover plants with frost/freeze protection fabrics. Worker will be exposed and not limited to standing, bending, stooping and kneeling for long periods of time.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of 3 months of agricultural experience handling both manual and mechanized tasks. Applicants must be able to furnish verbal or written statement establishing relevant prior work experience. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 50 lbs. Employer-paid pre-employment and post-hire drug testing required. Criminal background check required.