Nursery Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
nursery stock, trees, shrubs, perennials.
This job requires a minimum of 3 months of experience working in a tree nursery, handling both manual and mechanized tasks associated with commodity production and harvest activities. Workers must be able to perform manual and mechanized tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Mow, cut, and weed fields. Perform ditching, shoveling, hoeing, hauling, ground preparation, and other manual tasks. Bending, stooping and kneeling required. Use hand tools including but not limited to hoes, shovels, shears, clippers, loppers, and saws. Lift, carry, and load/unload products or supplies. Use power equipment including but not limited to: tractors, planters, mowers, plows, sprayers, cultivators, power shears, chain saws, high lifts, fork lifts, skid loaders. Must operate agricultural equipment safely, with or without direction. Install/maintain irrigation systems and water lines. Move and install irrigation pipes and equipment. Dig and maintain ditches. Install and remove levee gates. Uncover and/or recover winter storage houses. Lay black plastic, punch and prepare the plastic for planting seeds. Remove plastic at end of season.

Planting: Propagate plants by placing buds/scions. Plant seedlings or 'liners' by hand or with mechanical planter. Clear cull stock, brush and debris. Dig holes and shovel dirt. Tree Training: hoeing, tree painting, weed mat application. Tie/position trees and limbs, together and to trellises, using string, tape, wire or other fasteners and supports. Supervisors will explain and demonstrate picking requirements to all workers at the start of the season and as needed thereafter to ensure quality standards. Damaged plants will be noted by supervisor(s) in a post-inspection quality report. Supervisors may issue written disciplinary notice to workers with a significant number of damaged plants. Repeated failure to follow quality control instructions may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. Prepare fields/soil for planting. Remove cull stock, debris, tree stumps, brush, ferns, vines and other growth from planting area using tractor, mattocks, brush hooks and/or axes. Plant, cultivate and maintain nursery stock and/or bedding plants in condition for shipping and sale to customers. Pot seedlings or ‘liners' by hand or mechanical planter. Propagate plants from cuttings. Perform general plant maintenance. Prune, trim, space, transplant and cull plants to ensure availability of marketable products. Irrigate and apply fertilizer. Pack, label, tag, pull, and store plants by variety. Count, grade, and inventory plants. Prepare plants for digging by tying or wrapping as necessary. Dig plants. Drum lacing and quarter lacing. Wrap burlap or other covering around root balls and secure with twine and/or staples. Crimp wire baskets. Must understand nursery quality control standards and have working knowledge of production procedures. Must harvest crops according to specific standards. Must select and harvest crops pursuant to customer needs. Plants must be handled carefully to ensure that leaves, limbs and roots are not broken during digging, handling, wrapping and/or transplanting processes. Lift, carry and load trees onto trucks for transport. May drive trucks or tractors to transport trees from the field to central loading area. Lift, carry, and load/unload nursery stock and/or supplies.

Work is done in the field for long periods of time. Workers may assist in handling product weighing up to 75 pounds and lifting to a height of 5 feet. Workers must work on their feet in bent positions for long periods of time. Work requires repetitive movements and extensive walking. Work required in fields when plants are wet with dew and rain, and may be required during light rain, snow, moderate winds, direct sun, high humidity and extreme temperatures.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of 3 months of experience working in a tree nursery, handling both manual and mechanized tasks associated with commodity production. Workers must be able to perform manual and mechanized tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 75 lbs.