Calendar of operations
It is easiest to calculate the amount of labour required by making a calendar of operations. By making a comprehensive calendar that includes all activities for all species, it is easy to see how much labour and materials are needed at each season and level. The main operations to be done in the nursery are tabulated below.
Table 2. list of operations in the nursery
Months | Operations |
1 | 2 |
December-January | Nursery layout, ordering of poly pots and other materials |
February-May | Exploration of seed viability, and arrangement of seed collection |
February-April | Collection of soil and sand for potting mixture |
April | Preparation of potting mixture |
April-May | Bed preparation and filling of poly pots |
May | Collection of materials for mulch |
June | Cleaning of seeds and sowing |
July-August | Removal of mulch from the bed, transplanting extra plants into empty pots |
July-September | Collection of vegetation for compost making |
August-October | General maintenance, weeding, watering and completion of compost making |
November | Preparation and erection of shades |
November-February | During these months shades should be erected daily and removed early in the morning |
March | Give spacing for the growing plants in the nursery beds and root pruning |
April-July | Root pruning |
April-May | If necessary, shading is continued |
June-July | Preparation of plants for transporting to the field |