American Nurseryman -Jan 2012

Innovative Tips Tools and Equipment Cultural practices can vary from region to region nursery to nursery and crop to crop Nevertheless what works for Mortellaros Nursery in Schertz Texas just may help you fi nd success too James C Harden Jr The ideas and equipment we employ at Mortellaros Nursery are useful for our operation and should be useful for most other operations Some of the equipment may need modifi cation for use by other nurseries in order to fi t within their cultural practices As with all ideas that were used to create the equipment and methods in use at our operation the main purpose of this is to stimulate thought on how our ideas can be applied to other operations Mortellaros is a wholesale grower of a wide variety of shrubs trees groundcovers natives and seasonal color Weve been in business since 1956 Vermeer S600TX Upright Scissors Lift SL30 We purchased a used speed level lift about six years ago for the sole purpose of installing plastic on greenhouses We have found numerous uses for the lift since then It has been used to repair shade arbors trim trees for clearance repair semi trailers install conduit and lights in buildings and so on This brand and style had the largest working deck very stable off road capability dual fuel capability for indoor use and was strictly mechanical and hydraulic controlled rather than electronic or computer controlled Maintenance and repair is similar to a skid steer since the motor controls a hydraulic pump for all motion and lift The company name has been changed to Snorkle the type of lift to purchase for off road use is a speed level lift Find similar equipment at http www snorkellifts com PR_ SpeedLevel aspx Dramm Portable PulsFOG This unit was purchased so that we could more easily treat for insect and diseases during the winter when our houses were covered It allows our spray applicator to treat a single house and move on to the next house in about 5 minutes The unit has the ability to treat up to 100000 square feet in 15 minutes For the purpose of safety we have cut a hole in opposite ends of the house and have a drop down fl ap The applicator opens the fl ap and inserts the fogger through the hole One half of the desired chemical is applied and then the applicator goes to the other end of the house and repeats the process The system is able to distribute the chemical up to 100 feet away but we prefer to ensure heavy uniform coverage We employ the K10 model Find more at http www dramm com html main isx sub 106 We have been using the Vermeer for a couple of years now and have purchased our second unit The primary purpose of the unit was to load 30 gallon and larger material into our trucks for delivery Once the equipment was on site we found many other uses for it It is only able to load 45 gallon and smaller material into the back of a truck or trailer due to tipping point weights but it is very useful in tight spaces when we are busy It became very useful spacing large trees in the fi eld since it needs less space to maneuver We use it to pull and load 30 gallon and 45 gallon material out of the blocks and place on trailers for transport or loading into customers vehicles The women who move pallets around prefer to use the Vermeer for the smaller size and complete visibility rather than be belted within a skid steer loader It comes in many options but we chose a narrow track and Kubota diesel engine Find more at http www2 vermeer com vermeer NA en N equipment mini_ skid_ steers s600 Brady Label Maker Weve found this tool to be perfect for outdoor labels on electrical panels irrigation valves emergency signs and equipment models or ID numbers We have started making our own bilingual signs using the label machine and graphic signs that are only available in English The machine is available from Grainger Find more at http www bradyid com bradyid catalog siteSearchResultsView do searchTerms brady 42001 x 0 y 0 22 JANUARY 2012 American Nurseryman www amerinursery com