Putting on a Basic Carpenter's Hat
A Little Building Project at Work
By Xander Rose
In addition to managing the orchard, I also am tasked with helping with some aspects of greenhouse work at Raintree Nursery. I find this different environment, one of plants in pots under much more human control, interesting for its challenges. One of those challenges is snails and slugs! We maintain bait traps in and around greenhouses to monitor for a regulated non-native snail: the brown garden snail (https://oregonstate.edu/dept/nurspest/brown_garden_snail.htm). Fortunately, we never catch this snail, but we still have to monitor for it, just in case...
The bait traps are kept safe with labeled plywood covers. One outside of a greenhouse had deteriorated in the wet Washington elements to the point of needing replacing. So, I put my carpenter hat on! I definitely enjoy the variety of work here at Raintree. It keeps things interesting.
I procured some pressure treated plywood and a pressure treated 2x2. That should hold up longer than the original cover. A measuring tape, handsaw, and a hammer and nails rounded out the tools and materials needed. While the rain poured outside, sawing and hammering in the dry barn passed some time well of a late spring morning.
Happy growing! Because, after all, change is the only constant. -Xander Rose