In 2020, the Summit County Farm Bureau approved a policy to encourage the use of alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power. At Dayton Nursery, that’s just what we have been doing and even more.
At Dayton’s while we produce and sell products to beautify the environment, many of the processes to produce these plants are not environmentally friendly such as high energy use, the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides (weed killers) and water runoff, along with fertilizer, into creeks and streams.
In 1999 we started an ambitious program to tackle all three of these areas; that is energy use, polluted water runoff and pesticide use.
As far as energy use, over the past 5 years we have installed solar panels on the roofs of all commercial buildings to supplement the single-phase portion of our electricity use. During the
day, solar energy is consumed on the property with any excess returning to the grid. Not only does solar power save money but in addition, the power not used from the grid reduces the use of fossil fuels which in Ohio is mainly coal.
As far as water use, the water from Van Hyning Run which flows through the property is full of pollutants such as coliform, chlorides and dissolved salts, which is detrimental to plant health and growth as was evident in the hot summer of 1993. In 1999, a one-acre collection pond was constructed that depends on rainfall and recycled irrigation water to fill it. The water quality is infinitely better than from Van Hyning Run as it is collected off the land, paved areas, greenhouses and building roofs as no water leaves the property resulting in less flooding downstream and no escape of the irrigation water containing some leachates of fertilizer.
In addition, most of our greenhouses are outfitted with what we call ebb and flow benches in which plants set on tables that fill three quarters of an inch with water. The water, which may contain fertilizer, is then drained to an underground tank to be used over and over again.
As far as pesticide use, it is nearly non-existent and totally non-existent in our greenhouses. Beneficial insects are now used that attack and eat harmful insects such as thrips, whitefly, the European two-spotted spider mite and aphids. On the fungicide use, we have been working with
Dr. Uttara Samarakoon at The Ohio State University OARDC on the use of calcium chloride to control gray mold (botrytis) and powdery mildew as it is considered an organic product by the EPA. Our potting mix, made in Amish Country, also contains a product called Actino-iron which contains streptocarpus bacteria that fends off root pathogens that attack plants. The result is that our plants have no pesticide residue and are safe for customers to handle and eliminate any risk of applicators applying pesticides.
We hope in the next few years to augment our three-phase electric supply with solar panels and battery storage in order to run the large irrigation pumps from 4am to 7am in the morning. All of the above then will make the production of our plants truly sustainable and environmentally
friendly.