For more than three decades, Dr. Will Healy was a technical services manager at Ball working with countless growers around the world to solve greenhouse challenges and grow amazing crops. Over that period of time, there was a phenomenon he saw over and over and made it part of his mission to figure out how and why it happened. Now retired but still constantly looking for ways to share knowledge with the horticulture industry, Will joins Tech On Demand host Bill Calkins to reveal what he’s learned about this mystery. The topic is slime, moss and algae in greenhouse production.

This is not only a mysterious (and somewhat gross) topic, but also one that’s key to successful propagation and finishing of crops. Moss and algae growth supports fungus gnat and shorefly infestations and limits water movement leading to non-uniform growth—both situations you want to avoid at all costs. With these issues in mind, Will begins this discussion all the way back at the time of media selection. He then moves to how your flat filling equipment can positively or negatively impact media and the formation of an algae or moss “crust”.

How and when you apply irrigation often directly affects the formation of a crust on plugs and pots you want to avoid, as well as leading to hydrophilic or hydrophobic growing media. Answering the questions, “Where did slime, mold and algae come from?” And … “How do I avoid it?” Will explains that dry, fine fiber in media floats hydrophobic fibers to the surface, which in turn causes flooding of cells and compaction of the upper layer of media leading to smooth surfaces on each cell that encourages slime and algae growth. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid this, and Will has the solution to this phenomenon.

Training Your Team to Water Properly Video: https://youtu.be/SCPPT0IXlLY?si=_Tct1UkqGN3QnupW