Assistant Manager - Growing

Spring Meadow Nursery Inc•Grand Haven, MI

125d•Onsite

About The Position

Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc. is seeking a passionate, plant-savvy horticulture professional to join the Proven Winners Color Choice team as an Assistant Manager in the growing department. This role involves working closely with the Growing Manager to plan and implement all work activities related to plant growth and care after plant material is received from the propagation department. The goal is to ensure crops meet their target finish dates and all plant material meets specifications prior to shipment. The Assistant Manager will also interact closely with the Growing Manager and other supervisors concerning overall production operations.

Requirements

2 or 4 years Horticulture or related degree.
1-2 years of work experience with plants.
Computer skills are required for growing-related tasks in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database as well as proficiency in Excel and Word.
Must possess the ability to lift, carry, or otherwise move 30 pounds.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual English-Spanish skills are highly desirable.

Responsibilities

Monitor plant growth and quality on a daily basis within assigned area.
Keep assigned area clean and weed free at all times.
Maintain an accurate product inventory with proper quality codes.
Monitor and adjust projected finish dates of each crop while continuously evaluating plant salability.
Develop and maintain a watering schedule, monitoring assigned houses daily and assessing watering requirements based on individual crop needs. Program irrigation events, and hand-water as necessary.
Manage labor within assigned area, assist with managing labor elsewhere as needed, including daily record keeping of crew activities, monitoring efficiency and work flow, monitoring and evaluating crew leader and seasonal labor performance, determining activity rates, adjusting work activities to ensure production goals are met, entering daily labor activity data into PICAS database, reviewing, printing and posting incentive reports, and updating and maintaining PICAS database.
Work with Growing Manager and other assistants to develop, maintain, and continuously evaluate a thorough IPM program, including monitoring pest and disease activity and maintaining records, determining control methods and procedures, overseeing pest and disease control procedures, and training new applicators on safety and proper techniques.
Assign placement of plant material to best utilize available space, grouping plants together according to cultural needs and changing locations in the inventory database within a timely manner.
Monitor and adjust nutritional program based on soil test results and plant growth requirements, including setting up schedules for in-house and outside laboratory testing, maintaining records and making recommendations, determining fertilizer use, assessing results of fertilizer applications, and developing fertilizer experiments.
Develop and maintain schedule of herbicide applications where appropriate and follow up with hand weeding, including determining timing of applications, assessing results, and trialing new herbicides.
Develop and maintain pruning procedure and schedule, including determining timing and method of pruning and assessing the results.
Monitor functionality of equipment and facilities used in production, including routine inspection of greenhouse structures and equipment, performing regularly scheduled inspections of irrigation systems, and monitoring fertilizer/chemical injection systems.
Performs other related duties as required.
Follow Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc. Employee Handbook.
Follow Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc. Safety Handbook.