Allendan Seed Plants and Production
These are photos taken at the Allendan Seed Company farm fields and greenhouses.
They grow native grasses and wildflower seed and plugs for retail and wholesale markets.
Laying Down Plastic
Plastic is laid to prevent weeds from growing, and retains moisture for newly planted plugs. Before laying plastic, the field is fertilized and tilled in preparation for planting. Then grass is seeded between the rows to prevent erosion and keep weeds at bay. After the grass has established, the field is ready to be planted.
Transplanting
Plants are grown in plug trays for handling convenience and mechanized transplanting for most species. First, they seed small trays with 512 cells with a cylinder vacuum seeder . Then they move them up to a thirty six cell size. Once the roots are established, they are ready to move to the field.
Planting Fields
Tractors with GPS and hole punchers, place an array of two or four holes into the plastic. Farmhands help with the distribution of plants and make sure they are properly planted. This process occurs daily from April to November, planting roughly 20,000 plugs per day and up to 1.7 million plugs per season.
Rath Mowing
These machines are called Raths, they are used to mow the edges of the production rows to maintain vegetation. The grass out competes weeds and allows for timely production tasks to occur even after a rain. Otherwise, the fields would be too muddy to enter for multiple days. A team of agronomists and interns mow over six hundred acres in a ten day cycle.
Greenhouse Plants
When plants grown inside the greenhouses and nursery become ready to sell, landscapers and home owners can shop at the facility or order online. Plant sales have increased exponentially in the past 5 years, however, seed sales make up the majority of Allendan Seed Company’s revenue. The plants grown in the greenhouses are maintained by a crew of up to eight people to water, move and transplant.
Field Plants
Blooming plants in the field become ready to be harvested in a matter of days or weeks. Before they bloom, the plants are watered and maintained until harvest. Allendan Seed Company grows over one hundred and fifty species, each with its own unique sign that the seed is ripe.
Harvesting Fields
Harvest happens after plants have bloomed and show their seeds. Harvesting uses various combines to collect plant material. Some are hand harvested by workers with simple clippers and bags. The seeds are then dried and cleaned for sale and for replanting new fields.
Sub Heading 4
Generate custom solutions with the possibility to create synergy. Amplify outside the box thinking yet be on brand.
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Demonstrating sprints in order to innovate. Build innovation to innovate. Drive outside the box thinking and try to think outside the box.
Sub Heading 6
Leverage cloud computing but funnel users. Repurposing stakeholder management yet think outside the box. Grow core competencies with a goal to re-target key demographics.
Sub Heading 7
Generate custom solutions with the possibility to create synergy. Amplify outside the box thinking yet be on brand.
Sub Heading 8
Demonstrating sprints in order to innovate. Build innovation to innovate. Drive outside the box thinking and try to think outside the box.
Sub Heading 9
Leverage cloud computing but funnel users. Repurposing stakeholder management yet think outside the box. Grow core competencies with a goal to re-target key demographics.
