January 2023 - 31

INTERN OF THE YEAR
" That was when I first realized that there was an entire
university program dedicated to horticulture.
" Then, after that point, I strived to get into that
degree, " he says. Seth began working his way into the
industry during his senior year of high school, through his
first internship at Christians Greenhouse in Williamston,
Michigan. He was hired as an employee upon completing
the internship and continues to work there today. In
2020, Seth was accepted into the horticulture program
at MSU.
As a senior, Seth is an active member of the Student
Horticulture Association (SHA). He has been elected to
the officer position of grower, in which he will manage
plant production for the annual club sale, among other
responsibilities.
Seth chose the horticulture program because he
wanted to learn about everything that goes into growing
operations like general plant knowledge, production
needs, scheduling and pest management.
THE INTERNSHIP
While attending the Great Lakes EXPO in 2021, Seth
visited the Neil Mast Greenhouses' booth and learned of
the internship opportunity. A few interviews later, he was
granted the internship.
Seth says he looked forward to experiencing something
different. " I had worked at a retail greenhouse for four
years when I first got into the [Mast Young Plants]
internship, and I wanted to see what the difference
between retail and wholesale greenhouses was, how they
operated, " he says.
One of the major differences between a retail and a
wholesale greenhouse that he noticed was the kind of
plant material being grown. In wholesale, it was often one
type of plant or a few different varieties growing in liners
being sold to other companies or greenhouses across the
country. They also produced finished plants that were sold
to big box stores like Walmart, Menards and Aldi.
This was much different than his experience on the
retail side, where they managed many types of plants in a
smaller operation. " There was definitely a large learning
curve on the retail side because you had to know all
requirements of all the different plants, which made it
kind of hard; you only had limited resources of what you
could do differently to each plant, since it was a smaller
operation, " Seth says. " But with wholesale, it was a little
Mix your way
to stronger plant sales.
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real advantages:
* Reduces plant waterings by 50%
* Ideal for hanging baskets and container plants that dry out quickly
* Helps improve your margins and controls costs
* Decreases plant loss - at the retail level
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Save money and improve your product: Soil Moist is the choice
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Call 800.962.4010.
Free Hang Tags available for your treated plants
Circle 115
GREENHOUSE PRODUCT NEWS 31
http://www.soilmoist.com
January 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2023
