L&M Forest Products Ltd.
Seedling Production and Storage
We were contracted by L&M Forest Products Ltd. (L&M) in Vanderhoof BC to grow approximately 2 million forest seedlings at the IFS Ness Lake Seedling nursery.
Our scope of work included:
- Mechanically placed seeds, supplied by L&M, into Styroblocks containing a growing medium (in early February) using precision sowing equipment.
- Styroblocks were placed in greenhouses where heat, water and fertilizer was applied throughout the winter and spring to initiate and accelerate the growing process.
- Conditions of temperature, humidity and moisture in each greenhouse were monitored daily by a highly-integrated Argus environmental control system that includes sensor measurement, equipment control, data logging, alarms and more.
- Seedling growth was monitored daily by an experienced team of irrigation technicians and growers.
- New seedlings were manually thinned in situations where more than one seedling sprouted in a growing cavity.
- Inventory counts of seedling survival were taken in the spring and end of summer to ensure that the numbers grown were meeting or slightly exceeding the request by L&M Forest Products.
- In late fall, when seedlings had achieved targeted height and root-collar diameter, the lift commenced. Styroblocks containing the seedlings were removed from greenhouses and delivered to a lifting shed. Here, seedlings were extracted from the Styroblocks, assessed for quality, and those meeting quality specifications were bundled, wrapped and boxed in corrugated cardboard shipping containers.
- Shipping containers were moved to our on-site cold storage building where a climate controlled temperature between -3 to -5 degrees Celsius is maintained.
- In the spring, 7 to 10 days prior to a requested shipping date, boxed seedlings are removed from cold storage and placed into custom thawing rooms. Over the course of about 5 to 6 days the seedlings are slow-thawed to ready them for field planting.
The quality of our seedlings, competitive rates, and additional services with respect to stock type recommendations, charts of growth performance and the flexibility we offer to shipping contractors has resulted in L&M Forest Products being a long-time repeat customer.
