Thursday, March 2, 2017 – Finished Plugs, Coleus Haircut, Snow flurries, Reed & Sarah Gifford, Coleus at Home, Decorate for Friday’s Farewell Breakfast

Our busy day started with transplanting the last of the shipment of “Plugs” we receive on Tuesday. There were 1772 plugs all together and they are all in 4 and 5 inch pots now. The next shipment  of plugs will arrive tomorrow or the first of next week.

Our next project was to give all of the large Coleus plants in greenhouse #1 a “Haircut.” And they really need it too, they are growing too fast and they are outgrowing their containers. Cutting all of the branches back to the first leaf will force the plants to put out lots of side shoots instead of just growing taller. It won’t take much time for them to fill out completely again and be ready for planting in the spring gardens around Nauvoo and Carthage.

At noon the FM management through a big luncheon for Reed Gifford, one of the paid employees that is retiring. He has worked for FM for over six years as a security guard. We see Reed after hours all the time checking buildings, making sure the doors are locked and patrolling the grounds.

 

Sis. Johnson has been at it again using her talents and skills, today she designed some large beautiful arrangements to be used as decorations at tomorrow mornings “Farewell Breakfast” for four couples going home soon.

 

These farewell breakfasts are always bitter sweet. These are senior missionaries we’ve come to know and love. We wish them well on they return home but we will miss them a lot. The couples going home in March are Elder & Sis. Lowe (Sis. Lowe is our Rendezvous Director), Elder & Sis. Swain, and Elder & Sis. Rasmussen (Elder Rasmussen is the mission doctor). Going home in April are Elder & Sis. Lee Masters.

Each afternoon this week I’ve spent a couple of hours after work transplanting the seedlings and plugs Richard gave us on Monday. Our back porch set-up isn’t as fancy as Richard’s propagation room at FM but it is OK considering it’s our back porch sun room converted into a greenhouse.