Vicki Winkler always was a dirty kid. You could dress her up, but taking
her out was a whole other matter.
Joe Douglas had the same problem. He was born and raised in orchard country.
It seemed his clothes were always covered in fruit and grass stains.
Winkler's family predicted she would be a horticulturist even when she
was just five years old. "I got to be the flower girl at my aunt's wedding.
They put me in this lovely pink dress and gave me a bunch of flowers to hold,
so I was really excited.
"But when the bride arrived at the church, they couldn't find me anywhere.
Finally someone looked out at the back of the church and found me, covered
from head to toe in dirt, 'planting' my bunch of flowers back in the ground!"
Thirty years later, Winkler is still digging in the dirt. As a horticulturist
in a nursery, she spends her time looking after the plants, shrubs, trees
and flowers sold in her store. This means watering, pruning, fertilizing and
a lot of digging.
Douglas's apple orchard has been in the family for three generations. He's
very involved in the management end of things, but there's lots of outside
work, too -- mending fences, spraying, pruning, thinning and picking trees.
There's grass to mow, equipment and irrigation to install and repair.
"You can't be afraid to get dirty," says Winkler.
Horticulturists like Douglas and Winkler have to understand soil chemistry,
pest management, landscaping theories, growing patterns and fertilizer formulas.
They should also have an extensive knowledge of plant species and their growth
patterns.
While practical knowledge is definitely important, a post-secondary education
is essential. "You need the theoretical background for horticulture. Chemistry,
biotechnology and botany are everyday parts of the job," says Douglas.
Both Douglas and Winkler have BS degrees. Winkler added a horticultural
technician's diploma to her list of credentials. Douglas majored in horticulture
at university -- even though he grew up in orchard country.
"Even though we've had the orchard for years, the market is changing. Farming
techniques are changing. You have to be able to operate in a global economy.
"My degree provided me with new ideas and a good background in farm management,"
he says.
Both Winkler and Douglas recognize the importance of people skills. Whether
you're dealing with nursery customers or a juice company that wants
to buy your apples, you have to be able to communicate effectively.
"I'm dealing with customers all the time," says Winkler. "I have to be
able to explain things to them in terms they can understand and be able to
interpret what the customers are telling me."
Figuring out exactly what a customer wants can be difficult -- most people
don't have the benefit of knowing all the various plant names. Winkler often
has to put her communication skills into overdrive to figure out what they
want.
"Many times a customer has come to me and said something like, 'My neighbor
has this shrub. It's really leafy and green, and I'd really like to get one.'
"So I have to run through a gamut of questions to try to determine what
kind of shrub it is, since there are literally thousands of plants which fit
that description."
In spite of the "language barrier," Winkler is usually able to figure out
what the customer wants. She feels people who garden are happier people on
average, and she likes to think she's helping to contribute to their happiness.
"Horticulture is a great field because I get to challenge my mind and my
body -- be an artist and a scientist. Most importantly, I get to garden."
In many ways, orcharding is a solitary profession. There's only room for
one person on the ladder at a time, and you pretty much have to drive the
tractor alone.
On the other hand, there's more to orcharding than picking fruit. Orchardists
need excellent communication skills. Growers and buyers often find themselves
in communication glitches.
"Growers are sometimes in conflict with government agencies and purchasing
agents. You've got to make a lot of management decisions and talk with people
in big business. So you've got to have negotiation and diplomacy skills.
"You're often dealing with people from overseas -- I'm planning to take
Cantonese language lessons," says Douglas.
"It is a lot of hard work, but I love it. I'd say that 99 percent of the
people I went to university with were born and raised on some agricultural
enterprise. You just don't find city folk suddenly getting the urge to become
farmers. I guess it really does get in your blood."