A System Designed for Young Plant Production

Wagner's operates two production ranges. The original site in Minneapolis includes 4.5 acres of plug production space. Our second site, about 30 miles northeast in Hugo, supports an additional 3.5 acres for plugs.

Our careful production techniques begin with the moment seeds enter our facility. All seeds are immediately placed in a computer monitored, climate controlled storage facility. Every seed lot undergoes germination testing in our greenhouses. Every package of seed is tracked back to the parent lot and eventually tracked to each tray in which it is sowed. At the appropriate time, seeds are removed from storage and sown using a variety of sowing machines, including drum and needle seeders. The machines are optimized for seed and tray type. Seeds are sown into bar coded trays and scanned into the computer system. Trays are then loaded onto Dutch tables, which are mechanically stacked and readied for germination.

All trays then enter one of 12 germination chambers. Within the chambers, our Priva computer system maintains as many as four different, specialized environments. Trays remain in the chambers form one to twenty-one days, after which they are moved to the greenhouse.

The Dutch tables facilitate our growing technique, which involves moving the trays, as a table unit, through different environments to achieve optimum growth and development. As trays move through the greenhouse, different tools are used ot control the environment and affect plant growth. All greenhouse compartments are controlled by a Priva computer system. The compartments are heated with hot water heat and cooled with a fan/pad system. HID lamps provide proper photoperiod and supplemental lighting to the entire range. Energy curtains reduce light intensity and heat loss. Watering booms are used throughout the greenhouse.

As plants mature, the trays are moved into the shipping area and staged by tray size and variety. A trolley system facilitates order picking, and a packing line streamlines shipping. our close proximity to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport insures that shipments are on their way to their final destination within hours of being packed.