Provender Nurseries are delighted to announce that they are now certified ‘Plant Healthy’, one of the first group of ornamental suppliers to the horticultural industry to gain certification so far.
Plant Healthy is a new quality assurance scheme created to protect horticultural supply business against destructive pest and diseases. Plant Healthy has been developed by the industry, with input from Government and sets out key requirements for plant health management.
The Plant Healthy initiative is a high level of voluntary certification for plant health in the UK, showing that Provender Nurseries has a responsible and ongoing approach to plant health and biosecurity. The overall aim of Plant Healthy is to improve the plant health & biosecurity management systems throughout the plant supply chain with all member nurseries being audited each year to ensure that the high standards are upheld and adhered to.
Stuart Tickner, Nursery and Biosecurity Manager, has been working closely with the Plant Healthy scheme to ensure that the highest standards are met and upheld in the day to day purchasing, maintenance and supply of healthy plants. Following an on-site audit and some suggested changes on site, Provender Nurseries passed the audit on 15th February 2021.
Systems in place at Provender Nurseries include: an isolation area for high-risk plants, that all plants purchased are quickly traceable back to point of origin, a new procedure for checking all stock as it arrives on site, regular monitoring on site and a new clean boots on site policy. The scheme also covers plant husbandry already followed on site with procedures including weeding, pruning, feeding of plants and water storage and usage around the nursery.
Stuart Tickner says, ‘These procedures and others that we carry out on site are part of our every day culture of plant procurement and are utilised at every step of our plant supply chain. We will continue to train our nursery team on a regular basis. On an annual basis we currently organise training sessions with APHA on site for all staff.’
Richard McKenna says, ‘I am immensely proud that Provender Nurseries have achieved the Plant Healthy certification and for the recognition this scheme deserves. All landscapers, designers and public spaces should use nurseries with such certification for peace of mind that stock has been grown and supplied from a site with high standards of biosecurity.’
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