SAE Opportunities
1. Exploratory. Job shadow a fl orist in your community.
2. Exploratory. Contact a local nursery and arrange an
interview with the owner or manager. Do some advance
research and prepare a list of questions. Contact a big
box or chain store with a garden center and arrange an
interview with the department manager. Use the same
list of questions to interview the department manager.
Compare the responses and nurseries and construct a
chart or diagram highlighting your fi ndings.
3. Exploratory. Visit a grocery store and go to the produce department. Inventory the
types of fresh fruits and vegetables. Create a list of what is cultivated by a pomologist
and an olericulturist. Determine what plant part is being eaten for each of the produce
items.
4. Experimental. Harvest or purchase several of the same pieces of produce (examples:
heads of lettuce, apples, blueberries, or sweet corn). Develop an experiment with
various postharvest treatments for the crop of your choice. Examples of variables
could include washing before storage, various temperatures of storage, various
humidities, and exposure to lights or gases.
5. Experimental. For this activity, you will need several cut fl owers from your garden
and a separate container for each fl ower. Although separate, fl owers must be placed
in the same setting (light, temperature, humidity). Before you harvest the fl owers,
create a chart to keep track of variables and how each fl ower’s shelf life varied.
Variables may include the type of water (municipal, well, with fl oral preservative, or
without fl oral preservative); the time of harvest (morning, noon, or early evening);
and/or the method of harvest (fl oral knife, steak knife, scissors, or pruning shears).
Analyze your results to determine the best methods for harvest and storage.
Chapter 4 The Horticulture Industry 119
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
USDA/David Kosling