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Greenhouse whitewashed to keep Grow’s crew working

This week’s hot weather came close to claiming victims at Grow Ltd – the main greenhouse in the charity’s vinery was so hot it was close to unbearable for both its crew and their plants.

Peter Frankland’s drone picture captures Bernie Goncalves of Bernie’s Gardening Services spraying the whitewash on top of the greenhouse
Peter Frankland’s drone picture captures Bernie Goncalves of Bernie’s Gardening Services spraying the whitewash on top of the greenhouse / Guernsey Press

The charity put out a plea for help whitewashing the greenhouse earlier this week to keep it cooler.

Some of the medical problems that some members of the crew have could be made worse by extreme heat and dehydration, and so they were unable to work in the greenhouse.

‘It’s over 40C in there so the crew can’t work in there, and it’s not good for the plants in there either,’ said horticultural manager Stuart Smale.

Bernie Goncalves with his sprayer.
Bernie Goncalves with his sprayer. / Peter Frankland/Guernsey Press

‘We have been watering them first thing and by 3pm or 4pm they are dry again. We have set up a potting bench inside for the crew and they have been working in there.’

The charity said that it had planned to carry out the work earlier in the year, having received several offers of help, but schedules had never worked out properly and with the hot weather arriving early, it had been caught out. Its social media call for help received a lot of support. Hundreds of people shared the post and Bernie’s Gardening Services stepped in to carry out the work yesterday.

‘The response has been amazing, the community has really come together to support us,’ said Grow Limited manager Mandy Mackelworth.

‘It’s still warm but you don’t have the glaring sun coming through. Even just walking through now while it’s half-done you can feel the difference.’

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