Josiah Saravia creates a terrarium in an Atlantic Gardening Company greenhouse.
Did you know that the rhizomes of the ant fern plant are home to specific ant species due to their codependent nature? This means the ants live inside the root systems of the ant fern. The codependent evolution of wild exotic plants is the reason this symbiotic relationship exists.
This is only a glimpse of the knowledge Josiah Saravia from the Millbrook FFA Chapter in North Carolina has gained while working as an intern at the Atlantic Gardening Company. He first began working there in May 2023 and works approximately 14 hours a week during the school year.
“My intent with this SAE [Supervised Agricultural Experience] was to dip my feet into the different sectors of the agriculture industry and see if that would be something I was interested in as a career,” he says. “I believe that in order to fully understand the agriculture industry, it’s extremely important to be very well-rounded. This was just a way for me to be able to do this.”
Unlike working in a typical greenhouse, Saravia “specializes in caring for rare and exotic plants that are imported from overseas.” Many of these plants have very specific care requirements and must be nurtured and tended to constantly.
Saravia logs the hours he works for his SAE, which falls under paid/unpaid placement in the plant systems category. He says that during this time, his knowledge of plants and how to care for them has grown tremendously. More specifically, he has become more knowledgeable in the areas of plant identification, pest management methods, lighting requirements and nutrient deficiencies concerning specific species that are housed in the greenhouses.
Saravia repots plants in the greenhouse.
“One of the coolest plants I’ve had the opportunity to interact with would’ve been a plant called the Anthurium ‘Michelle,’ which is a breed of rare plant that goes online for upwards of $300,” Saravia says. “This plant is specifically remarkable to me because I actually had the opportunity to research the breeding techniques for it. Unfortunately, I was unable to create successful offspring in the end, but it was still a very worthy and fun experience.”
In addition to gaining horticulture knowledge, Saravia enjoys “having the opportunity to answer any questions for customers and make those genuine connections,” he says. “Personally, I think being able to fulfill the request of a customer that feels like it might be otherwise impossible to them is one of the most rewarding factors of this SAE.”
Saravia would like to thank his advisor, Ryan Berglund, for his continued support and encouragement to embark on this SAE. “He was the one who gave me the confidence to go out there and apply for this,” he adds.
This upcoming year, Saravia intends to apply for a national Agricultural Proficiency Award related to this SAE.
