Nursery Worker

Nursery Worker at Legacy Labor in Rougemont, NC.

Crops include ornamental grasses, sedges, grass-like plants, herbaceous annuals and perennials, and potted herbs, vegetables, perennials, and mums.

Workers perform physical nursery work outdoors and indoors as assigned. They collect and prepare stock plant cuttings, sow seed by hand or load seeding equipment, stick cuttings, label propagation trays, water and mist seedlings and cuttings, and discard failed starts. They prepare growing media and potting materials, tend potting and soil-filling equipment after training, fill containers, pot plugs and other plant material, transplant and repot plants, replace damaged containers, and retrieve and return trays and pots. Workers check potting depth, plant alignment, and liner quality.

Workers plant and maintain stock beds, display beds, and production fields. They split, prune, pinch, trim, shear, and shape plants; weed, thin, space, consolidate, turn, stake, and tie crops; remove dead, damaged, diseased, infested, or unsalable plants and foliage; and prepare growing areas for the next crop. They move plants and trays between greenhouses, shade structures, outdoor growing areas, and shipping areas. Workers hand water crops, operate irrigation zones, set up and service sprinklers and drip lines, clean or replace emitters and nozzles, flush and drain lines, and store irrigation equipment. They install and remove frost blankets and row covers and operate greenhouse doors, vents, and curtains as directed.

Workers apply fertilizer, compost, and soil amendments as directed, assist with mixing nutrient solutions, and collect growing media and water samples. They keep organic and conventional crops, tools, and materials separate and follow the applicable handling procedures, including USDA organic procedures in certified greenhouses. Workers place and replace insect monitoring cards and traps, release beneficial insects as directed, and assist a licensed applicator with approved pesticides, herbicides, and plant growth regulators. They observe restricted-entry intervals and promptly report suspected spills, drift, or wrong-product use.

Workers may support tissue culture by preparing media, capping jars, preparing and wrapping instruments for sterilization, and cleaning and sterilizing jars, tubes, tools, and equipment. They harvest micro-cuttings in a clean room using microscopes, scalpels, and forceps, label and record daily micro-harvesting activities, inspect jars and tubes for microbial contamination, and transport materials between work areas.

Workers prepare loading areas and pull, count, verify, sort, and groom plants to order and quality standards, including retail and landscape standards as applicable. They prepare and apply picture, identification, and price tags, sleeve or box plants, place them in trays or on carts and racks, build pallets, stage orders by customer or route, and load and secure shipments on trucks or trailers. They unload and check incoming plants and supplies against packing slips, report shortages or damage, and count supplies and update plant inventory records.

Workers clean and sanitize tools, containers, benches, carts, and work areas, remove debris, and help maintain greenhouses, grounds, fields, gardens, buildings, and equipment. They mow and trim, clear drainage, and install, repair, or remove ground cover, weed barriers, greenhouse plastic, and shade cloth. They use hand carts and other material-handling tools and, when trained and authorized, operate nursery equipment such as tractors, utility vehicles, and skid steers or track loaders. They attach and remove implements and inspect, clean, fuel, grease, and service equipment as directed. Workers follow supervisor instructions, standard operating procedures, and safety, heat illness prevention, sanitation, and biosecurity procedures. They wear required protective equipment and promptly report crop, quality, equipment, and safety issues.

Job duties continued in Addendum C.

Work begins January 14, 2027 and ends November 13, 2027.

Pay is $12.84 per hour.

Housing is provided.

Typical schedule: about 35 hours per week.