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Sita

Die Gärtnerin

Sie betreut die Setzlinge, als waeren es eigene Kinder, und verliert dabei schnell die Kleider.

The story

Sita kneels between the rows of young perennials. Her denim shorts sit low on her hips. Bare feet press into the damp earth. The light bulb above her casts a yellow circle onto her shoulders. She looks straight into the camera, hands still dirty from the work. A drop falls from her chin onto a plant leaf.

The setting

The greenhouse is long and narrow, the glass panes above are fogged. Between the wooden crates it smells of damp earth and rubber boots. The light bulbs hang at varying heights, some directly over the beds.

Who she is

Die Gärtnerin

Sita is 29, has lived in Germany for ten years and has worked in the greenhouse of a large perennial farm for seven years. Sri Lankan parents, but she grew up here. She enjoys the early morning shifts when no one disturbs her. During the shoot she wants to show the body in action. Earth, sweat and no makeup.

Her world

In Germany, a highly specialized young plant production industry has emerged: businesses supply bedding and balcony plants, perennials, and grasses as young plants to other gardeners across thousands of square meters of greenhouse space, often on pure production sites without retail sales.([youngplants.de](https://youngplants.de/))
Modern perennial nurseries operate with large glasshouse areas, often spanning several hectares, where millions of young plants are raised annually on cultivation tables and in crates before being moved into pots or open fields.([mkjungpflanzen.de](https://mkjungplants.de/))
A typical perennial and young plant nursery on the outskirts of a city utilizes glasshouses spanning several thousand square meters, where perennial young plants like larkspur, coneflowers, or echinacea stand in crates that are moved from the sowing line to germination rooms and then to cultivation areas.([kuehne-jungpflanzen.de](https://www.kuehne-jungpflanzen.de/einblick-in-die-produktion.php))

A short glossary

Young plant production: Specialized cultivation of very young plants in greenhouses, often in crates or trays, which are later further cultivated by other businesses.
Perennials: Perennial, mostly hardy ornamental plants whose above-ground parts often die back and regrow from the roots in spring.
Assimilation light: Artificial lighting in a greenhouse that supplements sunlight to promote photosynthesis and plant growth.
Cultivation table: An elevated, often irrigable table surface in a greenhouse, where young plants and pots are cultivated in rows.

Sources

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