Get to know Teal Hendrickson

One of Teal Hendrickson’s earliest memories is of her father plopping her down in a pile of dirt while he worked in the garden on their family’s hobby farm in Oklahoma.

“I remember having the most fun,” she recalls. “I’ve always been drawn to gardening.”

After earning her undergraduate degree in biology from Freed-Hardeman University, Hendrickson decided to pursue her master’s degree and Ph.D. in horticulture at Oklahoma State University. Now, with her academic research completed, Hendrickson hopes to inspire other young people to get their hands dirty in horticulture careers, too.

Alternative amendments

Initially, Hendrickson pursued horticulture because she wanted to grow plants that could help feed people. While most of her master’s research focused on edible plant production in soilless hydroponic systems, her Ph.D. research took an unexpected turn.

“Most of my Ph.D. research has been more ornamental,” she says. “It was an interesting detour from what I was going to school for originally.” Specifically, Hendrickson’s research focused on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil amendments like biochar for potted ornamental plant production.

“I’m hoping to get back into edible crops and see how some of my ornamental research can apply to them,” she says. “For example, biochar is being used extensively as a new soil amendment, and it would be interesting to see how it impacts edible crops. Biochar can be a carrier of (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), depending on the feedstock you use, and there is some concern that those can cause cancer in humans, so it would be interesting to examine different types of biochar to see if they are actually transferred into the plant.”

Looking ahead in the horticulture industry, Hendrickson sees opportunities — and challenges — in balancing innovation with practical economics when exploring new amendments.

“With biochar, we’re trying to reduce our peat usage and reuse some of the waste that we usually just toss,” she says. “If we can substitute 30% of a substrate with biochar and still have a really good plant, then it might be worth it. A lot of it is just being more sustainable and cost-effective.”

Dirty hands, open mind

Although her father was excited to see her follow her passion into the horticulture field, Hendrickson has encountered plenty of misconceptions from peers about her green career path.

“A lot of people tend to think you’re just sticking some seeds in the dirt and watching them grow,” she says. “Horticulture is so much more diverse than people think it is, because you can do everything from growing flowers to working in a lab to tissue culture to aquaponics.”

To combat these misunderstandings, Hendrickson implores horticulture professionals to promote the various facets and different career paths the industry offers, “showing people that it is more than just throwing some seeds in the ground,” she adds.

In fact, she says, expansive knowledge and diverse skills will be critical to success in the horticulture field.

“You need to be more diverse to get a job in this industry,” she says. “I’ve seen people get turned away just because they only focused on watermelons for their whole Ph.D.”

To that end, she advises other students: “Get as much experience as you can. Get your hands dirty. Work in the field, work in labs, work in greenhouses. Take the internship, even if it doesn’t sound exciting. Reach out to professionals and ask them about their job; ask if you can shadow them for a day to see what they do. Just get as much knowledge as you possibly can.”

Brooke Bilyj owns and operates Bantamedia, a national award-winning content, PR and SEO firm based in Cleveland. She is a frequent contributor to GIE Media’s horticulture publications.