Around the Backyard

Winterize the Greenhouse

gardenandgreenhouse — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:17:47 +0000

by Gini Coover
Contributed from Garden and Greenhouse Magazine

Whether your greenhouse will be filled with plants during the coldest months of the year or soon after, there are things you can do to better prepare your greenhouse for the cold months.

Greenhouse Cover

Check the greenhouse film for torn or loosened areas. Tears should be repaired with greenhouse tape, and loose sections secured. If the film is past its guarantee and is tearing in several places, it may need replacing. When the greenhouse will be used through the winter, make sure the film is strong enough to withstand winter storms and early spring winds. If an empty greenhouse will be filled early in the spring, the film can be checked a few weeks before the greenhouse will be used and replaced then, if necessary.

Sanitation

At least once a year, the greenhouse should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Doing it as a part of the winterizing process, is the easiest for me. When the greenhouse is empty in January, cleaning can be done just before planting begins. I remove everything from the greenhouse, sweep or vacuum the ground cover, and spray the entire greenhouse with a sanitizing solution. For information on sanitizing solutions, download “Cleaning and Disinfecting the Greenhouse” at www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture. Under “Fact sheets,” select “Greenhouse Management,” then click on “Disinfecting the Greenhouse.”

When I plant a winter crop the cleaning is done in August or September, just before planting begins. Because I still have plants growing in sections of the greenhouse, the cleaning needs to be done section by section, but it is still important to clean and sanitize each area of the greenhouse at least once a year. Since I replace winter crops with spring crops as they are harvested, sometimes plant-by-plant, there is no chance for me to sanitize at that time.

Heating System

Check the equipment, provide regular maintenance, and stock parts that may be needed for routine service through the winter. Do you have a back up system for heat, in case the main system stops working? Kerosene heaters work well as a back up to other small greenhouse heating systems. I use kerosene heaters for my regular heating system. They need to be cleaned and extra wicks stocked, which need to be replaced occasionally during the heating season. I also have an extra heater in case one malfunctions or the electricity goes off and I need to use one temporarily in my electrically heated germination chamber.

Ground Insulation

If you plant directly in the ground, you can install an insulating barrier under the wall of the greenhouse when it is built or add it later. That will allow the ground to stay warmer in the winter providing more heat for plants at night. That is especially important if you want to germinate seeds directly in the soil or want plants in the soil to continue to grow through the coldest part of the winter.

In my area the ground freezes to a depth of about 24 inches, maximum. Two-foot wide pieces of Dow Blue rigid foam can be used as a barrier against the cold. It comes in ½", ¾", 1", 1½”, and 2" thicknesses and will last indefinitely. Its R-value ranges from R-3 to R-10. If that brand is not available, be sure you use a closed-cell type, not the cellular/pebble or Styrofoam-type, which breaks up easily.

A dark ground cover used around the outside of the greenhouse for weed control or landscaping will also absorb the sun’s heat warming the ground underneath. The ground rarely freezes under my ground covers, so the soil next to the greenhouse stays warmer. A minimum width of 3 feet should be used. It is less expensive and easier to install than the rigid foam, but is less permanent and less effective unless wider widths are used.

My wooden owner-built greenhouse has small spaces between some of the bottom boards and the ground. I always need to check for cracks and fill them to prevent cold air from blowing into the greenhouse. It is also important to fill cracks around doors and air vents to prevent loss of heat.

Double and Triple Covers

By covering plants with additional layers of greenhouse film or insulating blankets, cold hardy plants can be raised, or at least harvested in most of the continental United States, throughout the winter, without the use of additional heat. Supports can be constructed over sections of the greenhouse floor using wire, wood, or other materials you have available. Supports should be sturdy enough to hold covers and withstand the covering and uncovering of plants/beds on a regular basis. These covers should be ready to use when the first cold night arrives.

Wire supports should be constructed of good quality wire, 12 gauge or stronger. Galvanized is the least expensive of these, but aluminized, aluminum clad, and stainless steel wire is also available. You can buy hoops, but buying the wire allows you to make any size you need and saves you money. At http://www.kencove.com/ you will find a large selection of the more rust-resistant wire types. Since high-tensile wire is usually sold in longer lengths than you may need, you may be able to buy a smaller amount from a local animal farmer.

Since the closed greenhouse will get hot during sunny winter days, covers made from greenhouse film, plastic, or other nonporous materials, will need to be removed every sunny day to prevent plants from overheating. Covers that do not allow enough light through for adequate growth will also need to be removed.

Insulating blankets that allow excess heat to escape can be left on during the day, but they restrict light and slow growth to varying degrees. Atmore Industries makes a UV-stabilized row cover, Gro-Guard UV, that increases soil and air temperature during daylight hours and slows heat loss at night. It can be used inside the greenhouse to provide additional protection during the coldest months of the year and then used again outside to provide crops earlier in the spring. The heaviest can protect plants to temperatures as low as 18º F, but it transmits only 40% light and should be removed for maximum growth to continue. Gro-Guard can be purchased in four weights and several sizes.

To grow warm weather plants during the winter, double and triple covers will save on heating bills. In my larger greenhouse, I section off a smaller part to conserve heat. I use greenhouse film, polycarbonate sheets, or insulating blankets to enclose one corner of the greenhouse. Small temporary structures, used outside for early spring crops, also can be set up inside the greenhouse to save heat required for tomatoes, beans and other warm season plants.

Gini Coover is the author of The Natural Greenhouse, Growing Plants and Food for Profit. She has grown greenhouse plants and vegetables for twenty-seven years, selling retail and wholesale from her greenhouse and at the Athens (Ohio) Farmers’ Market. She promotes natural greenhouse production through presentations and workshops. She can be contacted at // ' );
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// ]]>gini@sunandshadepublications.com and the book can be ordered at http://www.sunandshadepublications.com/ or 740.594.4147.// ' );
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Be successful in your greenhouse.

IGCadmin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:12:57 +0000

It’s not only garden newbies that run for the shelter of new greenhouse every fall, it’s also long time veterans who may be trying their hand at year ‘round gardening for the first time. And while their years of experience certainly give them an advantage over less experience growers, the conditions in a greenhouse are still unique enough to throw these hardened veterans a few curveballs.

Outside the sun shines and the wind blows freely throughout your garden. Outside you can find out the temperature by watching your morning news or looking in the local paper. And outside, it rains and at least partially waters your plants. Inside the sun still shines but the air will not move unless you take steps to move it. Inside you need to carefully monitor the highs and lows with additional equipment. Inside you need to set up a watering regimen.

You are at the mercy of Mother Nature outside, but inside you can control the environment down to the most minute detail if you so choose. So anything that goes wrong is going to be on your head. But along the same lines, there is no reason for anything to go wrong.

For greenhouse growing, solar load is the name of the game. This is just a fancy way of explaining how much the sun is shining on any given day. Solar load is good because it means your plants are getting a lot of light, but in a greenhouse it is something to watch because of the infrared heat that travels along with all that sunlight. This can quickly cook your precious plants.

One recommended piece of equipment for any greenhouse is a min-max thermometer. This little gadget will tell you what the high and low temps are for any single day, and some of the fancier ones will record a week’s worth of temperatures for your review. Since temperature is the first thing to check when you run into greenhouse problems, this piece of equipment is basically indispensible.

I’ve already written about airflow in a greenhouse, and will only reiterate the importance of it. It helps cool and can help pollinate flowering plants. Keep in mind that for most of the smaller residential greenhouses, active circulation in the form of fans and the like will probably not be necessary.

You will of course want to carefully consider your watering and feeding schedule. In a greenhouse, it is likely that some kind of irrigation will need to be set up to relieve you of the mundane task of hand watering several times a week. Small irrigation systems are relatively easy to set up, and there is a wealth of information both here and elsewhere as to their design specifics. As for feeding, in a backyard greenhouse it is usually enough to simply hand fertilize. In all but the most unique cases additional equipment, such as fertilizer injector, will be unnecessary.

One last thing to address is soil. Some people choose to plant their greenhouse plants directly into the ground. While this is fine, it needs to be done correctly. I have heard of cases where the inside of the greenhouse is dug out, and ground cover is placed at the bottom of the hole. Then soil is readded, most often with additions of some sort. While the ground cover is a good idea, in practice it can pose several problems.

If not the correct type, it may hinder drainage and promote root rot and other fungal diseases. If not placed deep enough, it can hinder root development of otherwise healthy plants. Finally, most ground cover is black. This can retain heat, an alarming amount in fact, and can possibly “cook” the roots of your plants. Any of these is undesirable, and the benefits of adding such a material must be carefully weighed with these hazards in mind.

Despite the challenges, greenhouse growing is an expansive and rewarding endeavor. It is not without its own specific challenges however. Once the learning curve has abated, any gardener can expect year after year of fruitful harvest inside their beloved greenhouse.

Homemade Granola

drewlandis — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:37:50 +0000

My wife makes this awesome homemade granola, and she made it this morning with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Together with the pumpkin pancakes she made this weekend it was a very squash flavored weekend, at least in a culinary sense.

I have snagged and posted below the granola recipe she uses because it is so incredibly amazing. Mix the stuff with plain yogurt or eat like cerial with just milk and honey, it's a great way to start the day. She takes liberty with the recipe, and uses different nuts, dried fruits, spices, and wet ingredients. Every time it's awesome, so check it out. It keeps you full way longer than regular cereal, and isn't as sweet as packaged granola. Plus, with flax and walnuts it packs a good punch of Omega-3's.

My Favorite Granola

Dry Ingredients

6 cups oats (I use 3c.quick cooking and 3c. regular)
2 cups nuts (I used chopped almonds)
1/2 cup sesame seeds (or other seeds)
1/2 cup ground flax seed
3/4 dried fruit (add after cooking)- dates, cranberries are my favorite

Wet Ingredients and Seasonings

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup honey (or agave nectar or maple syrup)
2 T. olive oil
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 T. ground ginger (sometimes I use 2 1/2 T. fresh grated ginger)
1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 300k

Mix the dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix wet ingredients and seasonings together, then stir into dry ingredients. Stir well to mix (I use clean hands to get it mixed up very well).

Spread mixture onto two baking sheets. Bake 45 min, or until evenly golden brown. Stir every 10-15 min to ensure even browning. Stir in the fruit once it is cooled.

Don't get watered down in your greenhouse.

drewlandis — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:28:13 +0000

As we move into greenhouse season, many people are going to be purchasing or building their very own greenhouses to protect their plants over the winter. They will spend a signifigant amount of time sizing up all of their options, comparing features and prices, looking at the pros and cons of different coverings. Usually they are going to purchase a heater, especially if they are planning on growing (as opposed to just overwintering) this winter. But there is an oft overlooked system that can be overlooked by many a greenhouse owner, especially in larger homebuilt structures.

Air circulation can be very important in greenhouses of the right size. In smaller greenhouses, under 100 sq. ft. air circulation is usually handled efficiently enought by roof and/or side vents. But in larger greenhouses air can become water laden and stagnant if it is not circulated enough. This can lead to disease, pollination, and climate control problems.

Condensation problems can arise in any greenhouse with inefficient circulation. Condensation can form on the outside or inside of a greenhouse, and the type of covering won't necessarily affect the propensity of condensation to form (although some are better suited to deal with it once formed). A greenhouse works by stopping the natural convection currents that would normally cool any given volume of air. Essentially, in an unenclosed space molecules are free to move from a space with higher energy (warmer) to one with lower energy (cooler) and seek a balance between the two. In an enclosed space, molecules are not free to undergo this type of movement.

So during the day your greenhouse can build up heat, and once the temperature drops sufficiently enought outside you may see condensation form on the inside of your greenhouse if the air is adequately humid. The reverse will happen, that is, condensation can form on the outside of your greenhouse in the morning once the temperature rises outside.

While condensation on the outside of your building is something that can be coped with, condensation on the inside of the building can be harmful. Greenhouses are going to be humid environments, but too humid and it can propogate harmful mold or other fungus that can harm plants. The best way to combat this situation is have correctly sized heating and ventilation systems and to use them.

The ventilation system should include circulation fans. These fans will push an pull the air in your building and disallow any stagnation. This will help to evenly disperse temperatures and humididty levels throughout the building and fight the formation of condensation.

Additionally, circulation fans can aide in the pollination requirements of certain plants. Since they move air around in an environment that would otherwise be stagnant, fans help pollinate plants that need this type of assistance.

Lastly, circulation fans will help increase the efficiency of your climate control systems thereby saving you money. By not allowing warm or cool air to collect in on half or in one portion of your building, circulation fans can save you money by more evenly distributing your conditioned air throughout your building.

So as we move inside this fall and winter, take some time to consider the air circulation needs that your greenhouse might need. It may just save you time, money, and pain in the long run.

Bulbs - not of the light variety

ljejmom — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:41:20 +0000

September. It’s a reminder that fall is just around the corner and another gardening season is winding down. But the truth is there is still planting to be done; bulb planting that is. Yesterday, I received my first package/box of bulbs I ordered last spring.

I love bulbs. Sure, you don’t see any results for at least six months but just knowing that the bulbs are there, waiting to signal the coming of spring, is exciting. Winter is my least favorite time of the year, so when February/March rolls around I am ready for some sign that the weather is going to improve and that I can get back outside and gets my hands dirty.

Planting bulbs is not difficult and not that time consuming. You don’t need any fancy tools or equipment. The main thing is the bulb itself. Right now bulbs are being sold everywhere; at your local grocery store, big box hardware stores, nursery/garden centers, and I’m sure many other places I didn’t mention.

Remember - you get what you paid for. At the grocery store you can get 25 bulbs for $3.99 and this sounds like a good deal. But is it really? All I can say is buyer beware. Who knows how the bulbs were stored, how old they are and what condition they will be in. Most likely only a third of the bulbs will be good - if you are lucky. They usually are small, shriveled, and even moldy. So just be aware of this when getting what looks like a good deal. At the local hardware store, the bulbs may fair better but you should still be very picky in what you buy. Your best bet would be at a nursery/garden center. At the nursery, most bulbs are not prepackaged so you can examine the bulb.

Personally, I purchase my bulbs from an internet site. I receive their catalogs in the spring and I start dreaming about what I will plant in the fall. There are many catalog/internet sites out there. Do a little research online and find one that suits your needs and budget (Breck's is a good one). I never have had a problem with my bulbs arriving inferior and most guarantee their product - something a grocery store won’t do.

In the case of bulbs, size does matter. The bigger the better. If you have the opportunity to physically examine the bulb, make sure it is firm, not mushy, etc., and choose the ones you like. Yes, it can be more expensive initially, but in the long run you are saving money because you don’t have to keep replacing bulbs that didn’t make it.

When choosing bulbs make sure you choose ones that are going to fit your needs. If you have limited space you probably won’t want to plant bulbs that will self-naturalize like English Bluebells. If deer like to chomp on your plants, plant deer resistant varieties like Lavender Mountain Lilies or Daffodils. If you just have window boxes plant Hyacinths so you can enjoy their wonderful smell. If you have a shaded area try Cyclamen. There is a bulb out there for every need.

When planting bulbs, the main thing is planting them at the right depth. This does a couple of things. It ensures that the bulb reaches the right temperature for blooming in the spring and it also makes it harder for squirrels and other pesky animals to get to them. Any bulbs you buy should have some info on the package or paper showing/telling at which depth to plant. Each variety of bulb has different needs. For instance, Daffodils should be planted 6” deep while Mountain Bells should planted at 3”

Keep in mind when planting that most bulbs need to be exposed to adequate periods of cold dormancy to ensure sufficient root growth for proper sprouting in the spring. That’s why autumn is the perfect time to plant them. I also don’t spend any extra dollars on bulb food; I just sprinkle some compost in each hole and call it good. Sometimes I don’t even do that and my bulbs come up year after year.

The thing I like the best about bulbs is even if I only plant a few, in the spring I am so excited to see them in the yard or garden that it doesn’t matter that there a bald spots or that the bloom never lasts as long as I would like. It’s color! And a flower! Which means spring can’t be far behind!

What is all this rot?

IGCadmin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:18:00 +0000

Much of the country is set to begin tilling under their summer gardens and preparing for next growing season. A major part of this preperation usually involves the time-honored, battle-tested, gardener's best friend: compost.

Composting has been an unwritten must for home gardeners for quite some time. In fact, in places like San Francisco composting has become a legal must as well.

The addition of properly prepared compost will make any soil better. It increases nutrient levels that can be depleted during the growing season. It helps support all the beneficial organisms present in soil that plants need. It creates the perfect soil texture for the growth of nearly every plant. There isn't enought that can be said about composting.

However, sometimes the process can be a bit intimidating. Have no fear though. The process can be as simple as throwing all your compost materials in a pile and forgetting about it. While we probably wouldn't recommend this method, it can be done.

So what is compost? Quite simply, it's a lot of rot. Kitchen scraps, grass clippings, leaves, garden waste, and basically anything else biodegradable thrown into a pile and given a little water will decompose; that is, rot. This rot is compost, and it is super rich in nutrients and beneficial organisms.

But there is a right and wrong way to produce compost, and a good compost pile will require some care on the part of the composter. This is where some can get hung up. The Internet abounds with "recipes" for great compost, implying that to get great compost requires following a complicated list of requirements and/or ingredients. This certainly doesn't have to be the case.

To prepare compost you essentially need to strike a balance between two things: carbon and nitrogen. Gardeners affectionately call these components the "brown" and the "green," respectively. Brown is fiborous, carbon rich sources like paper, dead plants or weeds (hopefully that have not gone to seed), autumn leaves (be careful because these can mat together and retain moisture), heck, even sawdust. Green is live or fresh plant material, like garden waste, kitchen food scraps, or grass clippings.

Throw these things together in a roughly equal mix and make sure the pile receives adequate water and air. In no time you'll have garden ready compost, especially if you are turning the pile or otherwise providing further aeration than the mix alone will allow. Here is another great composting how-to article.

Of course, "throw" these things together is a bit of an understatement and there are plenty of variables, from building or buying a compost bin to pile placement, that a gardener can tweak. But the result will always be the same; happy soil and happy plants.

Get 'em while they're hot!

IGCadmin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:49:46 +0000

Our first shipment of heaters has arrived for the upcoming heater season, so this is a great time to outline some of the do's and don'ts of purchasing a heater for your home, garage, or greenhouse. Since Modine Hot Dawg heaters are the most common heater sold for these purposes, I'll pay special attention to it.

First thing you want to do is properly size the heater for the space you will be putting it in. Try our greenhouse heater calculator or our garage heater calculator to find out what size you need. Keep in mind that you want to size the BTU output of the heater to the BTU heat loss requirements that the calculator gives you.

Once you purchase the heater and it arrives, you will want to inspect the package for any damage sustained while in-transit. All but the largest heaters are able to ship via FedEx ground, and ground service can be rough on anything. Especially large items such as these heaters. If you notice any damage, go ahead and open the box to make sure there is no major damage to the heater. There will usually be no problem with the heater itself, but you should still note the condition of the package with the driver before you sign for it. This will help in the event there is a problem with you heater later.

Once you have your heater you should really think about contacting a certified professional to install it, usually an HVAC installer. It's even a good idea to have this lined up before you purchase the heater. The manufacturer of the heaters, Modine, explicitly recommends having a professional perform the install. It is going to save you trouble in the long run, since a pro is going to have all of the necessary tools and will be able to correctly troubleshoot problems if they are present. Any problems that arise from the install itself or an incorrectly diagnosed problem will be the responsibility of the install technician, so it can save you a lot of time and money. Plus, it is much easier to handle warranty issues if a professional verifies a problem. Besides, if you do the install yourself usually the first piece of advice you will receive is to have a professional come and troubleshoot the appliance.

Now, having said all that, if you do decide to perform the installation yourself have no fear. The install is not overly complicated and can be performed pretty easily. But do keep in mind that it then becomes your responsibilty to handle any problem that arises, and the cost of any parts that are misdiagnosed will be yours to bear.

If your space is large enough to require a larger, PDP unit heater, spring for a professional install. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. Trust me on this.

A heater is a great addition to any garage and can make an otherwise unusable space perfect for any task. And heaters are a must in almost any greenhouse. So the next time you step into the deep freeze that is your garage and attempt to warm up your car, know that it could all be so much more toasty with the addition of a simple heater.

The art of ripening.

IGCadmin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:37:31 +0000

Well this weekend produced a very fall-like environment for us here in East Central Illinois, and while it may continue to be hot here and there, the inevitable decline of temperatures that precedes the onslaught of winter has begun. Overall, it has been quite a cool and pleasant summer. This was good for us humans, but may have produced blight-like effects on the inhabitants of your garden (those that are Facebook fans know this happened to me).

The cool weather has also made it difficult for plants in certain locations to ripen. I've heard reports of tomatoes, specifically, struggling to attain that glorious red hue that denotes their underlying sweet deliciousness. We've inquired about this phenomenon to some seasoned gardener friends of ours, and what they suggested is somewhat surprising.

They suggested picking the ripening tomatoes and stuffing them in a paper bag with an apple or banana. The tomatoes should ripen up after a short amount of time.

I thought this sounded slightly far-fetched, kind of like hearing about the second cousin of your brother's wife's great aunt who grew the 80lb tomato using coffee grounds and eggshells as fertilizer. While there may be grains of truth in any story like this, the reality is usually much less spectacular.

So I looked into what I believed to be a myth, and lo and behold, it is actually true (results may vary). Not only is it true, there's actually a wiki out there will the oh-so-clever title, "How to Ripen Green Tomatoes."

How it works is, the ripening fruit (the article suggests a banana but hear it works with an apple too) releases ethylene as it ripens. Ethylene is known as the ripening or ageing catalyst for fruits, of which tomatoes are of course. This method only works for certain types of fruit, and in certain conditions. But is should definitely work with tomatoes.

The catch here is that, in order for it to work, you have to pick tomatoes that are already sufficiently ripe. The article mentions how to tell what tomatoes to pick, and as an added bonus, what to do with the ones that are going to stay too green.

So if you know you're going to have some tomatoes that aren't going to make, you should think about giving Mother Nature a little help.

The king of all crops

IGCadmin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:16:02 +0000

There are a variety of tradeshows and we have an assortment of projects going on around the country at all times. It is, of course, necessary for us to attend the tradeshows and check up on our projects from time to time. In one such instance, my boss purchased and read "The Omnivore's Dilemma," a book that traces lineage of the food we eat in America. It was found that, in most cases, our food begins in some way in a cornfield. Whether it's soda sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or beef fed on an all corn diet, Americans eat heaping piles of corn.

Not long ago a movie was made on this very premise entitled "King Corn." A couple of guys made a film exploring the fact that, at least in America, people are basically made of corn. What they discovered is that America produces a lot of corn, most of it low in nutritional value and essentially used as a raw material for production of further food products. They also found that the production of the crop is basically unprofitable, except for the Federal subsidy program which makes it a sustainable operation. I'm only commenting on the fact that this current state of affairs and not on the rights or wrongs of such a situation.

The point of all this backstory is to say that a home vegetable garden is a great way to ween yourself off some of this surplus corn. Garden vegetables are better for the environment because large commercial growing harms benefial organisms in the soil, whereas a home garden is usually organic. It also enables you to eat less commercially produced food, which takes advantage of low cost corn to produce sometimes unhealthy food products in an environmentally unfriendly manner. A home garden produces food that is high in nutritional density. A home garden allows you to be much more diverse in the foods that you eat, and by extension, in the assortment of vitamins and minerals you intake.

Now don't get me wrong, I love hamburger and McDonalds's and Coca-Cola and all the good stuff like that - all of which take advantage of inexpensive corn as a production material. But, I also enjoy delicious tasty food. And that, for me, is the best reason for a home garden.

I love to garden. (pt. 2)

ljejmom — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:16:10 +0000

Second part of my "I love to garden" post, started here:

Seek and Destroy. Weeds will suck all the water, nutrients, etc. from the soil and away from your plants so it (the weed) can grow. I actually enjoy weeding; it is a good way to let out frustration by yanking on something that is not wanted. I don't use chemical weed killers. Kids, pets, and the expense of the chemical method are reason enough to keep on yanking. Weeding also has the added benefit of reducing pesky bugs.
Debug the plants. Once again, I don't use chemicals. Japanese Beetles, a perennial menace, I hand pick off the affected plant. Do this when it is cool out (early morning or evening). I have a bucket with some soapy water that I just tap the beetles into. My kids think its gross, but it works! I also use this time to look over my garden and see if there are any areas that may need weeding, extra compost, etc. For aphids once again I use soapy water, usually the used water from the sink after I've washed dishes. I then go out and start sprinkling the water over the affected plants (usually roses). Once in a blue moon I will buy a "natural" bug spray, if I find nothing else works.
Mulch. This helps the soil from drying out, keeps the weeds away, and adds extra protection for plants during the winter. Mulch comes in lots of types and colors. I use wood mulch because that is the easiest to obtain where I live. The Internet once again is a great source on finding out what is available.
Deadhead. This is simply cutting off the dead flowers. This actually helps the flowers have a longer bloom time. My daughter loves to do this; she straps on her iPod and loses herself in her music and flowers.
Buy and plant plants that suit your lifestyle. Some plants are very fussy and require a lot of TLC. If you can't give it, don't plant it. Look for plants instead that are native to your area, or that are drought resistant or hardy and can be all but ignored. They are out there.
Bring some of flowers outside in. It's wonderful to walk outside and see a beautiful garden full of flowers. But it's even more enjoyable to have a vase or two of flowers inside and know that you grew them yourself.

I could keep adding to the list but I feel that this is a good beginning for anyone who wants to get started gardening. One more thing even though fall is fast approaching, it is never too late to get started!

I love to garden. (pt.1)

ljejmom — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:44:43 +0000

I love to garden. That said, I am no garden expert. I've just taken the little bit of info that has somehow wormed its way into my brain from reading, HGTV, trial and error and with that, I hit the yard.

I have to admit my yard looks pretty good. When we bought our current house there was not a plant or bulb in sight. Just some large oak trees and some very scraggly firs that were planted as a wind block (and also in hopes of blocking the view of a very run-down house).

Three years later, flowers are bursting forth with color, the hummingbirds, butterflies and gold finches are everywhere. When the breeze is right wonderful smells waft about. It's my little bit of paradise. I am constantly asked for advice, and with my limited knowledge I am usually able to give an adequate answer. But I also usually refer the inquirer to check "the Internet" because, well, you can find anything there.

Even still, I have come up with a few basic suggestions for anyone who wants to start gardening. They are as follows, in no particular order, but all equally important:

Know your zone. This is easy to find out and there are many sources for this information that include, but are not limited to, the Internet, local nursery, a neighbor, etc...
Know how much sunlight your yard gets. Know what areas of your yard are shaded, which have at least 6 hours of sunlight (considered full sun), and which areas get a bit of both. Plant plants accordingly, plants come with handy little tags that have that info right on it.
Remember to water. A wilting plant is a good indicator that it needs a drink. Best to water early in the morning or in the cool of the evening, otherwise your plants can actually burn.
Fertilize. Just as we need vitamins, plants need an extra boost for good root growth. I use compost; it gets too expensive to keep on buying the latest, greatest plant food. Compost is cheap and very easy to create. Plenty of book and Internet sites are out there to get you started. Also you don't need a lot of fancy gadgets to start composting. And of course, it's a "green" way to feed your plants.

These tomatoes are cracked out!

IGCadmin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:47:45 +0000

This time of year gardeners are beginning to swim in a sea of vegetables from the garden. Most have already become utterly sickened at the thought of another zucchini dish. Cucumbers may haunt the dreams of gardener's around the country.

However, many are enthusiastically harvesting their tomatoes. There's just something about a bountiful harvest of ripe, red tomatoes that is good for the soul. These plump, juicy fruits have a culture all their own and are among the most popular of plants that grow in an average vegetable garden.

However, all is not always well in tomato-ville as this gardener can personally attest to. Life can get busy, and it is not always possible to give a garden and the plants therein the even care they need. Did you read that? Even care.

So it may be with great disappointment that some overtaxed gardeners are monitoring their harvest and noticing bursted or cracked tomatoes. It won't happen everywhere, and it won't happen all the time. But it definately does happen.

The culprit is rapid growth. That rapid growth comes from a sudden dose of water, as comes from several days of heavy rain, or a large dose of fertilzer. But that's not usually enough, and here's the key. Cracking from rapid growth occurs under these conditions primarily when the plants have been deprived of even watering or feeding, respectively.

So in this gardener's specific case, the summer has been relatively cool and the watering has been very sparse. Several days of heavy rain got the tomatoes to ripen and grow alright, but it happened so quickly that they split their skins!

So a word of caution to the gardeners out their who are in a similar situation: the garden must be evenly watered and fed throughout the growing season to prevent sudden spurts like this. That way, even if the rains do come, the plants have been conditioned to accomodate the rapid growth that will inevitably follow.

Sizing up your cooling needs.

IGCadmin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:02:37 +0000

To size an evaporative cooling system, you first need to find the CFM (cubic feet per minute) requirements. CFMs are essentially just the volume of air in your building, the standard being that you want to move the entire volume of air within one minute.

Finding your CFMs:

Length X Width X Height = CFM (As a rule, we typically use 12 for the height value in this equation.)

Let's assume a 30'x48' structure:
30 X 48 X 12 = 17,280 CFMs

Using this you can size your fans, inlet shutters, and evaporative cooling wall. Alternatively, you can size and install a positive pressure cooler and outlet shutters.

Sizing the Fans (Negative Pressure System):

With a negative pressure system, exhaust fans pull air out of the building. This air is replaced by cool air from outside the building coming in through the inlet shutters.

A typical exhaust fan arrangement with a negative pressure system is two fans. This increases the efficiency of your airflow. So:

17,280 (your total CFMs) / 2 (number of fans) = 8,640 CFMs per fan

This means each of your two fans should have a CFM rating of over 8,640 to have standard air exchange rates.

Sizing the Evaporative Cooler (Negative Pressure System):

Evaporative cooling walls are most often installed along an end wall, and as such, it they need to be sized to fit accordingly with the available space.

17,280 (your total CFMs) / 250 (4 inch pad thickness) / 3 (standard pad height in feet) = 23.04

This means you will need 23' of cooling pad at 3' in height. In a 30' building this gives you plenty of room.

But what happens when you need a larger system than your building is wide?

In this situation, you will need either to move to thicker cooling pads, or a taller system. Sometimes proper sizing will require both.

Assume a 20'x 72' structure:
(20 X 72 X 12 =17,280 CFMs) / 250 / 3 = 23.04

This is exaclty the same measurement as before, only now we have just 20' of wall space to put 23' of pad. What do we do?

Increase the height of the pad.
17,280 / 250 / 4 (height of pad in feet) = 17.28

Increase thickness of pads from 4" to 6"
17,280 / 400 (6 inch pad height) / 3 = 14.4

Either of these solutions will work, as long as the shutters can be sized accordingly.

Sizing the Shutters (Negative Pressure System):

When an evaporative cooler is present, properly sizing the inlet shutters can be a little more complicated. There are three factors to consider when sizing your inlet shutters:

You need to size the shutters for the proper airflow.
You also need to closely match the height of the shutters with the height of the evaporative cooling wall. This will ensure ease of installation on the cooling wall.
You will need to ensure that enough shutters are present to properly expose the cooling pads to the incoming air.

So, using our CFM measurement from above:

17,280 / 2 = 8,640 CFM

This corresponds best with 2 48" shutters.

However, if we use our first example we only have a 3' tall system. This will generally be too large a disparity between shutter height and pad height to effectively seal the evaporative cooling system around the inlet shutters.

Additionally, this shutter arrangement would only provide 8' in pad exposure to incoming air. On a 20'+ system this is far to little exposed pad surface area to effectively cool your building.

To properly size your inlet shutters, it may be best to divide total CFMs by the CFM rating of the closest size shutter to your pad height and work from there. This will give you the number of shutters you will need in that size and rating.

17,280 / 5,000 (CFM rating of a 36" shutter, ) = 3.5

Four 36" shutters should work. Now let's make sure they propely cover the cool cell.

4 (number of shutters) X 3 (width in feet) = 12 feet of shutter (NOTE: If the shutters are not a whole foot measurement, such as 40", then: Number of Shutters X Width in Inches / 12.)

There should be no more than a couple feet of unexposed pad along an evaporative cooler. This means shutters can be spaced +/-2' in from each end, and then +/-2' apart.

2 (space between shutters in feet) X 5 (number of spaces) = 10 feet of acceptable additional space

Now add the amount of shutter coverage and the acceptable spacing distance.

12 + 10 = 22

This is perfect for our system. Differently sized systems may require trial and error calculations to correctly size all components of your system.

Extreme Greenhouse: Blown Away by a Creative Small Grower

IGCadmin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:36:17 +0000

Contributed from Garden and Greenhouse Magazine
by Michelle Moore

Keeping Accurate Records is the Key

Just a few miles upriver from the self-proclaimed “windsurfing capitol of the world” lies the small town of Dallesport, Washington. When you head East along the Columbia River, the landscape changes quickly from thick forests to open land and rock. The small town, population 1200, boasts incredible views of Mt. Hood and the scenic Columbia River Gorge. Just a few miles from its greener and more temperate neighbors, Dallesport is a climate of extremes. Winter temperatures dip into the single digits, and summers hit 100° plus. Frequent winds of 55 to 60 miles per hour race through the gorge, although those winds are silent during the heat waves. This area of the world possesses a stark and striking beauty and enjoys sunny skies for 8 months of the year. It’s also home to one of the only greenhouse growers in the Gorge.

Jeff Dearborn and Karen Schwartz of J & K Growers began constructing their greenhouse in the fall nearly four years ago. Initially, the couple planned to cover their two-inch galvanized frame with six mil poly sheeting. After using double poly in their previous greenhouse, they planned to get by for a while with this method. The plan worked…for about 30 days. The first heavy winds of about 55-mile per hour gusts ripped the plastic from the frame. Dearborn and Schwartz quickly decided they required a more durable glazing. Having investigated and used various products including: glass, corrugated single-wall polycarbonate, double-wall polycarbonate and Solexx, they choose to use a combination of borrowed, donated and purchased materials.

The Setup

This spacious structure is light, bright and warm. Plywood and insulation cover the northern wall of the 4000 square foot greenhouse for heat retention. The East and West facing end walls are covered with “borrowed” double-walled polycarbonate. The Southern walls are covered with single-wall corrugated polycarbonate. Some of the Southern wall has a layer of 6 mil poly over the polycarbonate to reduce the heat loss. The roof of the structure is covered with 5mm Solexx. The sidewalls are roughly 11 feet high with the roof peaking at 20 feet. The greenhouse is 33 feet from side to side and approximately 140 feet long. Exhaust fans are located on the end walls, and circulation fans are placed throughout the structure. The structure does not have roof vents and does not use cooling devices.

The winter greenhouse is heated with a combination of propane and hot water running through the propagation benches when warm weather crops are grown. The propane is used only when growing warm crops tomatoes. Cool crops require far less energy and heat providing a more sustainable winter harvest. Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium grow lights provide supplemental light for crops requiring longer day lengths, but are used only if soil temperatures are high enough to support growth. All benches are placed at a comfortable working height and designed to be accessed and moved by forklift. Metal posts imbedded in concrete provide support for the benches and rows are configured to allow easy access. Planters consist of heavy plastic sheeting framed by wood. The plastic is filled with a mixture of coco fiber and pumice. Synthetic stings threaded through drainage holes direct excess water out of the planters onto the gravel flooring. Heating costs are reduced by running warm water through tubing placed in the benches rather than along the bottom. Water running through tubing in the growing media doesn’t need to be as hot as water along the bottom of the bench but is much more efficient. Drip irrigation delivers nutrients directly to the plants as needed.

Indoor Climate

Karen Schwartz keeps extensive records. She knows the high and low temperatures and what the outside temperature will do to the inside greenhouse environment. She knows that on a winter day, the inside temperature will be roughly 80°. The night time low in the greenhouse this year was 20°, which is too cool for fast growth but warm enough to keep everything alive. Growing a warm crop, such as tomatoes, requires more heat than some things like spinach, lettuce or broccoli. These cool crops are economical and sustainable to grow until late spring.

When the sun is out from March through October, temperatures increase substantially. Since the greenhouse does not have any cooling mechanisms in a hot climate, the greenhouse can get very hot in the summer. The highest temperature recorded was 122°. Although that is extremely hot, Dearborn and Schwartz determined the heat is not a problem in their greenhouse because the light coming through the Solexx roof is diffuse rather than direct. According to Dearborn, as long as plants have water, they do not burn. Dearborn believes minimizing temperature swings and creating a more stable environment is more important than controlling the temperature.

Another factor contributing to a consistent environment is the greenhouse insulation. The foam insulation on the northern wall provides a heat sink which both minimizes heat loss as well as reduces summer heating. The insulated Solexx roof also helps to maintain consistent temperatures. Dearborn and Schwartz report a significant savings from the insulation. They are able to maintain an indoor temperature 20° greater than the outdoor temperature without added heat.

During a research trip to Holland, Dearborn discovered the average heat loss from a glass greenhouse was 1 BTU per square foot per degree of temperature differential. A BTU is a British Thermal Unit, which is simply a measure of heat output. Most heaters have a BTU rating which is used to calculate the size of heater needed for a space with a given temperature target. Dearborn explained a 20° outside temperature and a 40° inside temperature would have a total heat loss of 20 BTU’s per hour per square foot. J & K Growers’ greenhouse has a heat loss of ½ to 1/3 BTU per hour resulting in significant savings over glass and other coverings. They have also discovered their corrugated polycarbonate has significantly more heat loss than glass. The corrugation designed to scatter light increases the surface area of the material by 40% and heat loss or retention is directly related to surface area.

Dearborn and Schwartz also report significant growth differences with diffused light. Plants growing within six feet of the clear sidewalls have decreased growth. This is attributed partially to the greater degree of temperature changes but also from direct versus indirect light. Plants located six feet or more from the sidewall do not have shadows or intense direct light. Schwartz routinely measures the plant growth and reports the results are consistent and significant regardless of the crop planted.

J & K Growers began growing strawberries, then added tomatoes to their offerings. Local restaurants and farmer’s markets gobbled up their heirloom crops and asked for more. This year Dearborn and Schwarz are growing a wide variety of vegetables. Their winter crops include arugula, peas, beans, spinach, lettuce, kohlrabi, broccoli and cauliflower.

After nearly four years of tracking and record keeping, J& K growers is ready to expand. They are adding three more greenhouses and will have 18,000 square feet of greenhouse space. They partly attribute their success to their detailed record keeping. They learn from trial and error and record their mistakes to make sure they don’t repeat them. By tracking detailed information they are able to see patterns develop which helps them do more with less. J & K Growers are not strictly organic, but they are pesticide free. They grow heirloom seeds for flavor rather than maximum productivity, and they pride themselves on high quality produce.

While most people won’t start a commercial growing operation, there are many opportunities to learn from the commercial growers. Try new things. Track your progress, keep records and don’t be afraid to fail. Mistakes lead to some happy discoveries.

Michelle Moore is the General Manager of the Greenhouse Catalog where she has worked with greenhouses for 20 years. Michelle writes and lectures about greenhouse gardening as an Oregon State University Master Gardener and member of Garden Writers Association. Michelle is a Fulbright Scholar and earned an International MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management. Michelle and her husband live in Oregon, but they enjoy hints of summer all year in their greenhouse! You can contact Michelle at: Michelle.Moore@GreenhouseCatalog.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or www.GreenhouseCatalog.com.

It’s 99° in the shade.

IGCadmin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:08:45 +0000

It’s almost July, and that means it’s hot. In a greenhouse, it’s even hotter. We’ve been flying through shade cloth as if there were some kind of national shortage. But chances are pretty good that, this time of year, a simple shade cloth may not cut it. With some shade and no other form of ventilation or cooling, temps in your building can still soar above 100°F; more than enough to torch your precious plants. Exhaust fans and shutters can help a ton, but even with fans, shutters, and shade your greenhouse can only reasonably attain the outside temperature +/- a few degrees.

For heavy duty cooling, you need to call in heavy artillery. By that I mean evaporative cooling, called variously a water wall, cool cell, wet wall, or swamp cooler. With these systems you can actually lower the temperature inside your greenhouse 10-20 degrees below outside temperture, possibly more, depending on your specific environmental variables.

Evaporative cooling works kind of like a filter. All of the air coming into your building passes through the pads of the cooler. The cooler must be sealed properly so this is the case. These pads have water running down them driven by a pump. As the air passes through, water evaporates into it. The evaporation process pulls heat out of the air, thus cooling it. This air then flows into your building and is usually circulated with the help of circulation fans. Something to keep in mind with evaporative cooling is that since it relies on water evaporation, efficiency is greatly increased in dry climates. This is because humid air is already chock full of water, and cannot easily take on much more.

There are two main types of evaporative cooling systems, along with simple portable coolers. The portable ones simply cool and recirculate the air inside your building and require only a water source and standard wall plug. These are great for small hobby greenhouses, and can be coupled with a plug-thermostat to give you by-the-degree control.

The first kind of evaporative cooler is a negative pressure system. Known as a cool cell, water wall, or wet wall, these are wall-sized systems that work in conjunction with your fans and shutters. They are typically installed inside your building along one wall and sealed to the building. Inlet shutters are located on the outside of the same wall, and exhaust fans stand opposite both. When the exhaust fans kick on they pull air out of the building, and in through the shutters and cooler.

Two kinds of cool cell systems are available from us: an aluminum system and a PVC system. Both are excellent options for your cooling needs.

The second kind of evaporative cooler is a positive pressure cooler, commonly called a swamp cooler. These are used often in lieu of true air conditioning in hot, dry locations such as the American Southwest. They are small, box-shaped units that sit external to your building. Inside is a round fan, often called a “squirrel cage.” As the fan rotates, it pulls air into the unit through the cooling pads. This air is then pushed into your building, and shutters located opposite the cooler allow for the hot air already inside your building to escape. Again, circulation fans help move this air around a more consistent temperature.

Any of these options can help make the summer months bearable and productive in the greenhouse, and as always the efficiency of any cooling system can be increased by a simple shade cloth. So analyze your situation, and if it calls for more ammo to fight the heat, consider an evaporative cooling solution.

Fool-Proof Gardening

IGCadmin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:04:33 +0000

Great article here in the Wall Street Journal that discusses all the new products and gadgets aimed at recruiting younger, first time gardeners. These include a multitude of products from growing boxes and bags, pre-fertilized soil, water conservation granules, and so on. With the ranks of those growing at least some of their own food swelling this year, the gardening and gardening products market is having an influx of innovation. Most of these products are geared toward making the likelihood of success much greater for a first time gardener since it can be incredibly frustrating to purchase 20 or 30 seed packets and end up with little to show for it.

These products are also good for the urban gardener who may not have the space for a garden of the in-ground variety. Most of them can be set up on a patio or deck to yield plenty of fresh vegetables for use throughout the growing season.

Even though standard container gardens can accomplish much of the same, at a lower cost, and the article portrays in-ground gardening as a much more tedious and difficult task than it really is, it’s still nice to see this kind of innovation in our industry.

The Natural Greenhouse

IGCadmin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:43:41 +0000

Contributed from Garden and Greenhouse Magazine
by Gini Coover

Choosing the Right Size, Location, and Type of Greenhouse

June is a good time to start planning your new greenhouse, so it can be completed and ready for use by the fall or winter. Whether it is your first greenhouse or an additional one, you will want to choose the right size, location, and type to reduce costs, create an efficient work environment, and make sure you don’t run out of space.

Choosing the Correct Size

Size is determined primarily by the quantity of plants you plan to grow during the period of cold weather when additional heat and protection from frost is required. Plants that prefer warmer climates can continue to grow inside the greenhouse to produce flowers, fruits, or vegetables through cold and warm seasons. Plants, requiring shade during both cold and warm weather, can be protected from direct sun with a shade cloth. Size also will be influenced by the amount of space and money you have available.

The square footage required can be determined by laying out a floor plan that includes growing areas, walkways, and work and storage spaces not provided for in other structures. Enough space should be provided to prevent plants from touching greenhouse walls during freezing weather and to allow adequate air circulation. Plants should be reachable from walkways or from between benches and beds to allow for regular watering, fertilizing, and insect and disease control.

Walkways must accommodate the movement of workers, customers, equipment, plants, and vegetables in and out of the greenhouse. However, you want to minimize your walk, work, and storage areas as much as possible, because only the growing areas provide income or plants and vegetables for your own use.

Will trucks need to back into the greenhouse to load and unload? If so, its doors will need to be large enough to accommodate them.

If money is tight, you can make the permanent greenhouse smaller by using less expensive temporary structures to raise early and late vegetables. Bedding plants can also be moved outside early to harden off, using temporary covers to protect them when frost is predicted.

Double and triple uses of greenhouse space allow for increased production per square foot. A simple wooden or metal frame can be built over a supply-storage area, creating more room for flats of plants. Temporary benches, filled with plants, can be set between rows of transplanted vegetables and moved as space needs change. Lettuce, spinach, radishes and other quick maturing crops can be planted early between tomato and pepper plants and harvested before later crops grow large enough to block the light.

Greenhouse rafters should be high enough to hang baskets above the heads of workers and customers, especially in walkways, yet low enough to water and fertilize regularly. They will need to be spaced far enough apart to grow without crowding and to allow light penetration to plants below.

Choosing the Best Location

Ask yourself a number of questions about possible locations. Is there room for delivery of supplies and removal of plants and vegetables? Can excess snow slide off the roof and be removed? Is the ground sloped adequately for drainage, but not too hilly or bumpy to work and move equipment safely?

Is the greenhouse far enough away from property lines, streets, tree limbs, and potential hazards? Never place your greenhouse within fifty feet of the drip line of black walnut trees if you plan to grow vegetables in the ground. The black walnut and some other nut trees produce juglone, a toxin that prevents tomato and pepper plants from growing.

Will sunlight reach all areas of the greenhouse for most of the day? All or portions of the greenhouse can be shaded if you plan to grow plants that require shade. If both sun and shade plants will be grown, the greenhouse can be located in the sun. Shade cloth can be used wherever shade is needed to allow flexibility in plant varieties from year to year.

Locate the greenhouse to maximize use of prevailing winds, but never locate plastic-covered greenhouses in a natural wind tunnel where high winds are likely to destroy the greenhouse film and blow flats off plants off their benches. Calculate its height before building begins to make sure it will not interfere with utility lines or block a priceless view. Make sure doors are conveniently located and accessible to other buildings.

Do you plan to open the greenhouse to the public? If so, can you provide adequate parking, space for customers to shop, and room for their children to wander around safely?

Consider long-term possibilities before placing your first greenhouse. If expansion is possible, consider where additional greenhouses will go. When you have concluded your first successful year, you will be tempted to expand. Then you will be glad you placed your first greenhouse in a location where it can stay and continue to be a useful part of a bigger operation.

Should You Buy a Manufactured Greenhouse or Build Your Own? This topic will be discussed in the Garden & Greenhouse July/August issue. If you are eager to begin building sooner there are two books that will provide you plenty of information. To build using wood and greenhouse film, read chapter 2 in The Natural Greenhouse, Growing Plants and Food for Profit, http://www.sunandshadepublications.com/. To use metal frames, glass or polycarbonate panels, read Greenhouses for Homeowners and Gardeners by John W. Bartok, Jr., http://www.nraes.org/.

Gini Coover is the author of The Natural Greenhouse, Growing Plants and Food for Profit. She has grown greenhouse plants and vegetables for twenty-six years, selling retail and wholesale from her greenhouse and at the Athens (Ohio) Farmers’ Market. She promotes natural greenhouse production through presentations and workshops. She can be contacted at

gini@sunandshadepublications.com

and the book can be ordered at http://www.sunandshadepublications.com/ or 740-594-4147.

Suggested shade densities.

IGCadmin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:35:51 +0000

It’s certainly shade cloth time of year, and orders for the stuff are absolutely pouring in! I figured this to be an excellent time to post the chart we use as a rough guideline to use when selecting the density of cloth to use with your particular plants. Hope this is helpful, and be aware that shade cloth may take a few weeks to arrive to you this time of year.

Remember you can always price a custom piece by using our custom shade cloth calculator. Call 1-888-281-9337 to order a custom piece of shade cloth.

Density	Plants
30%	Asters, Chrysanthemums, Geraniums, and Snapdragons
40%	Bedding Plants, Gloxinias, Herbs, Iris, Lilies, Vegetables*
50%	Bromeliads, Ficus, Orchids (Dendrobiums, Epidendrums, Vandas)
60%	Orchids (Oncidiums, Phalaenopsis)
70%	Ferns, Orchids (Cypripediums), Philodendron
80%	Ginseng
90%	Aglaonema

The germination is complete.

IGCadmin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:33:43 +0000

You may have noticed the lack of a post last week…well, that’s because I’m a new father for the second time. My wife gave birth Monday night, and here I am back at work (at least in the office) a week later. The vacation from kids, housework, and weary wife is welcome.

I just wanted to post an update on my garden. I used seeds from the Greenhouse Megastore, and they have been in the ground for just over two weeks. I can happily report that everything has sprouted. Even some tomato seeds I had serious questions about ended up germinating.

How does my garden grow?

IGCadmin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:44:05 +0000

As this article is written, a gentle soaking rain falls outside. This gets me thinking about the fact that my freshly planted garden really perked up after our most recent rainfall. After not even a week of being in the ground, I was seeing some sprouts. Small and sparse though, even with diligent watering twice daily to keep the ground moist.

One gentle soak by Mother Nature, a little sunshine, and in one day the amount of visible sprouts doubled. This, to me, just really drives home the necessity of being patient and trusting that nature will be able to do, in a fraction of the time, what you may devote weeks to accomplising.

Saving money with controls systems.

IGCadmin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:37:30 +0000

Whether you are large scale commercial greenhouse grower with a multi-acre production facility, or a homeowner with a backyard greenhouse; increasing the efficiency of your greenhouse equipment is a must. Many growers, large and small, set the fate of their crops in the hands of little grey boxes set to control all of those sophisticated environmental systems. I'm talking of course about thermostats. Thermostats are an excellent and inexpensive way to control the environmental systems you choose to populate your greenhouse with

. There is, however, a significant downside to using them, particularly in a commercial setting.

"It is hard to think of that innocent looking device hanging on your greenhouse wall as the culprit that may be robbing you of hundreds, even thousands, of dollars in wasted greenhouse energy. But yes, that in fact is most likely what is happening."

Those words were written by Tom Piini, president of Micro Grow Systems. Micro Grow is our supplier for electronic, microprocessor controlled greenhouse environmental controls.

Basic single and two-stage thermostats, while initially cost effective, are limited to single temperature set points. Sure, they will kick on and off at a certain temperature; but, there is no way to set them for different temperatures during the day and night, or for different periods of the day. Meanwhile, many plants do not require their night-time temperatures to be the same as during the day. Many times, setting a 75-80 degree daytime temperature and a 60-65 degree nighttime temperature is sufficient. T

hat is a 15-20 degree temperature differential that over the course of several years can result in substantial energy savings - if, of course, your controller allows you such ability. Sophisticated control systems are akin to a souped up version of the programmable thermostats many of us use in our homes to run furnaces and air conditioners. For instance, say that using a microprocessor system allows you to cut down on just one hour of cooling during the summer. In actuality you would probably gain more, but for the sake of argument one hour is easy. Let's say that between fans, shutters, and evaporative cooling your electrical and water costs are around $1 per hour (this figure does not necessarily represent your estimated actual costs, it is merely for illustration). Cost savings from that one hour can easily reach to a few hundred dollars. Now factor in winter heating, where the cost savings will be even more, and you approach a cost savings that is nearly equivalent to the price of the control system. All this in just one year. A sophisticated, microprocessor operated control system can save you thousands over the life of the system. All to say, before you decide to "save a few bucks" and purchase a non-programmable thermostat to control your greenhouse equipment; considering a microprocessor control system for your greenhouse can help take the edge off of opening your monthly power bills! Not to mentio

n that with a microprocessor controlled system, most other environmental systems, including irrigation, shade, and circulation, can be integrated into the operation of the controller. These sophisticated controllers also have digital readouts that give up-to-date information on the environment in the greenhouse, making it a one-stop location. These controls certainly aren't for everyone, but when you are contemplating the operation of your greenhouse, be sure to factor in the true costs of all of your equipment. You may find that the pricier initial investment is well worth it in the long term.

Post Earth Day considerations.

IGCadmin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:14:25 +0000

This site is an excellent reminder that stewardship of the Earth should last for more than one day, and it points out some excellent tips for continuing the Earth Day spirit for the remaining 364 days of the year.

100lbs of potato in 16' of growing space

IGCadmin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:21:49 +0000

A colleague of mine submitted this article for my review as seen in the Seattle Times. Basically you just grow the potatoes in a box on the ground, and build the box up as the potato grows. This is made possible by the in which a potato grows. It appears you must follow a pretty stringent watering regimine though, but for gardeners short on space but long on ambition it may be something to look into.

Giving away greenhouses.

IGCadmin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:25:17 +0000

If it looks like a press release, and sounds like a press release...well...it just might be a press release.
International Greenhouse Company is donating greenhouses to five lucky schools in Washington State in an effort to help teach science and nutrition in a fun and engaging way. The giveaway is part of a contest launched in 2004 by KING 5 schools in Washington and the Washington State Potato Commission. Also joining IGC, KING 5, and the WSPC for the first time this year is PCC, the Puget Consumer Cooperative. IGC has been involved in the contest for the past five years.

"It's a really great way to give kids the opportunity to experience, first hand, the miracle of growing," David George, President and Owner of IGC, said. "It really helps them understand where their food comes from and what it takes to produce it."

"This promotion also matches our company's passion for horticultural education, as we have provided customized greenhouse solutions for secondary school programs across the United States for the past 16 years," he added.

Competing schools submitted essays, letters, and pictures explaining the benefits a greenhouse would provide to their respective schools. Five winners were selected based on the quality of their submission and received a greenhouse from IGC as part of the contest giveaway.

The five winners this year were:

Concordia Lutheran School
Graham Hill Elementary School
Cedarhurst Elementary School
Rainier Elementary School
Explorer Community School

The contest is meant to highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle for today's youth, and is part of a growing national movement that seeks to make healthy food alternatives a staple in the diets of school children. Education as to what exactly healthy food is, is an important part of any focus on healthy lifestyles.

"PCC is so proud to participate in a contest that strives to improve childhood nutrition and education in our schools," Tom Monahan, Marketing Manager with PCC Natural Markets, said. He said the program reflects the principles PCC embodies with some of their other programs.

George echoed that sentiment, saying, "Kids may not even realize what it takes to produce the food they eat. And since many adults don't even realize what constitutes healthy food, it's important to teach this to our future generations."

A rising tide of fresh food.

IGCadmin — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:42:16 +0000

There was a recent stir...a hubbub if you will...buzz even...over the vegetable garden going in at the White House. Of course this prompted a flurry of articles both about the garden specifically and about the absence of a garden on White House grounds since WWII. I even wrote a quick little blurb about it, because it is very cool in fact. The New York Times featured a couple of really good articles about the broader organic and homegrown food movement as well.

One outlined the argument within the organic community as to whether or not organic is healthier or better, as a rule, than any food that does not display the organic logo. It contains an excellent breakdown of the strengths and weaknesses of organic certification. If you have been living a sheltered existence for the past 5 years or so and have not heard of the term "organic", check out the organic standards that any certified organic product has to meet. The other is a rather lengthy investigation into the organic, local, and healthy food movement as a whole. Essentially it says that there is a "perfect storm" - in a good way - converging with a new administration receptive to the movement and consumers finally hopping on board as well. This is giving the movement the twin towers of viability; political and commercial might. Both articles are good reads, and at a time when many people are trying their hand at garden grown vegetables, it puts emphasis on the fact that supplementing your food supply from the garden is an excellent and increasingly popular course of action.