Tag: greenhouse

Home Greenhouses III: Basic Structure Types

Over the last few months I’ve had the chance to talk about the popular topic of home greenhouses.  We covered a few of the basics in my first article, then touched on some regulations that might effect the building and management of home greenhouses in some areas.  In this installment we’ll talk a bit about common structures used for home greenhouse construction so you can consider which structure(s) might be right for your situation.

Types of Structures

Greenhouse structures can range from simple to the very complex. … Continue reading this article “Home Greenhouses III: Basic Structure Types”

Home Greenhouses Pt. 2: Regulations & Restrictions

Last month I dipped into some of the considerations of owning or building a home greenhouse, having just “inherited” a greenhouse with my new house.  The questions and comments were numerous, so I decided to continue on discussing considerations for home greenhouse ownership and operation.  There will likely be a few more articles down the line….so strap in. 

This time around, I thought I’d talk about something that we hate to talk about, but is important to understand: rules and restrictions around what you can and can’t do, especially if you live in an urban area or municipality. … Continue reading this article “Home Greenhouses Pt. 2: Regulations & Restrictions”

Buying locally-grown plants

Of course we want to buy locally-grown plants! There are a gazillion sound reasons to do so.  In a paper that may be from near here, or not, I perused the gardening column over Sunday coffee, written by (a human) (name withheld to protect the very, very nice and usually accurate author). But in this particular article, the writer ventured deep into huh? territory.

And that territory is my area of expertise: nursery and greenhouse production and marketing.… Continue reading this article “Buying locally-grown plants”

A Real, Live, Learning Experience

What a crazy spring! But it finally, finally came here to the Blue Ridge Mountains (Linda Chalker-Scott refers to them “speed bumps”).

My Ornamental Plants Production & Marketing class has been at work since early February, growing plants and marketing them at the Hort Club Plant Sale as part of their lab experience.  Of course, they are completely at my mercy as to what they get to grow (bwuhh ha ha *evil hand wringing*). … Continue reading this article “A Real, Live, Learning Experience”

Closing the loop

Just a short post today as I am participating in an Extension planning meeting for most of the day.  One up-side to the meeting is we are meeting and having lunch at Brody Dining hall here at MSU.  If you’re around my age and attended college in the 80’s, the thought of eating at a dormitory dining hall might elicit memories of a hair-netted cafeteria lady glopping amorphous slop on your tray next to the mystery meat of the day. … Continue reading this article “Closing the loop”

Bounce – it’s not just a fabric softening sheet…

…it’s an Integrated Pest Management tool!

[Note added after-the-fact: this was a  tongue-in-cheek bit of  hyperbole – kind of like “it’s not just a Job, it’s an Adventure.” Did not mean to imply that it actually IS an IPM tool. Very badly worded. Hence the beating I took in the comments. Live and learn.]

Fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.) are a pain in the bottom for commercial greenhouse growers. The adults are more of a nuisance than anything else –it just looks bad when a customer picks up your 6” pot of pansies and a bunch of little black gnats take flight. … Continue reading this article “Bounce – it’s not just a fabric softening sheet…”

The Glories of The Winter Greenhouse

I’m a Southerner. With a capital “S”.  Which is why I am Suffering, with another capital “S”. Here in the Blue Ridge mountains of western Virginia, we have officially surpassed Anchorage and Denver in total snowfall for the season. Today’s batch adds up to 24″ on the ground at our farm.


Blueberries in the snow. If one more person says “Probably good for all the insect problems,” I’m going to get violent.

The chickens are not happy.… Continue reading this article “The Glories of The Winter Greenhouse”