For a number of years, I’ve grown lettuce in plastic gutters in my greenhouse. The installation is simple: Each ten-foot-long gutter hangs from brackets on a greenhouse wall, with one end four inches lower than the other. I fill the gutters with clay pellets to give the plant roots something to grip. A fish-tank pump […]
The weather report may still be full of blizzards, but once Ground Hog Day rolls around, springtime becomes less of a memory and more of a prospect. That’s when it’s worth thinking about buying or building a cold frame to get a jump on the growing season. A cold frame is a low box with […]
Now’s the time of year to buy Amaryllis, (Hippeastrum) ready for flowering for the festive season. Start them into growth in the greenhouse then bring them indoors to flower. Water sparingly at first; trickling a little tepid water around the bulb, and increasing the amount as growth appears. Once they are actively growing, keep them […]
With so many different plants to choose from, it can be difficult for gardeners to pick a specific color scheme with which to fill their greenhouses. Indeed, there are plenty of options for those who want to set their green space apart from the crowd. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Chris Marchant from Orchard Dene […]
Could a new – and renewable – product on the market provide a nutrient-rich boost for home-made peat-free mixes? Early trials are bearing fruit. Whenever a new and – yawn – ‘amazing’ product blips on my gardening radar, the first alarm bells to go off are perfect twins: caution and scepticism. I’ve seen plenty of […]
As the holidays approach, there is less to do in the garden, but more time to dream. My holiday assortment features practical gifts that encourage dreaming now and gardening later. Tubtrugs – These durable polyethylene buckets have become so essential, it’s an effort to remember how we managed before them. I use mine to haul […]
Emerging from a summer that offered plenty to complain about—unseasonably warm early temperatures followed by drought –then prolonged heat extreme even for the height of summer—it’s small comfort to learn that this season’s weather appears to be part of a larger trend. As the authors—all researchers in the earth and climate sciences– of a recent […]
Thanks to the vision of a singular gardener, a remarkable garden flourishes in Cold Spring, New York. Stone Crop www.stonecrop.org is only one of the gardens Frank Cabot created; its twelve acres inspire visitors to dream their own complex and creative horticultural dreams. From the nineteen fifties until the early nineties, the property was the […]
Garden and greenhouse enthusiasts who grow apple trees may be interested in the recent advice given by AZcentral.com. The website took questions from a number of users, including one who explained she was too old to pick the apples from her tree, which she enjoys using as shade and an aesthetic feature of her garden. […]
Pennsylvania garden and greenhouse lovers may be interested to know that the Pennsylvania Farm Show began over the weekend. Horticulture lovers can gain entry for just $10 and “will be in awe” of what they find there, according to the Pocono Record. The newspaper has also published a to-do list for 2010 gardening, which includes […]
Most gardeners have an ideal image of springtime: one sunny day after another, each slightly warmer than the one before, coaxing the crocuses and daffodils and perennials out of the ground in exactly the order promised in the catalog. There’s an occasional light rain, just to keep things moist—but never on the weekend. Needless to […]
Oregon State University and Lane County Extension Service have offered tips on container vegetable gardening through the Register Guard. The recent advice is particularly relevant to local gardeners in the Willamette Valley due to the “notorious” clay soil there. However, it could help any horticulturalist looking to grow vegetables in a place other than directly […]
