Small yet highly effective tools can be the perfect gift for the holidays. When garden space is tight—like inside a greenhouse—this collection of scaled-down products will be appreciated. Or, put these miniature offerings on your own wish list if someone needs a hint about your preferences. Cobrahead Mini Weeder – Folks who use the regular […]

I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my gardening life. One of the biggest isn’t about plants; it’s about pots. I brood on this mistake every year about this time, as I nurse sore muscles from hauling 35 or 40 terra-cotta pots down the basement stairs. Years ago, I decided I liked the look of terra-cotta […]

Pomegranate, Punica granatum, is a small tree native to the Mediterranean reaches of the near east, and so in zones where the temperature drops below 40F, is a pretty and productive addition to a conservatory garden. Otherwise it will be happy outdoors in regions with arid hot summers and cool winters. In either situation, pomegranate […]

“Suit your plants to your soil, rather than creating soil to suit your plants.” That’s what Paul Bonine tells me. He’s the co-owner of Xera Plants, in Portland, Oregon, and author of the upcoming Gardening in the Pacific Northwest—A Complete Homeowners Guide. The results of following his advice? We’d all experience less struggle, less work, […]

The aspen trees have moved from shining beacons on the mountainsides to puddles of gold beneath the trees; greenhouses — retail and residential — are being cleaned out, and pumpkins, turkeys and sugar plum fairies are dancing in shoppers’ heads. The holiday season is upon us. In 1574, Nicolas Monardes, a Spanish man of letters, […]

I talked with Michele Keith about her greenhouse in Wyoming. Michele’s property, which is close to the eastern edge of Yellowstone, is 6,000 feet above sea level and in hardiness zone 4, so it gets very cold in winter. She had 36” of snowfall a week or so before our talk. But cold is not […]

Growing potatoes in your greenhouse may not seem very exciting or even particularly worthwhile. After all, you can buy a bag of spuds for a few dollars. But imagine growing high-value fingerlings such as Russian Banana, Rose Finn, or Blossom. These can be hard to find in a grocery store, especially during winter. And they […]

In northern parts of America greenhouse owners are just now starting tomato plants from seed ready for the new season. Under lights on the heat mat I have some fifteen varieties growing. These will be transplanted into larger pots until they are ready for my garden and the gardens of friends. But often tomato varieties […]

For greenhouse owners and gardeners in the Carolinas and Georgia, here is some disturbing news: Some tomato plants in Beaufort County, South Carolina, have recently been infected with late blight disease, the same highly infectious scourge that caused the Irish potato famine in the 1840s. Tomatoes and potatoes are related species, both belonging to the […]

You know those social media postings where a friend invites you to put up one favorite photo a day on some subject, without any label or caption? Just post a pretty picture. It’s harmless fun and you get to see some places and things you wouldn’t otherwise (all in the best possible taste, of course!). […]