Greenhouse Beautiful

Jennifer Zurko

If home is where the heart is, what’s in a greenhouse? (I mean, besides plants.)

A thought popped into my head as I was working on this month’s issue: When you own a greenhouse, it’s like owning two “houses”—the one you live in and the one you work in (which I guess could feel like one in the same during certain times of the year). So how is a greenhouse like a regular house?

Well, first, you gotta build it. If you’re lucky enough to be able to build your own home, you know what a major project it is—dealing with the contractors and the city inspectors and the plumbers … the list goes on. But once it’s completed (and there were no major snafus), you feel a great sense of accomplishment and excitement. Two large growers, Four Star Greenhouses and Colorpoint, told me about their new greenhouse projects and how the new space will help their businesses move forward. Read all about it and see some of the construction pics.

Then, you gotta fill your new house with stuff (I mean, besides plants). Outside of North America, the IPM Essen show is a great place to find what’s new in greenhouse equipment. Bossman Beytes made his annual trek to Germany to see what cool new machines he could sniff out. (And for a few plant and marketing trends, flip to the Green Profit side.)

And if you’re not in the market for a brand-new greenhouse at the moment …? That’s okay—there are little things you can do to keep your current house in tip-top shape.

Do you have to have a big house to take advantage of innovative climate-control systems? It turns out the size of your house doesn’t matter.

If you’re looking for some new lighting for your house and you’re considering switching to LEDs, you need to educate yourself on the lingo and the options available.

And you gotta make sure your house stays pest-free. Since you are your own exterminator, you need to stay up on all the latest disease and insect issues. Disease expert Margery Daughtrey gives us an update on impatiens downy mildew and researchers at Texas A&M University discuss how to use predatory mites for controlling insects.

Whew! I think dealing with my own house is a pain in the rear; I can’t imagine how you guys handle your house and greenhouse. But with home ownership, as they say, it comes with the territory.

With all the blood, sweat and tears you put into every square foot of the greenhouse, I know that you put all of your heart into it as well. So I guess you can say the greenhouse is where the heart is … I mean, besides the plants. GT