Shane Smith - Greenhouse Gardeners Companion, Revised and Expanded Edition: Growing Food & Flowers in Your Greenhouse or Sunspace

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Updike for his words of encouragementmay all great novelists take the time to listen to the whining of a how-to author in the midst of a revision. I appreciate the time of Carol Glenister of IPM Labs who assisted me with current trends in integrated pest management."

"To my good friends Tom and Deborah Throgmorton, Jamie Emery, Rande Pouppirt, Rick Upham, Thom Wise, Gale Harms, Phyllis Atchison, Jane and Mike Sullivan, Tom Fox, Will Robinson, Steve Kline, Richard Forrest Henry, Dan White, and Aimee Reese, thanks for your moral support."

"I want to thank Bob Baron and Jay Staten (once again) at Fulcrum for their undying patience. I also appreciate the attention to detail and creative enthusiasm provided by Marlene Blessing, and the hard work and great illustrations of Marjorie Leggitt. I am also indebted to Marykay Cicio, who spent many long hours improving the flow of the book where it had gotten tangled in webs of my own making. Also thanks to Bill Spahr for his excellent design and composition work."

"I am also thankful to my two boys, Rio and Aiden, who put up with a dad who missed some ball games, reading time and wrestling matches during the many, many evening hours spent working on this book. And thanks, again, to my friend Jim Weis for providing"

"photos and the calla lily quote in Chapter 8.

Without the efforts of these people who gave the precious gift of their time, I could never have finished this book. I want to thank my mother who hand-typed the very first version of this bookback before computers; Sharon Gaus, who helped me to see from a different point of view and enabled me to say what I really meant to say (so many adverbs, so little time); Mary Tolan, who gave the original a voice; Claus Johnson, for his sharp eye that sees what others miss, his humor, and his wit; Don Mason, who could dissect a sentence like a sur- geon while brightening up the day; and Jim Weis for his photographic assistance. Thanks also to Whitney Cranshaw for bug advice."

"Thanks to the people of Cheyenne and the volunteers of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, who are the best at making greenhouse dreams come true. I appreciate the constant support of Mayor Leo Pando, executive assistant to the mayor, Joe Dougherty, and Cheyenne Parks and Recreation head Dave Romero."

"I also want to thank Bob Baron, whose per- sistence allowed this book to become a reality. Also thanks to Jay Staten, Linda Stark, and David Nuss, who never gave up on this book; the many good friends I am blessed with, for their words of encouragement; and my parents, for their love, strength, support, trust, and advice through it all."

For this revised edition, thanks go to John

INTRODUCTION

The best way to do something is to do it.

JOSEPH STANDING EAGLE

"BREATHE IN. THE AIR IS RICHHUMID, FRAGRANT and full of life, warm on your face. Its com- fortable. What is it about a greenhouse or sunspace that feels good to almost everyone? Its more than just stimulation of the senses. It goes deeper, further back. The tropics were the womb of human life, and the greenhouse is a connection to our origins. The tropics cradled our earliest developments; there we learned the basics of living on the planet. In returning the tropics to our temperate climates, perhaps we can remember some of those lessons."

"It is interesting that the term greenhouse effect is used to describe the overheating of planet earth because of our mismanagement of the environment. There is another green- house effect with more positive connotations. It is the greenhouse effect that gives you a warm, sunny room beckoning you to stay and relax a while. The greenhouse effect is that of a fragrant plant in full bloom whose aroma fills the senses, that of a fresh-picked salad in win- ter. The greenhouse effect is a homegrown bou- quet of colorful flowers to brighten up a cold, dreary, winter day."

"I have always been intrigued by what goes through our minds when we garden or, per- haps more important, what doesnt go through our minds during that special time when we are working with our plants. When Im working with plants in the greenhouse, the days

The real greenhouse effect can enhance your yard and your life.

worries arent nearly as important as they were earlier. Gardening is cleansing or, as a good friend says, like mental floss. Another friend likes to say it is refreshinglike taking a nap. Whatever you want to call it, gardening is a therapeutic activity. It is also one of the most important leisure-time activities. It is one of the few activities that wonderfully meshes the body and the mind in meaningful work. I re- cently heard that average Americans spend 52 percent of their leisure time shopping. And who doesnt enjoy buying something new? But how would you really like to spend your lim- ited leisure time: in a mall or discount store chasing a sale with the throngs of the crowds

or in your own special garden? I sometimes

Gardening is a therapeutic activity; it helps make the worries of your life diminish in importance.

A greenhouse is like a tropical islanda warm and comfortable place surrounded by outside cold.

think about how few of the things we buy are actually made by another human. Almost ev- erything we purchase comes from a machine thats the reality of our economy and our system. Look at the label on your shirt or on the box of something you recently purchased. It was likely made very far away and mostly by a machine. When people make something by handwith their own handsit takes on a different level of value. So it is with the food and flowers that we grow with our own hands. This productivity is special to our psyche and our spirit. It is therapeutic to create things out of the earth."

"Having a greenhouse enables you to enjoy this therapy on a daily basis in any season. With your greenhouse, you can simultaneously live in a temperate zone with the wonder of its chang- ing seasons and reap the harvests of the tropics daily, only a few steps away from a snowbank and freezing temperatures. Gardening to me, and perhaps to many of you, is important therapy. Usually therapy is not our reason for gardening per se; rather, it is the unexpected benefit of working with plants and the soil that attracts us. A growing green- house allows for this enjoyment on a year-round basis and can provide us with wonderful things such as fresh food, flowers, and exercise, but above all, with that unexpected gift of therapy. Another benefit of gardening is that it teaches us much about the natural world. Nothing has given me a better lesson in ecol- ogy than using beneficial critters in controling greenhouse pests (see Chapter 10 for more information on insects). As I have become more adept at using ecological controls, I have found as much enjoyment in dealing with bugs as I have working with plants. The greenhouse eco- system can be a metaphor for the earth, teaching us much about how the planet works.