A colleague of mine submitted this article for my review as seen in the Seattle Times. Basically you just grow the potatoes in a box on the ground, and build the box up as the potato grows. This is made possible by the in which a potato grows. It appears you must follow a pretty stringent watering regimine though, but for gardeners short on space but long on ambition it may be something to look into.
IGCadmin
4/13/2009
This unique and innovative idea can produce dozens of potatoes in just a few square feet.
IGCadmin
4/7/2009
If it looks like a press release, and sounds like a press release...well...it just might be a press release.
International Greenhouse Company is donating greenhouses to five lucky schools in Washington State in an effort to help teach science and nutrition in a fun and engaging way. The giveaway is part of a contest launched in 2004 by KING 5 schools in Washington and the Washington State Potato Commission. Also joining IGC, KING 5, and the WSPC for the first time this year is PCC, the Puget Consumer Cooperative. IGC has been involved in the contest for the past five years.
"It's a really great way to give kids the opportunity to experience, first hand, the miracle of growing," David George, President and Owner of IGC, said. "It really helps them understand where their food comes from and what it takes to produce it."
"This promotion also matches our company's passion for horticultural education, as we have provided customized greenhouse solutions for...
IGCadmin
4/1/2009
There was a recent stir...a hubbub if you will...buzz even...over the vegetable garden going in at the White House. Of course this prompted a flurry of articles both about the garden specifically and about the absence of a garden on White House grounds since WWII. I even wrote a quick little blurb about it, because it is very cool in fact. The New York Times featured a couple of really good articles about the broader organic and homegrown food movement as well.
One outlined the argument within the organic community as to whether or not organic is healthier or better, as a rule, than any food that does not display the organic...
IGCadmin
3/23/2009
Buildings like the Cross Country series perform great and look even better.
In the first part of this article I posted last week, I covered Do-It-Yourself and hobby greenhouses. In this part of the article I want to cover prosumer, cold frame, and full commercial greenhouses.
Professional + Consumer = Prosumer
Most of the greenhouses I will call prosumer are lumped together in our hobby greenhouse category, located here on the Greenhouse Megastore. While technically this is true, the size and cost of these structures really makes them much more than just a hobby. Sizes can run from 12' x 12 to 20' x 20' and above, while costs can begin right around the $5,000 dollar mark and go up beyond $20,000. I call this category prosumer because that is a pretty serious commitment to make for "just" a hobby...
IGCadmin
3/20/2009
Looks like the new Prez is even getting into the whole vegetable garden thing. It's hard to believe that this will be the first vegetable garden at the White House since WWII.
Anyway, it just goes to prove the point I made here, here, and here, that vegetable gardens are becoming the new hot accessory for this spring. They're like a Prada handbag made out of dirt or something.
Hmm, on second thought...better not try to lug your new garden around on your arm. That could get messy. :)
IGCadmin
3/18/2009
The Easy Grow is a great building for the money.
Well, spring has arrived (or is at least on the verge of arriving) for most of us across the United States. And I know I can speak for everyone here in the Midwest when I say, "Finally!" It has been a long, cold winter and it's nice to finally be able to envision a world that is full of color and absent a crunchy icy shell. With spring comes the flurry of activity all gardeners are familiar with: planning the garden layout, preparing the soil, purchasing seeds, propagating, planting, etc. With all the economic woes this year, new and first time gardeners are coming out of the woodwork in an effort to save money and have fresh, safe vegetables. Some of those new gardeners are purchasing or are contemplating purchasing a greenhouse for their backyard or lot. Even if you are a seasoned garden veteran, a greenhouse is a logical next step to supplement your existing garden activities. However, there are a few different types of greenhouses...
IGCadmin
3/10/2009
With all the doom that has befallen the economy, its nice to hear of the few bright spots left. Especially when those bright spots are in your industry. :) Apparently seed sales for, specifically, vegetables are way up this year, as mentioned in this article in the Seattle Times. Folks across the country are attempting gardening for the first time, presumably, because of a little bit of fear, a touch of yearning for a return to simpler times, and a dash of attempting to recapture something we collectively felt as if we've lost. And of course there's the cost savings that comes from dropping a couple of bucks on a packet of seeds that will produce an entire summer's worth of food. That's always nice.
"If a person has been laid off, and had a finite amount of money, they're looking at spending $2 for a head of lettuce that'll last two days," says...
IGCadmin
3/4/2009
Shade cloth is an inexpensive and easy way to cool any space.
Life is full of tradeoffs. In fact, every decision we make involves choosing the sacrifices and benefits of a specific course of action. This may seem abstract and philosophical, but I can use this analogy to talk about shade cloth and it makes complete sense. Well...at least to me. There are two factors at play when you are deciding on what shade cloth to choose: light transmission and heat reduction. Really it is just two sides of the same coin, since a reduction in light transmission reduces the amount of infared heat (which is really just infared light).
WARNING: SCIENCE TALK - It's actually pretty complicated, but for our purposes we'll say for certain that light travels as waves. Humans are only able to see light within a certain frequency range, known as the visible spectrum. Plants are also photosynthetically active in roughly this same...
gardenandgreenhouse
2/25/2009
Contributed from Garden and Greenhouse Magazine
by Angela Lundmark
Take a Closer Look at Your Soil Temperature
Heat plays a vital role in your garden. Temperature is a major factor in determining, among other things, transpiration rates. Transpiration involves the use of about 90% of the water that enters the plants through the roots. It is necessary for mineral transport from the soil or medium, to move sugars and plant chemicals and for the maintenance of Turgor pressure. An increase in temperature or air movement decreases relative humidity and causes the guard cells in the leaves to shrink, opening the stomata and increasing the rate of transpiration. With all of these processes depending on us to keep...
IGCadmin
2/23/2009
Shade cloth is highly versatile and can be an attractive and practical cooling option.
It may seem absurd at this point, when the temps for some of us are still dipping into the teens at night, to begin talking about shade and cooling. But this is precisely the time when you should begin analyzing your greenhouse and garden plan to make sure you have enough cooling to protect your plants from the brutal heat of summer. Judging from the shade cloth inquiries we've been receiving, many of you are doing just this.
Shade cloth is a extremely versatile product. It can be used for everything from privacy screen, to fence material, to awning material. It comes in a variety of densities and we can provide it custom made to any specifications as long as the shape has only right angles (meaning no triangles or circles). The most common application however, is for the material to act as a form of cooling.
For an excellent article on what...
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