Greenhouse Gardening Tips

Nathan Steegstra

Nathan Steegstra's Journey as a Factory Installer at BC Greenhouse Builders

Nathan Steegstra, a factory greenhouse installer for BC Greenhouse Builders, reminisces on his history

“I started approximately 20 years ago and I was hired by Jay.  Jay said it was the most unorthodox interview ever,” Nathan chuckles.  “My buddy Darren worked for BCG and I picked him up from one of their parties. All I remember is Henry’s big arm is around my neck and he hands me a beer.  Kyle starts interviewing me and then I think “I gotta get out of here”.  Two weeks later, Nathan joined the production crew and is now our lead factory greenhouse installer.

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Yew greenhouse

A Photographer's Backyard Greenhouse: Bigger, Better & Picture Perfect

BC Greenhouse Featured in Style at Home Magazine

BC Greenhouse Builders Limited, North America’s leading builder of hobby and estate greenhouses, is proud to announce the recent article “A Photographer's Backyard Greenhouse is Picture Perfect” by Christy Wright.  The article features our customer Emily Yewchuck and her stunning Cottage model 12x16 glass greenhouse.

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lean-to greenhouse attached to a brick wall

Backyard Greenhouses: A Growing Trend - Wall Street Journal Feature

Backyard Greenhouses are Growing on Homeowners

BC Greenhouse Builders Limited, North America’s leading builder of hobby and estate greenhouses, is proud to announce the recent article "Backyard Greenhouses are Growing on Homeowners" by Melissa Feldman.  The publication comes at a great time while we are celebrating our 70th anniversary.  This article featured two of our greenhouses and greenhouse customers.

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Experience the Joy of Greenhouse Gardening: Tips for March and April

Sunshine on Your Face in the Greenhouse Garden

I close my eyes as I bask in the sun, heat on my face. I take off my jacket and then my hat. My neighbors, friends and family have gone away to Martinique, Belize and Spain but I am experiencing the best holiday. I am sitting in the sun at home – in my Greenhouse Garden.

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tomatoes growing in a greenhouse

Greenhouse Tomato Tips for Beating the Heat: July in the Greenhouse

The Trouble with Greenhouse Tomatoes

Do your greenhouse tomatoes have heat stroke?

If your tomato blooms are bending and falling off, flower and all, they are having a heatstroke. When extreme heat hits, greenhouse tomatoes fail to set fruit even as the leaves keep growing and new blooms appear.

 

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Strawberry leaf stippling due to thrips

Greenhouse Garden Tips: How to Solve Your Pest Problems with Biological Controls

Like something out of a horror film, the army of purchased insects sense the trouble-makers and bite their head off as they emerge…. And just like that, my greenhouse problem is solved.

In the Beginning

Speckled leaves on my strawberries make me think of spider mites, but I am wrong. When I tap a leaf with tell-tale speckled leaves, I catch three white immature thrips on a piece of paper.

Thrips move slowly, crawling or sometimes hopping but never really flying. They fall easily on the piece of paper I hold below the leaf. Whiteflies are a brighter white and they fly quickly as soon as a leaf is touched. I do not have whiteflies.

My immature thrips are the size of a 12-point Helvetica lower case “e” on the recycled paper I use to catch them and they are a serious bother on my strawberry plants.

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BC Greenhouse Builders

Joanna DeJong: A True Legacy at BC Greenhouse Builders

Joanna, accountant for BC Greenhouse Builders, is a legacy

As part of our 70th Anniversary, we continue with spotlights on people who have shaped the BC Greenhouses that we are today. 

Joanna DeJong, Accounts Manager of BC Greenhouse Builders, started her long career in 1997.  One of the few legacy employees who not only remembers the Hedley location in Burnaby but worked there too.  Joanna started as a Girl Friday of sorts but her introduction to the Heinen family started much earlier.

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