Quick Answer:

How Do I Grow Arugula in My Greenhouse From Seed to Salad?
Arugula is an easy, hardy winter green that thrives in cool greenhouse conditions, reseeds itself naturally, and requires minimal pest control with simple mesh covers in spring. Growing your own arugula lets you enjoy fresh, flavorful leaves and edible flowers all winter long, perfect for salads or toppings. Understanding its growth cycle helps you maximize harvests and incorporate this nutritious green into your seasonal meals confidently.

---

My go-to recipe

My potluck arugula salad is sprinkled with jewel-toned tropical pomegranate seeds. My neighbour Barbara is excited and quickly tells me how much she loves the bitter taste of arugula. So I tell her I grow arugula as a winter crop and now she is all ears.

What is the Best Soil for Greenhouse Growing?

Quick Answer:

What is the best soil for greenhouse gardening? The ideal soil for greenhouse growing balances drainage, nutrient retention, and microbial activity—making custom blends like loam, triple mix, or super soil more effective than natural or bagged top soils. Should you use bagged soil or soil-less mixes in a greenhouse? While convenient, most bagged top soils and soil-less mixes lack essential nutrients and structure for long-term crops, so combining them with compost or organic amendments is key. How can you create high-performance soil for greenhouse plants? Blending your own triple mix (one-third soil, compost, and peat) or upgrading to a nutrient-rich super soil with worm castings, biochar, and trace minerals provides a strong foundation for healthier plants, richer flavors, and vibrant blooms.

---

If you are new to gardening and think growing is just a matter of adding water, you're in for a surprise. With terms like super soil, triple mix, natural soil, and even soil with no soil—it's no wonder new gardeners feel overwhelemed. So how do you choose the right soil for strong, healthy growth? And how do you get the most flavorful food and the brightest blooms?

The Power of BCG 

Quick Answer:

What Are the 5 Tips for Keeping My Greenhouse Toasty This Winter?
To keep your greenhouse warm and your plants thriving in winter, start by growing cold-tolerant crops and installing an electric plug with a thermostat to control supplemental heat from soil cables or space heaters. Add frost protection by layering Agribon fabric, build mini-insulated zones for tender plants, and use old-school lights or warming tools for targeted heat. Finally, keep air circulating year-round with fans to prevent cold pockets and strengthen plant growth.

---

Keeping Your Plants Cozy This Holiday Season

Imagine my surprise when a small hole we drilled through our greenhouse foundation became a runway for mice. We pulled an extension cord into my greenhouse through that hole and the tiny gap became a neon sign for rodents.

Quick Answer:

What are the 6 essential tips for cleaning a greenhouse before winter sets in? The best time to clean your greenhouse is in late fall when plant growth slows, focusing on removing dead plants, reducing watering, clearing cobwebs, washing overwintering plants, and cleaning row covers to prevent pests and diseases. A thorough fall cleaning deters common greenhouse problems like mold, fungus gnats, and spider mites, ensuring a healthier growing environment for the upcoming season. Starting early and cleaning on a sunny day optimizes results and prepares your greenhouse for a productive spring restart.

---

Its never too early to get a head start

My husband and I planned a mid-week ski trip but on departure day I was still in my off finishing a time-sensitive project. We were staying overnight at the hill, it was still a workday, and the car was loaded up. There was no rush to get moving.

The Benefits of a Home-Attached Greenhouse

With convenient access to water and power and designed to maximize the heating benefits of your home, the attached greenhouse is a must for those wanting to extend the season and enjoy the view into the garden. BC Greenhouse Builders offers a lean to greenhouse kit and a gable design for home-attached greenhouses. A lean-to is a roof that has a single slope with its upper edge adjoining a wall or building. A gable-attached greenhouse is a typical freestanding greenhouse with the gable end removed and attached to a wall.

Quick Answer: 

How Does a Greenhouse Save Your Garden from Climate Challenges?
A greenhouse protects your garden from unpredictable weather, extends the growing season by one to two months, and shields crops from pests like slugs and marmots through controlled heat, water, and shelter. Unlike outdoor gardens affected by heavy rains, cold snaps, or short seasons, a greenhouse offers consistent conditions that support reliable growth and higher yields. Whether you're overwintering perennials, growing year-round vegetables, or simply avoiding climate chaos, a greenhouse provides a practical, long-term solution.

---

In late September, I asked Facebook followers to share their biggest gardening challenges this summer.

Quick Answer:

What Are the Tips to Maximize a Bumper Harvest?
To maximize your fall greenhouse harvest, start fast-growing crops like radishes, spinach, and mustard in late summer, and experiment with resilient plants like sesame for high yield with minimal water. A greenhouse extends the growing season beyond outdoor limits, especially in northern climates, allowing gardeners to produce fresh food well into fall. By donating excess produce, greenhouse growers can also support food security and uphold the human right to access fresh, healthy food.

---

What would Donna do?

New Crops and Bumper Harvests

I’m flying home through Calgary into Comox on my way back from a speaking gig. It’s late August and the pilot warns us: it is snowing close to Calgary. In August.

Quick Answer:

Fivewall polycarbonate is a durable, energy-efficient glazing option with high insulation (R-value 3.03), 62% light transmission, and excellent structural strength—making it ideal for cold climates, snow loads, and year-round greenhouse gardening.

---

What is Fivewall Polycarbonate Glazing?

BC Greenhouses has been working with this glazing product for a few years. It was so impressive in terms of its energy efficiency that we built a new aluminum framing system to accommodate the wider profile. For example, a typical single glass greenhouse glazing is 3mm in thickness whereas the Fivewall polycarbonate is an impressive 16mm.

Quick Answer:

Growing prize-winning tomatoes requires a greenhouse for earlier ripening and protection, careful late-summer pruning and low-nitrogen fertilization with calcium, consistent watering, and good air circulation to produce healthy, blemish-free fruit ready for competition.

---

My tomatoes are sitting beside me in the front seat of my shiny black station wagon. We are on our way to the fair!