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BC Greenhouse Builders' Greenhouse Gardening School is an exclusive resource for BC Greenhouse customers, designed to help you get more from your greenhouse from day one. Hosted by Jordan Mara of Mind & Soil and horticulturalist Donna Balzer, the school covers everything from layout and design to soil, propagation, and plant care, with real customer gardens featured along the way.
Jordan Mara, Canadian gardener, mental health advocate, and founder of Mind & Soil, has spent five years building one of Canada's most trusted gardening channels. This season, a lifelong dream came true: his very own BC Greenhouse is installed and growing. He's documented every honest moment across three YouTube episodes, from a snowy install day to the first tomatoes in the ground in March.
How do you grow cauliflower in a greenhouse for perfect results year-round? Growing cauliflower in a greenhouse ensures consistent conditions—steady temperature, even moisture, and protection from extreme heat—leading to larger, sweeter, and more reliable harvests than outdoor crops. Start seeds indoors, stagger plantings to avoid a glut, and choose self-wrapping or colorful varieties like Veronica or Susanna for visual appeal and flavor. With drip irrigation, airflow, and soil amendments, your greenhouse can produce A+ cauliflower from spring through winter.
Lennie tracked me down at a party. “It’s my cauliflowers,” she sighed. “They are small and button-like instead of big like at the store.”
When I moved homes and built a new greenhouse, I was in for quite a surprise. The natural soil on my new lot is sand. Pure, yellow sand. This means it drains really well. It also means it does not hold nutrients to feed my plants.
What are the tips for greenhouse gardening in March and April? Early spring greenhouse gardening involves starting fruit cuttings like raspberries over heat mats to encourage rooting, transplanting hardy crops such as peas for early harvests, and directly sowing cold-tolerant seeds like radishes, spinach, and arugula in unheated soil. By managing space, timing crops carefully, and using seasonally appropriate strategies, gardeners can extend their growing season and enjoy fresh produce well before outdoor gardens mature. This approach maximizes greenhouse productivity while creating a rewarding, year-round gardening experience.
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.
What Are the Best Tips for Soil Amendments & Nutrients in a Greenhouse Garden?
Optimizing greenhouse soil requires building “super soil” by blending quality soil-less mix with compost, biochar, and worm castings, plus adding essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and micronutrients through amendments such as seed meals, lime, kelp, and gypsum. Recognizing nutrient deficiency signs—like purple leaves from low phosphorus or brown spots from potassium shortage—helps timely fertilization and soil management, ensuring healthy plant growth and improved crop flavor. Regular soil amendment and fertilization tailored to plant needs foster vibrant, productive greenhouse gardens year-round.
A few years back my greenhouse tomato leaves were purple, yellow and spotted. Not all at once, but over time and on different leaves. It was the second year I was growing in my greenhouse and the commercial potting soil I bought was low on phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. The leaves on the plants were telling me what was going on. And it didn’t look good.
What are the tips for ordering seeds and supplies for hobby greenhouse growing? To succeed in hobby greenhouse gardening, it’s crucial to read seed catalog fine print carefully—choosing parthenocarpic varieties for cucumbers and zucchinis that don’t require pollination, selecting heat-tolerant and slow-bolting plant varieties, and using foliar fertilizers for cold soils. Understanding pollination needs, temperature tolerance, and plant growth habits ensures better yields and healthier crops year-round. Starting seeds indoors, like onions in January, and adapting to your greenhouse environment helps optimize growth and harvest success.
When I started growing in my Greenhouse Garden a few of my favourite plants stopped working for me. That's what I learned to read the catalog fine print and adapt my shopping for a better hobby greenhouse growing.
Can You Move a Greenhouse Multiple Times?
Yes, a well-designed greenhouse can be disassembled and relocated multiple times without compromising its durability or plant environment. Charles Russ, a loyal B.C. Greenhouses customer, successfully moved his greenhouse five times over 30 years, praising its sturdy construction, adaptable features, and exceptional customer support. This demonstrates that investing in quality greenhouses ensures long-term flexibility and lasting value for gardeners on the move.
Thank you once again, Kyle, for taking the time to look after me yesterday. I did, again, appreciate so much your thoughtfulness in assisting me with my own reconstruction dilemma of a few weeks ago. As with everyone there, you showed such warmth and kindness, and as always, I am away with such a good feeling of support and confidence about my maintenance of my beloved little greenhouse.
