greenhouse, I thought, would help me make the most of a short growing season—
and be a worthwhile investment.
I stopped by at Charley’s Greenhouses and picked up a catalog. At fi rst I
simply looked for one that would fit my ready-made foundation, but there were
so many options, it was impossible to choose without—yes, you’ve guessed it—
local knowledge!
Charley and Carol Yaw have been selling greenhouses and their apparatus forover 32 years. They have a devoted following of avid gardeners who want to get
a head start on the short Pacific Northwest growing season and to have fl owers
and food for the longer winter months.
I met with Charley to discuss the site and what might best meet our needs.We settled on a 16x8-foot Traditional model. Charley explained that almost ev
eryone eventually wound up wanting more space, but he felt this would meet our
needs for our own table, to share with our neighbors, and to donate a small but
regular supply to the food bank.
We live about 500 feet above the Skagit Valley, with Puget Sound and the
Peninsular Mountains in the far distance and the San Juan Islands off to our
right. It’s a grand view, and I wanted to be able to look at it through plain glass,
which isn’t the best insulation or price, but I had it fi rmly in my mind that we
could take afternoon tea and the occasional breakfast at one end, amid the
warmth, color, and sweet aroma of our verdant winter garden.
Charley helped us plan it out, and we equipped it with three long wooden
benches and several overhead wire racks. We found an English potting tray and,
again with local knowledge, added the following :
■ Automatic overhead ventilation panels
(the heat expands oil in a cylinder that
cranks open the panels; when the air
cools, they close). I should warn you here to
get equally automatic spring stops in case
the wind blows up, as ours did and blew the
otherwise robust fittings clean off the roof !
MY NEED-TO-KNOW LIST • 43