Program Contact: Loren Imes
360-639-6059 • loren.imes@wsu.edu
The greenhouse was installed in 2019, funded by grants, in-kind donations from local businesses, and the Island County Master Gardener Foundation. Our grateful thanks go to Whidbey Island Garden Tour, Ellen A’Key Foundation, All Whidbey Topsoil, Maillard’s Landing, Oak Harbor Home Depot, and the on-going commitment of the Master Gardeners who made it happen.
The greenhouse was designed and built by David Beust, whose unique design withstands the winds of Whidbey. The greenhouse is used for plant propagation for the annual Master Gardener plant sale and for classes during the growing season.
On the east side of the greenhouse, a pollinator garden displays popular plants for attracting pollinators who help to pollinate the vegetables growing in the raised beds nearby.
The two raised beds east of the pollinator garden were built using the sub-irrigated planting technique, where moisture is wicked from a reservoir in the bottom of the planter and plants receive constant moisture through capillary activity. This technique helps conserve water as well as free you from constantly having to monitor watering needs.
Resources on greenhouse installation and use:
- Bartok, J.W. 2000. Greenhouses for homeowners and gardeners. Ithaca, NY: Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES).
- The Hobby Greenhouse, April 2017, OSU Extension.
- Hobby Greenhouse Association.
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Extension fact sheets on greenhouse management.
Resources on pollinator protection and pollinator-friendly plants:
- Pollination and Protecting Bees and Other Pollinators, by Timothy Lawrence, WSU Extension Island County, FS174E.
- Selecting Plants for Pollinators: A Regional Guide for Farmers, Land Managers, and Gardeners in the Pacific Lowland, produced by Pollinator Partnership and NAPPC.
Resources on sub-irrigated planters:
- Raised Wicking Beds (pdf), by Steve Higgins, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, AEN-158, Issued 1-2021.
- Self-Watering Wicking Container (pdf), by Steve Higgins, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, AEN-157, Issued 10-2020.
- Subirrigated Containers for the Mississippi Gardener (pdf), by Gary R. Bachman and Christine E.H. Coker, Mississippi State University Extension, Publication 2971 (POD-06-19), Copyright 2019.