Less is more

Karen E. Varga
Editor

When I moved to a new place outside of Cleveland a few years ago, I found myself far from my spacious 20-foot by 20-foot community garden plot and facing the challenge of small space gardening. I didn’t have much room to grow in the ground, so I switched gears and tried container gardening for the first time. It was an interesting experience that forced me to rethink how I had always gardened and try varieties that were more suited for the space. I was able to grow almost everything I wanted by more effectively utilizing the space and resources at my disposal and ended up with a great garden that summer.

That idea of doing more with less has been the impetus behind many of the advances in greenhouse technology. Growers want to produce more plants with fewer resources and consumer demands are changing as more people move to urban areas. Many growers are upgrading their systems to streamline their production processes to meet those goals, whether it’s switching over to a hydroponic growing system, implementing new software or simply learning about the newest technology at Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) events. In this month’s issue, we’re taking a look at some of this technology and how growers are incorporating it into their operations. Check it out starting on page 11.

I hope to see you at California Spring Trials next month. Michelle Simakis, Garden Center magazine’s managing editor, and I will be heading up the coast looking for the latest and greatest varieties and ideas to bring back and share. If you see us out and about, please say “hello”!
 

Karen E. Varga, Editor
kvarga@gie.net
216-393-0290