Anchorage Daily News

My grandfather was a catalog nut. I've noted his favorite gift was to allow a grandchild to buy whatever he wanted up to a certain amount from the Sears catalog, a practice halted by my grandmother after brother Al ordered a chicken egg incubator.

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Seed Racks: The first have been spotted. Go easy. Don’t get too excited. Yes, the days are getting longer.

Amaryllis: When they stop flowering, cut back the flower and stalk to 1/2 of the bulb and continue to grow the plant as a houseplant.

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I am sure this love of catalogs started with seed catalogs. Once he got the fever, it spread to some of his other hobbies. One of the types of catalogs he loved were those that featured greenhouses and greenhouse supplies. I would spend hours looking at them and dreaming of the greenhouses I would own one day.

Things have changed and for the most part, these catalogs have gone the way of the Web. While there is the loss of that unique thrill of having to wait for something and discovering it in the mail a couple of weeks later, the Internet offers the opposite kind or pleasure: instant gratification.

This week I am not suggesting you go out and order a greenhouse from an Outside vendor found on the web, at least not without checking around for local sources first. However, you should dream. I am suggesting that this is a big part of what catalogs and webalogs are all about -- and nothing gets an Alaska gardener dreaming more than a greenhouse.

So start big and dream about a greenhouse not just for those tomatoes but rather one attached to your house and actually a part of it. Yes, dream about the "usable all year long" greenhouse that would really improve your winter life. Check out the webalog at www.fourseasonssunrooms.com. It will get you thinking. They seem to have a solution for any homesite to retrofit with a greenhouse. You don't have to buy from this webalog as we have a great, local FourSeasons greenhouse dealer right here who deserves your business, but you could spend a few minutes and have fun redesigning your house at this site.

If you are actually interested in an Alaska greenhouse (i.e., one that is used to grow tomatoes and stuff in the summer) or are just dreaming about one, there are three Northwest-based companies that make structures that area gardeners swear by. All have webalogs.

First, if your dreams include a greenhouse site which must endure a lot of wind, check into Sunglo Greenhouses site (www.sunglogreenhouses.com). I did, and mine has survived 80 mph winds for three years now. It is an engineering feat and easy to construct. The owner displays at the state fair every year too.

Next, if you are looking for the classic 'redwood' greenhouse, check out www.sunshinegreenhouse.com. Sunshine also has some great cold frames and small lean-to structures which would surely be of use for extending the season here. I have seen one go up in two hours.

Finally -- and this is an exception to the webalog-only rule -- is Charley's Greenhouse Supplies (www.charleysgreenhouse.com) out of Washington. You can get their great hard-copy catalog if you are not satisfied with browsing an extensive Web site. In addition to greenhouses, Charley's also sells all the conceivable supplies that could go into one. There are more hose reels, hangers, heaters, shelving, benches, nozzles and stuff that go into a greenhouse than you can imagine. Many of these are useful to both the indoor and the outdoor gardener in all Alaskans. I can tell you that on the coldest days of the year, I rely on a ventless greenhouse heater purchased from Charley's about 15 years ago.

OK. Here is another place to look if dreaming of a greenhouse but with concerns about winter snow: www.Gothicarchgreenhouses.com. Among the fancy, glass and "plastic" greenhouses, one that caught my eye was the actual "Gothic Arch Greenhouse."

Who would think a company based in Mobile, Ala., would have a design so perfect for shedding massive amounts of snow. At this site you will also find all sorts of interesting stops ranging from indoor supplies for hydroponics and outdoor stuff like shade cloth and insect screening.

Farm Wholesale Greenhouses (www.farmwholesale.com) offers the "Solexx" PVC pipe greenhouse kits which are very inexpensive and quick to assemble.

They also feature other greenhouse companies' kits so this is a great Web site for finding lots of different styles and designs all in one place. There is also a good selection of equipment and supplies listed on the site.

Finally, Advance Greenhouse (www.advancegreenhouses.com) also has a large collection of greenhouses from various manufacturers on a very easy to navigate site. I never saw the "Snap and Grow Greenhouse," for example. No tools? Hmmm.

Same for the ultra-portable "Flower House" greenhouse that can be used in the driveway or on a deck. This one literally sets up in seconds. There is also a list of supplies for greenhouses, some pretty serious, including reverse osmosis systems and misting systems.

So dream. It's cold. We have a long way to go. Exercise that gardening mind and spend some of the "meantime" dreaming about a greenhouse -- even if you never intend to have one.

Jeff Lowenfels is a member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame. You can reach him at home.gci.net/~jeff/gardener or by joining the "Garden Party" radio show from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday on KBYR AM-700.

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