Taro & Ti Hothouse

In this area of Texas, I have two problems that I encounter when growing tropical plants. In the winter it freezes - a no-brainer - and in the summer, it gets too hot for many of the tropicals I grow. It’s a pretty unfriendly environment for a plant that is used to an 80-95F range 365 and a quarter days per year. But, the land wasn’t expensive, we have family here, and our well flows good even in the depth of drought, and most importantly, my better half doesn’t want to cart the kids off to some remote Pacific island no matter how much I beg. So, determination and innovation is what I have left - and a blank slate of a property to exercise that on.

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I have for years pushed the limits of whatever growing space I was utilizing. For the longest time that meant windows crowded with plants, rows of plant-lights in various locations of my hale - whatever house or apartment I called home, plant shelves brimming with plants and so forth. As a bachelor, that was all well and fine - but as a married man, all that began to change immediately. Gradually, my collections began to coalesce into less conspicuous locations - the plant shelves disappeared, as did the plant-lights haphazardly placed in any open space. With our current house, I now get an east-facing picture window and a south-facing closet of an office. Needless to say, the picture window is almost always crowded - sometimes a point of irritation for my better half, and my office is even now still full of pots of various plants, vines and… dirt.

Folks, it was time for me to grow up and move out - it was time for a greenhouse.

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Welcome to Taroandti.com. I’ll document my greenhouse projects here. I have a pit-greenhouse that I keep all of my tender tropicals in, and have topside greenhouse projects to house the not-so-tender tropicals. It’s been an adventure and this site gives me the motivation to re-organize my greenhouse images for your viewing pleasure.