That title is probably misleading. “Pulling a greenhouse” is definitely garden center jargon. I guess when you read about pulling a greenhouse, you might think of tearing down or pulling over. No, Milton already did plenty of that for us. I do wonder what our greenhouses looked like in the middle of the night as the highest winds from Milton passed over. Given the damage and almost complete lack of a roof the next morning, I can only imagine what it would have looked like at the peak.

But, no, we aren’t pulling our greenhouse down. What we mean when we say “pull a greenhouse” is reinstalling the plastic roof, and it gets its name because most of the process involves pulling the plastic across the greenhouse top. This is probably one of the biggest jobs we have here at the nursery. It requires a good portion of our staff, scaffolding, every ladder we can muster, and some homemade tools that don’t have a name. In the days leading up to a “pull,” we erect a structure to hold the multi-hundred-pound roll of plastic that will allow it to roll smoothly over the top of the greenhouse, which tops out at around 16 feet.

Then we watch the weather. Unfortunately, this time of the year is the worst for putting the plastic on because the cold causes the plastic to contract, and so it is hard to get it on as tightly as we’d like. But given the cold we’ve had this week, we needed to do it. What we are really watching for is low winds. Even a slight gust is a huge force in a piece of plastic that is 100 feet long and 45 feet wide! Then once preparations are done and the weather forecast looks cooperative, we have to come in at dawn. The winds are the lowest at that time, before the sun starts to warm the atmosphere. And just as the sun comes up, we start the process of pulling the plastic across the greenhouse. It is tedious and heavy work, and it all happens more than 10 feet above the ground. No fear of heights allowed here! (I think of my scampering up and down the scaffolding and ladders as mountain climbing practice.) And then, once the roll of plastic is pulled completely across the length of the greenhouse, we begin to unfurl it at the four corners. This is when the wind can really wreak havoc on the job, and we did have a couple of gusts that blew the plastic around. (For a quick video of some of the process, click here.)

As if what I just described wasn’t enough, we have to do it three times, since our greenhouse has three hoops. I told you it was a big job! But with a great staff willing to come in early and brave cold, heights, and wind, we got the job done. All roofs and walls are back in place, keeping all of our plants snug and warm. And a good thing, too, because it has been cold this week! With multiple nights in the thirties, this weekend’s balmy 50s will feel like a heat wave.

Now that we are prepared, we are enjoying the cooler weather and hope you are too. Before you know it, we’ll be whining about the heat again. And these January days are great for gardening. You can start to prepare soil for your spring veggie garden, get some seeds going indoors, and, because you live in Florida, you can plant cold-hardy shrubs, trees, and flowers. You know our northern neighbors are jealous that we get to enjoy our gardens all year long.

P.S. Tonight will be the coldest night this week, so check out our plant protection tips in Teaching Thursday, below.

P.P.S. Even though it’s winter, we have fun events in the garden scheduled for February, and more will be added for lots of great experiences throughout the spring. Visit our Upcoming Events page to get them on your calendar.