“If you put bonemeal around your cucumbers they’ll produce more,” notes Bill. “It’s also a good idea to grow marigolds in the greenhouse. They help keep pests away.”

Bill and Shirley grow nasturtiums in the greenhouse for the same reason. “You can not only eat the nasturtium leaves and flowers,” says Shirley. “They also help keep white flies away.”

White flies will suck the moisture and nutrients from plants’ leaves, she explains. Because the white flies are drawn by colour, Shirley also hangs up strips of yellow plastic lightly coated with STP motor oil. When the white flies land on these strips, they stick and can’t free themselves.

In the summer months, the greenhouse is cooled by a fan controlled by a thermostat. At one end, there is a sliding glass door, with a screen door at the opposite end.

“I don’t have a thermometer in the greenhouse,” Shirley admits. She says she just opens the doors on hot days and if, early in the season, it looks like there might be a hard frost, she’ll light the furnace.

Because of the frequent frosts, Bill and Shirley choose to grow hardier plants outdoors. This year, they’re growing a variety of nasturtium called “Early Bird” although the Alaska variety also works. Their flower bed has lady’s mantle, petunias, Shasta daisies, lupins, hardy geraniums, forget-me-nots, California poppies, Icelandic poppies, double poppies and Hanson roses.