Rita Wehner

I am planning to build a similar small greenhouse attached to the east wall of my house. I want it primarily for winter and shoulder season use. I plan to use a regular/ non-glazed roof because I just want the low-angled morning light, not the blazing summer sun. In summer, I hope it will be more like a sun room or conservatory than a greenhouse. I'm in southern Indiana, zone 6b.

Erin Blegen, did you try planting a food forest near your mature maple tree? Does anyone have experience with mature maple trees in a food forest?

From my experience, it isn't the shade that's the problem as much as the greedy roots. The roots suck the moisture out of the root ball of anything I've planted under them, such as impatiens or begonias. Maple roots invade and claim any soil or mulch that I put on top of them. The only thing I've ever seen succeed under a maple tree is spring bulbs.

I suppose shallow-rooted food plants like strawberries might grow under a big maple, but I'd like to hear from anyone who has tried it. Have any of you actually had success growing any kind of food under a maple tree?

Matu Collins wrote:I can't wrap my mind around why they would spray round up on the grass to kill it.  Cutting it for straw will kill it, right?  And chemicals cost money, right? Now I'm paranoid about the straw I've been getting.  I know the farmer who grows it.  I get it from him because he's very local, but he has not proven himself to be trustworthy especially when it comes to chemicals.  Don't tell me I've been using roundup fungicide straw...


My understanding is that farmers spray Roundup on wheat just a few days before harvest to kill the plant so the seeds dry uniformly. The cash crop is the wheat, not the straw. If they don't use Roundup as a desiccant, they probably use something much worse, unless they are organic wheat growers.

As has already been mentioned, Roundup isn't a persistent herbicide, and it dissipates pretty fast. I'm personally not as concerned about using the wheat straw in the garden, though I would prefer and pay more for organic straw if I could find it. I'm more concerned that they spray the grain just before harvesting it. Is it any wonder that we have measurable levels of glyphosate in our food supply?

If you buy straw from a farmer, ask if he used a desiccant to dry the wheat, and if so, what did he use.