Funke's Greenhouses

Funke's Greenhouses Cincinnati local greenhouse specializing in an insane selection of heirloom vegetable and herb plants Open Mid March through October hours vary by season.

Please visit our website for current hours and directions. Our mission is to teach and understanding of, and reconnection with nature to an urban/suburban population through the sales of garden products and services. Our catch phrases include "Just say no to GMO" and "Teach a person to fish, they're fed for life. Teach them to garden they can feed the whole neighborhood!"

Fresh pickings in the produce and floral departments!Grown chemical free.. :)🌿Open 9 am to 2 pm seven days a week.
08/19/2026

Fresh pickings in the produce and floral departments!

Grown chemical free.. :)🌿

Open 9 am to 2 pm seven days a week.

It’s getting to be that time of year to change things up in the garden … our fall veggies are stocked and ready for the ...
08/17/2026

It’s getting to be that time of year to change things up in the garden … our fall veggies are stocked and ready for the planting! 🌿 The shop is open everyday 9am-2pm.

The shop is closed today (Wednesday 8/12) due to lack of power. We hope to see you tomorrow!
08/12/2026

The shop is closed today (Wednesday 8/12) due to lack of power. We hope to see you tomorrow!

Seed harvesting time!I never cease to marvel at Nature's sheer wisdom and ingenuity.Tomatoes store so much water in the ...
08/08/2026

Seed harvesting time!

I never cease to marvel at Nature's sheer wisdom and ingenuity.
Tomatoes store so much water in the form of juice in the seed core that she puts a germination inhibitor on the seed coat to keep them from sprouting inside the fruit.

Only when the ripe fruit has fallen to the ground and starts to rot through natural fermentation do the seeds become viable to sprout.

She does something similar with a number of pepper species that require a bird's digestive tract to remove the sprouting inhibitor.
I'll save that "workaround" for a future post. 🌶

As gardeners when harvesting tomato seeds we can insure maximum viability from our saved seeds by mimicking Nature's handiwork in a controlled fashion by fermenting them in jars with a breathable lid.

The viable seeds will sink and the non viable seeds will float.

After five or six days we just pour off the flotsam and rinse the seeds with clear water and put them on a screen to dry for seed bank storage.

If you've ever wanted to save your heirloom tomatoes from one year to the next that's how you do it!

Of course if you've got other things more fun or important to do than fuss with tomato seeds you can count on us to have seeds and plants for you in the spring!

Happy gardening everyone!

Al Funke

Great selection of fall veggie plants ready to go!If bed space is still full of summer vegetables a pot on a porch, deck...
08/08/2026

Great selection of fall veggie plants ready to go!

If bed space is still full of summer vegetables a pot on a porch, deck or patio is a great way to have some fresh salad greens or lettuce. :)🌿

We also have some fresh tomatoes, peppers and eggplants for sale from our seed production overflow at the front counter.

Open 9 am to 2 pm seven days a week!

Have a great weekend and happy gardening!

And THIS is why we plant all those lovely tomatoes, peppers, herbs and vegetables!Because they're not just healthy but d...
07/23/2026

And THIS is why we plant all those lovely tomatoes, peppers, herbs and vegetables!

Because they're not just healthy but dee-licious!

Here's some of my concoctions of the last few nights/evenings.

The "stuff" on the rice was one of what I call "Midnight munchies" consisted half a grocery bag of mammoth basil, farmer's jalapenos, and tomatoes harvested by flashlight, chopped, sauteed in olive oil, and spread over rice. No extra seasonings needed!

Last night for Helen's supper I cooked a grocery bag full of the "scrap" left over from Kim's tomato seed harvesting into a pot full of tasty marinara and served it over spaghetti for Helen's supper.
After hours of cooking.. lol.. "Good things come to those who wait"
I gave her a spoonful of the result and she responded, "Oh, that's goooood".. So I made some spaghetti and we had one tasty meal of pasta with fresh marinara from the Funke tomato patch while she recounted stories of her mother canning tomatoes when she was growing up.
Also adding in "I'll be the first to admit I never did like to cook"
Lol..
As one who grew up with her cooking I can testify to the validity of that statement!
One time when my sister and I were grade school age after one of her "shoe leather" pork chop meals Pop pulled me and my sister aside and said, "You know kids, your mom flunked home ec".
But of course we were expected to eat every bit of it, with the famous line, "Just be glad you've got something to eat, there's kids that don't have anything".
I'm reminded of Weird Al's line from the parody "eat it"..
"Don't ya know there's kids that are starving in Japan so eat it!
Just eat it! Oooo!" 🤣
I honestly did not know pork chops could be edible until college when a friend made some stuffed chops that were not just good, but amazingly good!
Same thing happened just after college with meat loaf when my new friend, Wayne Adkins invited me over for his..
I have to admit I was a little leery but he assured me his was good, tender and tasty. Boy was it ever! 😋
You "rock the meatloaf" brother Wayne!

I "rocked the marinara" last night!
The "midnight munchie" rice was pretty darn tasty also..
I will say I enjoy cooking for "good ol' mom" and to her credit she did have some very edible meals that were pretty darn good, like her chili with beans, and "tunaburgers" that were tuna salad on an open face bun with a slice of cheese broiled until the cheese just started to bubble and brown. I could pack away a whole baking sheet of those!

But there's nothing like tasty fresh healthy goodness from the garden!
Just gotta love it!

Just "throwing this out there" but if you've got a meal from the garden that you'd like to share with your fellow Funke fans and followers just snap a couple of pics and shoot them to Funke's via messenger with whatever you'd like to say about it and I'll post it here on the Funke's page.
Or message a link to a personal garden cooking post you've made and I'll share it out to the group. :)

We love our "foodie followers"!
Thank you sooo much for shopping with us!

Enjoy this beautiful reprieve from summer's heat!
Happy gardening and bon appetit!

Al 🙏💗🌿

Seed garlic is now available in the shop! Grown right here on Gray Road, our ‘Music’ hardneck variety makes big cloves t...
07/21/2026

Seed garlic is now available in the shop! Grown right here on Gray Road, our ‘Music’ hardneck variety makes big cloves that are easy to peel and had a long shelf life. Stock up now for fall planting :)

We had so much fun handing out plants during Northside Parade yesterday, all Spring veggies are now FREE for the plantin...
07/05/2026

We had so much fun handing out plants during Northside Parade yesterday, all Spring veggies are now FREE for the planting! (while supplies last) And select herbs and flowering annuals are just $1 each.

Thank to all who organized, participated, and came out to celebrate. Stop by and see us in the shop today and everyday from 9am-2pm to show us your parade photos.

CLOSED TOMORROW TO PARADE!! Catch our float in Northside Parade or cya during our normal hours of 9a-2p on Sunday 🇺🇸
07/04/2026

CLOSED TOMORROW TO PARADE!! Catch our float in Northside Parade or cya during our normal hours of 9a-2p on Sunday 🇺🇸

Address

4798 Gray Road
Cincinnati, OH
45232

Telephone

+15135418170

Website

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