How To Grow Vegetables In A Greenhouse: Quick Growing Tips
Greenhouse production has a lot of advantages. Starting from growing off-season crops, manipulating climatic conditions for each plant, having a more significant output and better quality, pest prevention, and ensuring safety. Vegetables are seasonal, and what better way to satisfy your needs and save all at the same time? Learn how to grow vegetables in a greenhouse. It is more accessible, more controlled, and very efficient.
Greenhouse Type and Size
First, you have to know what type and size of greenhouse you need and want. Decide how much growing space you'll need for your vegetable to thrive in, and you shouldn't just plan for what you have now. You should also note that you will have more for the years to come.
Additionally, learning how to grow vegetables in a greenhouse also means that you’ll need space for maximum light and headroom.
Types of Greenhouse
Next is deciding which type of greenhouse you want to grow your vegetables in. There are two types:
- Freestanding- these are greenhouses that stand on their own as the name implies. You can place them wherever you want on your property.
A freestanding greenhouse is a type that will allow you to start planting in the earlier growing seasons. Furthermore, they provide the comfort of a sanctuary away from home. - Attached- also known as the lean-to greenhouse, this is the cheaper type of greenhouse that you ought to choose if you don’t want to build all four walls. However, the sunlight will be limited only to three sides.
Choosing the type of greenhouse for you to grow your vegetables in is solely up to you. You have to make sure that it fits your budget and that it does not ruin your living conditions.
Glazing
The next step in learning how to grow vegetables in a greenhouse is deciding how to cover the greenhouse.
Glazing means covering the greenhouse. You can choose glass, but it will deteriorate more quickly or, you can choose less expensive polycarbonate because it retains better and is lightweight.
Location
The location of the greenhouse is the next thing that you will need to decide. Make sure that your conservatory is accessible. Don't locate it too far from your home or your garden.
Furthermore, you have to look for an area with maximum sunlight, but if you can't, you can install grow lights to compensate for the sunlight that your plants fail to get. Then, make sure that there is enough drainage on the landscape that your greenhouse will be installed in.
Accessories
For you to learn how to grow vegetables in a greenhouse, you must first know the accessories that you will need.
You will need shelving, automatic vents, mist system, heating system, fans, tool racks, and potting benches. You need to think about the things that you need for your vegetables to thrive.
Aside from accessories, you also need to find a way to put your accessories in an organized manner.
Control
The last thing when learning how to grow vegetables in a greenhouse is environmental control.
- Pests- for you to grow vegetables in a greenhouse, you need to make sure that there are no pests. You need to clean your gardening tools and check the plants for parasites before bringing them in.
- Ventilation- next, you have to make sure that your plants are getting enough ventilation. Although vents can be hand-cracked, you also have to monitor the temperatures closely.
Purchasing electric and temperature-sensitive hydraulic vents will help you control the ventilation in your greenhouse. - Shade- Although plants need sunlight, they need enough of it. It doesn't need too much. This is why you need to provide enough shading for your plants in the greenhouse.
You can make use of polypropylene shade cloth, roll-up screens, plastic shading, or paint-on materials to provide shade into the greenhouse. - Sunlight and Heating- Living in a place with a cold climate, you will need to make extra effort to ensure that your vegetables have enough sunlight or heat. To do this, there are available heating systems for greenhouses that you can use.
Be sure to have just enough of the mentioned necessities for the vegetables. You need to have full control over them so that the plants won't have too much nor too little of what they need.
Bring in the Vegetables
Now that the greenhouse is complete and prepared, you can bring in the vegetables. Make use of all the tools and everything that you have prepared and make sure to do all the maintenance one you have planted all the vegetables.
Conclusion
In this article, you have learned how to prepare the greenhouse and plant the vegetables in it. Now that you have learned how to grow vegetables in a greenhouse, you have to maintain it and grow your vegetables all year long.
You have to remember that growing vegetables in a greenhouse is all about control and knowing if you have supplied enough or if the nutrients that you are giving your plants are just not enough for them to thrive.