The Ideal Greenhouse Temperature: A Greenhouse Guide
Having a greenhouse inside a garden is aesthetically pleasing for garden lovers. It also protects the plant and provides an ideal environment for their efficient growth. There is still the ideal greenhouse temperature you need to keep in mind. As an example, the ideal temperature for growing tomatoes in a greenhouse is between 70 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The humidity must be below 90% to prevent excessive leaf mold. Read on to learn how to keep the ideal greenhouse temperature.
Advantages of Greenhouse Garden
Greenhouse gardening increases popularly due to some advantages that affect gardener's experience. The following are some advantages of greenhouse gardening:
- Pest Control - One advantage of the greenhouse garden is it can control and protect the plants from insects and animals. The greenhouse helps in reduces the need for pesticides or chemicals that ward off unwanted critters.
- Weather Protection - Using a greenhouse can give a level up protection for your plants. The greenhouse is a structure that shields plants from the unseasonal temperature swings. Use the greenhouse to cover your plants conveniently and can produce from the elements.
- Extended Growing season - Greenhouse offers a longer growing season for your plants. Through the greenhouse, you can control the climate for growing your plants. A greenhouse allows you to plant weeks or even months longer than possible.
Gardening Seasons
Every plant grows during different seasons such as corn, sweet potato, and squash that mostly grow during summer. The following are the different gardening seasons that have an impact on your ideal greenhouse temperature:
- Summer - Number of plants such as tomatoes mostly grow during summer. Some plants need more sunlight to bloom. Summer season gives the plant enough light energy for the photosynthesizes of the plants.
- Spring - Plants such as radish and broccoli get the conditions they need to grow during the spring season.
- Winter - All plants are dormant during the winter season. Using a greenhouse during this season helps to grow some gold-hardy vegetables such as Carrots and Park Choi.
- Fall - Plants like amaryllis bulbs inside the greenhouse during the fall season. Put the plants that won't fit on sunny windowsills in your greenhouse.
Heating and Ventilation
Greenhouses harness the sun's rays to heat the interior air. All greenhouses must include proper ventilation to achieve the ideal greenhouse temperature, either side vents and fans that manage the hot air and cool air or top vent that opens a hatch in the ceiling. Some greenhouses' features can offer to operate the greenhouse manually or automatically.
The manual ventilation feature is cheaper. Remember that you must open and shut the vents or open the door during the day and close it at night. Some people may consider this hassle for those who aren't home during the day, and this is also a problem if the weather changes suddenly.
The automatic ventilation system has a sensor that turns on the fans or heating if the temperature rises or falls below thresholds on the system's program.
The following are the tips to ensure the ideal greenhouse temperature:
- Make sure to open the door on warm days. Put heavy rocks in front of the door if needed to prevent the door from shutting from the wind.
- Use additional stand fans to keep the air moving if needed.
- Open the lid of the cold frame to allow air to circulate during the day.
Tips to Decrease Greenhouse Temperature
You must invest your time and money to build and maintain your greenhouse. It provides a controlled environment for your plant's growth in your garden. Greenhouse offers shelter for your plants during rainy, sunny, and windy season. Every summer, the level of heat temperature inside your greenhouse is challenging to handle. During the cold season, your greenhouse temperature will increase, and that is the most challenging case to handle. These tips will help you to decrease the heat or cold level in your greenhouse:
Natural Ventilation
Natural ventilation will help you decrease the temperature level in an overheated greenhouse. Open all windows and doors to allow hot air to escape from your greenhouse. If the budget is not a problem in your case, you have an option to put a hinged roof that you can open during high temperatures to avoid the accumulation of hot air.
Ventilate Using Shade
Using shade to ventilate the greenhouse helps in reducing heat temperature. There are various types of greenhouse shade, such as compound shading, liquid shading, and leady vines growing at the top of the greenhouse.
Fan Ventilation
Fan Ventilation helps you push the hot air out and makes the air cooler. The proper location of fans is essential. Do not put the fans at the ground level or the top of the roof. Allot at least five to six feet away in front to draw the air over and through the plants. Put the wet pad into the fans to give an evaporative cooling effect and to avoid the plants to dry.
Conclusion
Now that you know more about the ideal greenhouse temperature and other things you must know before planting your plants and vegetables. Remember always to check if your greenhouse has proper ventilation. The ideal greenhouse temperature is about 80 to85 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, you must consider the gardening season for the plants that grow in a specific season. Apply the tips to maintain or decrease the heat or cold level of the temperature in your greenhouse.