An Introduction To Greenhouse Gardening

There are three aspects to gardening. The first is where your garden is inside your home. The second is to utilize outside space to plant your garden. The third is to do your gardening under glass and this is called greenhouse gardening.

Greenhouse gardening is very similar to outside gardening. You need to be able to control the greenhouse temperature. Keep in mind that plants do much better in temperatures that are a little lower than house temperatures and they need much more humidity. This will be the perfect environment for your greenhouse plants.

You need to build your greenhouse in a spot that maximizes the amount of sun that it can get through the year. This is very important for the spring and fall when the sun is at its lowest point. Locate your greenhouse where the sun will be at a southeastern to southwestern direction.

By spacing your plants regularly around the greenhouse area, it will give better ventilation flow. One good idea for ventilation is open the greenhouse doors in the morning and then close them in the late afternoon. You can even do this in the winter as long as you watch that the weather doesn’t get too cold.

You can also hose down the floor in your greenhouse and open the vents in the ceiling. This will quickly cool down the greenhouse.

Commercial potting soil works well for greenhouse plants. It is preferable to grow the plants in large trays rather than in pots or containers. The best soil mixes include fir bark, sand, peat moss, vermiculite and perlite for some drainage.

As with all types of gardening you must see that your plants receive adequate water. Greenhouse gardening means that care must be taken not to over water your plants. A climate controlled greenhouse regulates the moisture level with the greenhouse.

You can use your imagination in a greenhouse. Leave yourself lots of room so you can add new plants and move around to look after them.

You will need to plant vegetables like carrots, beets, turnips and other root vegetables in a deep box tray which will fit under benches. Lettuce and other low growing leafy vegetables can be planted in tubs with vegetables that have a taller growth. Vegetables like peas, cucumbers and tomatoes do well in tub type containers.

All you really need for successful greenhouse gardening is your imagination. Let it loose, and see what happens!

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Top Six Greenhouse Gardening Tips

Greenhouse gardening is similar to yet unlike gardening in the open. While the same basic gardening skills are required, greenhouse gardening also gives you complete control and responsibility for the environment of your plants. This adds duties to your normal gardening routine, and can be more time consuming than regular gardening. Here are the top six greenhouse gardening tips for the amateur greenhouse gardener.

1. Plotting your greenhouse gardening location is much like plotting the location of your normal garden. Make sure that there is maximum light and minimum traffic. If your greenhouse is one that will be used throughout the winter, you will want to plot your greenhouse gardening for the winter light.

2. You should make sure that you have enough room to do your greenhouse gardening. Do not fill your greenhouse to the brim with potted plants and seeds. Make sure that you have enough room to move around and work on your greenhouse gardening.

3. One important difference in greenhouse gardening is that you have to supervise and manage the conditions. You will be able to manage better if a thermometer is installed in the center of the greenhouse. You will need to open the place if it gets too hot for the plants so that the plants can grow well in the required temperature.

4. Greenhouse gardening requires the same soil as typical gardening. However, your plants will not need as much watering as they would outside. This is because the greenhouse holds moisture in the air, and the soil does not dry out as quickly. Only do your greenhouse gardening and watering when the soil is dry.

5. You will need to disinfect your greenhouse as a part of your greenhouse gardening. This will help prevent mold from growing on the walls of the greenhouse. This can occur due to the levels of heat and humidity in the greenhouse, so regular cleaning is important.

6. Water your plants with room temperature water when you do your greenhouse gardening. If you water with cold water in a greenhouse temperature setting you will kill your plants with the shock. You should also let the water sit for one day before watering so that the chlorine in the tap water is evaporated.

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