Greener Greenhouses

Greenhouse gardening is big business, there are large corporate commercial farms using massive greenhouses to produce fruit and vegetables out of season in order to fulfill the constant demands of the consumer who wants a constant supply of fresh produce all year round. These greenhouses use the latest technologies to extend the growing periods of all that is planted within them. Some are even computer controlled to ensure optimum growing conditions at all times. So next time you pop a punnet of fresh strawberries into your shopping basket take some time to consider how much work has gone into producing them.

In the distant past most fruit and vegetables were grown on farms in the country where they were consumed. With the coming of the industrial revolution the development of the market garden provided the towns with the extra produce required. It was only late on that fresh produce was able to be transported quickly enough from distant lands to our towns and cities before it spoiled. Nowadays it is not uncommon to find produce from the other side of the world on sale alongside produce from our own country, and even the same produce. The phenomenal growth in the variety of fruit and vegetables being made available to us is due to a number of factors which include lower transportation costs, cheaper labour and even the incredibly widespread use of greenhouses. Yes even in hotter climates greenhouses are still used extensively.

In the last ten years there has been a marked upsurge in interest in ecology and conservation. The buildup of what are known as greenhouse gasses (mainly carbon dioxide) has been blamed for the climatic changes we have seen recently. A growing number of scientists believe that the global warming experienced may be reversible if we can, possible, massively reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Our continued reliance upon fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) is the main contributing factor so a great many people around the world are trying to reduce our overuse of power while also looking at alternative sustainable sources of power. It is believed that if we all manage to reduce our power consumption we can have a profound impact upon our environment, for the better. One of the areas which is causing most concern is the distance that some foodstuffs travel and it is believed that by decreasing this distance we can decrease our carbon emissions considerably.

Now if we are to do this there are certain foods that will not grow in certain climates. Most fruit demands a warm and sunny environment in which to grow and ripen. The only way in which to grow such produce in such a harsh environment is in greenhouses. However we must also ask how green are greenhouses?

Now in order to grow such fruit and vegetables it is necessary to produce both heat and light. There are plenty of greenhouse heating systems on the market and there are also numerous, highly specific lighting systems which produce varying degrees of red and blue light for the various growing stages of plants. There are lighting systems for greenhouses of all sizes, some which stimulate foliage growth while other types are best during flowering periods. However these systems require massive amounts of energy and therefore producing food locally in greenhouses may not be as green as growing them elsewhere in the world and transporting them.

The only way in which we can make our greenhouse gardening greener is to create the right environment using the least amount of energy or, alternatively, use energy which has been produced from a sustainable source. Now if all energy used was either solar, wind or hydro generated that would be a perfect solution to the problem but unfortunately there are few areas where this is possible. There are areas in Scotland in the United Kingdom where the electricity is generating in hydro plants and there are some very large windfarms which are being planned for the areas which get most sustained wind but it will still be some time before all power will be green.

There are a few enlightened companies who produce products which rely upon solar power. One such company is Bayliss who produce a small vent opener powered by an attached solar panel. The Bayliss Solar Power Vent Opener is an amazing piece of equipment which opens a vent the hotter it gets thus decreasing the temperature and humidity within the greenhouse. The gadget is of excellent build quality and even the smallest have a lifting power of around 14lbs. Now imagine if all of the greenhouses across the world used solar powered vent openers the amount of energy saved would be incredible.

Over the coming years it is likely that we will see more and more solar powered gadgets coming onto the market. It is already possible to have a solar panel attached to a battery that will be gradually charged during daylight hours so it is feasible to keep our greenhouses free of frost using solar power as only a little energy is required to keep frost away. Who knows what will be developed next? If you have a greenhouse of your own why not consider making it a little greener and helping the environment?

Eric Johnstone has been a landscape gardener for about 15 years and writes for a small number of landscape gardening sites in his spare time.

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