Creating an Ideal Greenhouse Environment
Once you have put up your greenhouse, it is time to make it do what it was intended to do – foster the rapid and healthy growth of the plants inside it. The strength of a greenhouse lies in the ability to control the climactic conditions inside.
One such significant climactic condition is temperature. You need to have the right temperature if you are to realize optimal plant growth. Light is another important consideration. Note that one climactic factor may have an impact on another. For instance, too much sunlight inside the greenhouse can raise the indoor temperature beyond the appropriate levels.
There are a number of actions you can take to manage the impact of external weather changes to the greenhouse’s internal atmospheric conditions.
a. Control Ventilation – Your greenhouse has two main forms of ventilation; natural and artificial. The natural ventilation is the circulation of air from the outside, flowing in and out through vents and openings. Since the weather is not always predictable, artificial ventilation can be used as well, in the form of fans and louvers, allowing the greenhouses temperature to be set and maintained at a consistent level.
b. Additional Cooling – There are other ways to control the cooling of your greenhouse if ventilation alone is not working. The two most common types are pad-and-fan systems and fog systems. A fog system consists of a series of sprinkler heads which evenly distribute a cool mist over the plants. The only drawback of this is that the nozzles tend to get clogged from time to time so need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Pad-and-fan systems work along with ventilation systems. By placing cooling (evaporative) pads at the entrance of the air valves the air is cooled upon entry and circulates lowering the overall temperature inside your greenhouse.
c. Monitor humidity – The humidity level of your greenhouse should be monitored regularly; your VPD (vapour pressure deficit) level should be between 0 and 1 psi for best results. Why does humidity matter? Because an environment with too much moisture may keep your plants from growing well; it can also provide a good environment for fungal plant diseases and some pests.
d. Shading – Shading is another great way of controlling your greenhouse conditions. Automatic shades come with a sensor and will automatically open or draw a shade depending on if the greenhouse needs more or less sunlight at that time. This is something that is well worth the money. Trying to control shading manually is a never ending process that is almost impossible unless you are spending most of your days inside your greenhouse.
Follow these tips and maintaining your greenhouse environment shouldn’t be a problem. If at first you have trouble don’t let it bother you, keep at it and it will become second nature. Gardening in a greenhouse can be a great hobby that you will be sure to enjoy all year round.
To learn more about Controlling a Greenhouse Environment. Stop by Jonathan Miranda’s website where you will find tons of free resources for everything you need to know about Greenhouses.