Use a Home Greenhouse to Grow Your Own Food
By William Howe
Article: Everywhere you go you see new trends toward how to buy and grow food. The expense is causing people to look back to a different time when many people grew their own food and reexamine the use of home greenhouses.
In Victorian times home greenhouses were used not only to put food on the table, but to satisfy the Victorian’s curiosity for all things natural. It was considered a worth while past time to have a hobby greenhouse in which to grow amazing specimens of tropical plants and rare species of native plants.
There were large “conservatory” greenhouses in the large homes of the rich back then but you don’t necessarily need a large space to grow enough food for you and your family. There are mini and small greenhouses that fit on porches, balconies and decks that will allow you to grow lettuce, tomatoes and some herbs for great salads. A small to medium green house is large enough to produce enough food for a family of four if planned properly.
A retired woman I know grows an abundance of tropical plants in a small greenhouse, about the size of a typical closet. She has a woodstove in one end of the greenhouse which allows her to keep her plants toasty warm in even the worst deep winter weather. She sells her plants to family and friends, and enjoys the hours she spends tending her stock. For her, it truly is a hobby greenhouse.
Adding a hobby greenhouse to your backyard will allow you to grow your own food virtually year-round. If you have never gardened with a greenhouse it will take a bit of reading and self-education to get started. The main thing is to prepare the home greenhouse environment for optimum plant growth; provide good soil, correct temperature, etc. You can also choose to go organic and avoid pesticides to avoid any allergic reactions.
For the average family, growing salad vegetables is a good way to start. You can plan on beginning by planting pots of lettuce, radishes, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers and spring onions. All of those are easy to grow and can easily be made into a salad or salsa. Once you become more accustomed to growing your own food, you can start plants that take a little more care, and take up more space like squash, cucumbers and egg plant.
You will be amazed to find how different home grown produce tastes compared to produce that has been picked, crated, refrigerated and shipped for miles before you buy it. Produce grown in your own greenhouse will be fresher, and have more nutritional value. You can’t go wrong with growing your own vegetables, and with a green house you can do it year-round.
Learn more about how having a backyard greenhouse kit can change the life of your family and how you eat. If space is limited you can always get a mini greenhouse or cold frame.
