Operating a greenhouse can be an outstanding way to grow your own food to save money, cultivate a beautiful garden, or perhaps for medicinal purposes with herbs and other plants. It is a great hobby and helps the environment, while also providing you with fresh vegetables and flowers. Managing a greenhouse is a fun past-time and is also extremely relaxing.
It can be a daunting task thinking about how to go about building or otherwise working in a greenhouse. There are multiple moving parts that have to be taken into consideration, including how much shade from the sun the location is getting a day or what the air-flow is looking like. Keep reading to learn how to use greenhouses and what you will need to maximize the results in your greenhouse.
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The Style of the Greenhouse Matters
It is a lot more accessible to build your own greenhouse these days than it used to be. You can easily go online and purchase a kit to get started or go to a hardware store in your area and see what they have to offer you by way of construction. There are a few different variations of a greenhouse, mostly in shape. The shape will vary based on the location, to be determined by assessing the amount of air-flow and sunlight.
There are specifically two different kinds of greenhouses, freestanding and leaning:
- A freestanding greenhouse stands on its own without relying on other structures for support and stability
- A leaning greenhouse is attached to another building to maintain stability
The freestanding greenhouse is best if you have a lot of space to work with and the leaning greenhouse is perfect for those who are a little pressed on real estate. Both work very well, just do what is best for you.
What You Will Need
No two greenhouses are the same in that they are all built to cater to the needs of its contents. For example, someone who is specifically growing tomatoes in their greenhouse is going to have different needs than someone predominantly growing mugwort. Think about what you want to use your greenhouse for before deciding on what you will need to get for it, as this will determine basically everything.
There are all kinds of gadgets and tools you can use to your advantage, such as heat lamps. Where do you live? If you live somewhere colder or somewhere that maybe does not get a lot of sunlight you will probably need to consider getting a device that will alleviate that. Head to your local nursery or hardware store to see what your options are and maybe ask for information about newly found methods as well.
Location is Important
Now, the idea of a greenhouse is that it traps the sunlight inside and creates much needed heat and moisture for your plants. This makes it imperative that you find a place for your greenhouse that is going to get the most sunlight possible. The magic number is six hours’ worth of sun to get the most out of it. Carefully think about where that may be on your land before building a greenhouse.
It may be wise to make sure your greenhouse is not around too many trees or other structures if you plan on building a freestanding style. If you are considering a leaning greenhouse, you are going to want to make sure it is on a side of the house that gets the most sunlight possible. That being said, there is always going to be one side that is not getting sunlight so be sure to take that into consideration.
Check for Air Circulation
If sunlight is the most important aspect of having a successful greenhouse, then the second most is oxygen. As with all plants, oxygen is an extremely important key to their survival.
- You will need to monitor how much air-flow is in your greenhouse to determine whether the amount is adequate for your plant’s growth
- You want the air to be moving, so you can check by standing in your greenhouse and feeling it out
If you are checking for air-flow and find that it is not up to your desired amount, you can once again head to your local nursery or hardware store to see what kinds of tools or devices they have to help you out. Most of the time it is as simple as using a fan, but check to see what they have to see if there might be a better option for you. Do not hesitate to ask for help either, that is what the employees are there for.
Check for Shade
Sunlight is obviously very important, as discussed earlier. Conversely, too much sunlight can actually be harmful to your plants. They can dry out or even burn with too much sun in the same way that a person can get sunburnt. Unfortunately for the plants this usually leads them to wither away with a low chance of being brought back. Do yourself a favor and get ahead of it by making sure there is a level of shade in your greenhouse.
You can do this by building your greenhouse by a line of trees if it is freestanding. If you have a leaning greenhouse, you might be in luck depending on the location of it. If all else fails you can purchase sheets for your greenhouse that you can pull up or down like a curtain for your plants. The idea is to make sure there is a decent amount of shade to make sure your plants do not get overheated or damaged.
Pest and Animal Control
One downside to having a greenhouse is it can become infested with pests or an animal could break into it. Depending on where you live, pests can be more or less common. If your region has a lot of pests, you will need to take preventative measures to protect your greenhouse and use effective pest control measures.
- Make sure you have an exterminator’s contact information nearby if this is the case or set up traps to keep out bears or other bigger animals
- Most bug repellents that you can find should work fine as well
There is no shame in hiring someone else to take care of it either. A trained professional would, in a lot of cases, be a better call as they will know what to do when it comes to making sure your plants are not damaged in the process. Especially in the case of bears or raccoons, you might have to set up a trap or other special equipment to keep predators out of your greenhouse.
Seasons and Their Significance
A greenhouse gives you a ton of options when it comes to growing plants more consistently, however it is not a miracle worker. You are going to have to do some research in terms of when the best time to grow a plant is. For example, you would not want to grow corn in the winter. If a plant thrives in a certain season, start seeding the plant during that season.
This is super easy to find out in today’s world. A simple internet search will yield a ton of information about how and when to grow specific plants. It is always a good idea to contact someone at your local nursery or other botanical expert as well to get an idea for when it is best to start seeding plants. Most plants should not come as a surprise to you but it is very important to make sure you time it right for the best results.
Be sure to checkout our article were we list the annual flowers that bloom all summer long!!
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