Gardening Tips For Your Greenhouse

Purchasing a greenhouse could be the best gardening decision you ever make. Being able to start your growing season earlier, end it later and have protection for all of your plants and flowers is a wonderful feeling. The right greenhouse allows you to reimagine gardening and turn your seasonal passion into a multi-season one.

If you’re a growing beginner, or if you’ve never gardened inside a greenhouse before, here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your greenhouse gardening experience:

Prepare Your Growing Area

Before you begin, you’ll want to prepare your growing area inside your greenhouse. A few things you’ll want to consider when preparing your greenhouse:

• Floor space: Whether your greenhouse is assembled on a concrete slab or a gravel pad, you’ll want to make sure you have pots set up with enough surrounding space to ensure your plants grow fruitfully. For anything you plan on growing, make sure you have an idea of how much space you’ll need both around and above the pot.

• Shelving: Finding a greenhouse with plenty of shelving space will help you layer your pots and grow more of what you want. Whether it’s seedling plants in trays or small plants in pots, you can use the shelving in your greenhouse to pot plants that you don’t anticipate needing as much space for, giving you more room on your greenhouse floor for the larger items.

When To Start Planting and Growing

One of the primary reasons for purchasing a greenhouse is no doubt to extend your growing season, but when you actually start growing can still vary depending on what you want to grow. The below is a general guide, but know that it varies depending on the climate you’re in, the temperature inside your greenhouse and what type of heat retention your greenhouse has.

• Late winter/early spring: This is a great time to grow seedlings and small plants. These delicate plants will be protected from frost early in their growing cycle and spring to life as the weather gets warmer.
  
  
• Early spring through late fall: Having a greenhouse means getting a head start on growing fruits and vegetables, before you’d be able to garden outdoors. Most fruits and vegetables can be planted any time from early spring to late fall with the temperature and protection of a greenhouse. Make sure you know how long it will take for your specific item to grow and mature.
  
  
• Late summer/early fall: Cold greens such as lettuce and kale can be enjoyed throughout the winter months if you plant them just before the seasons change. Remember, these types of plants don’t need the same type of sunlight the way plants such as tomatoes and melons do, so make sure they have a cover in your greenhouse if necessary.

Maintenance During Growing Season

Once you’ve planted, the fun part of watching your plants, flowers or small trees grow inside your greenhouse begins. To make sure everything is growing properly, keep these tips in mind during your growing season:

• Water consistently: The general rule is the smaller the plant, the more water it needs because its roots can’t reach as much moisture. Seedlings, small plants and flowers should be watered daily, especially in warmer months when air can get dry quickly. Larger and more established plants can generally be watered a few times a week, but make sure you research the watering needs of your specific plants as it could vary.
  
  
• Ensure proper ventilation: If your greenhouse isn’t adequately ventilated, plants and flowers could suffer from overheating or too much humidity. At the very least, greenhouses with windows that open to offer passive ventilation are a must. Consider going one step further and making sure your greenhouse has a temperature-activated exhaust fan. Having a fan to help cool the greenhouse and push warm air out could be the difference in your plants’ health.
  
  
• Keep clean to avoid pests: Growing a successful fruit or vegetable plant only for pests to come in and ruin it is a terrible feeling. Maintaining a clean greenhouse will go a long way toward avoiding this problem. Make sure you remove dead plants, plant debris, old pots and any algae or mold that pops up. Check regularly for any infestations, especially in the summer when the warm, humid climate becomes attractive to critters.

Bring Your Gardening Dreams To Life With A Backyard Discovery Greenhouse

If you’re excited and inspired about your greenhouse plans, consider a greenhouse from Backyard Discovery. With built-in hose hookups on the inside and outside, a temperature-activated exhaust fan, commercial-grade polycarbonate panels for heat retention and foldable shelves in select models, all that’s missing is the gardener.

Greenhouse gardening will never be the same with a Backyard Discovery greenhouse. Order yours today!