Enjoy Fresh Veggies in Winter with Greenhouse Vegetable Gardening
Veggies can be grown any time of year when you make use of greenhouse vegetable gardening techniques. Growing vegetables greenhouse style is nearly identical to producing them from a garden outside in the summer. You only have to supplement what nature provides that a greenhouse cannot.
There are two different methods of making use of a portable greenhouse. One is known as the cold greenhouse method and that’s when just the sun throughout the day gives the greenhouse its heat. The temperature at nighttime typically goes down to about 45 degrees at the coldest and heat does kick on when it gets very cold outside. No growing occurs in this kind of greenhouse, however you can maintain many plants that will come back in the summer such as rosemary.
Greenhouse vegetables have to have warmth and the second system, the warm greenhouse system, should be utilized in this case. This method will require more money because the temperature can’t fall below 55 degrees F. A heating system has to be installed into your garden greenhouse. You can use a propane, electric or gas heater.
Most vegetables can be grown in a greenhouse. There are several types of each vegetable that are available in plants developed explicitly for greenhouse growing. Look in seed catalogs to find those types. You want to look for types that will thrive in cooler temperatures than usual. You also want to find varieties that are more compact because room is at a minimum in a greenhouse.
Among the things you need to offer your greenhouse vegetables besides heat is pollination. You will not find any bees or other insects in your greenhouse that you would in the outdoors. A great example is growing tomatoes. Tie tomatoes to bamboo stakes and once the flowers appear tap the stakes once in the morning and once at night. Do this when you see that the flower petals are curving backwards. You have to watch every day since you just have a three day window of time that the flower petals will do this.
Sunlight has to be given to your plants during the wintertime when the days are shorter and sunlight is at a minimum. The rule is to supply plants with at least eight hours of sunlight a day. Fertilizer and water are also essential to the health of your greenhouse plants.
Raising vegetables in a greenhouse in the wintertime may be a somewhat more challenging and time consuming, however the results can be amazing. Just think of going out to the greenhouse mid January and picking a tomato right off the vine. You will have a small taste of summer in the dead of winter.
Greenhouses are easy to build and maintain, and are available in an assortment of sizes and materials to suit every home and budget. You can even get an indoor greenhouse if you don’t have a backyard. Learn more at Garden Greenhouses.