Growing Vegetables in a Greenhouse

Everyone enjoys fresh vegetables that taste as if they were just picked from the garden, but not everyone is lucky enough to experience that freshness all year round. For those who are tired of going to the market only to find that the corn or asparagus they are craving are not in season, growing vegetables in a greenhouse is a perfect solution. Greenhouses protect vegetables from the potentially harsh elements of nature thereby elongating their growing seasons. This makes it possible to enjoy your favorite vegetables virtually all year long.

When growing your own vegetables in a greenhouse, one of the most important things to do is set up a temperature controlling system. Although the heat from the sun will be adequate during the spring, summer, and early fall months, you will need additional heat during late fall and winter. Most vegetables grow well in temperatures of at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit, so it is important to either monitor the temperature of your greenhouse carefully, or set up an automated heating and cooling system.

It is also important to monitor the amounts of light in your greenhouse to ensure that your vegetables grow to their full potential. Many varieties of vegetables require more sunlight than nature can provide during winter months when there are frequently days when the sun does not peek out from behind the clouds. To keep your vegetables healthy during low sunlight days, you can set up a series of artificial lights. On the reverse side of the lighting issue, there are also certain vegetables that do not thrive in too much direct sunlight. If you are attempting to grow vegetables that require a bit of shade during the day, you should plant them in areas where overhanging leaves from other plants can provide the necessary coverage.

When setting up your greenhouse, you will need to construct a seed starting schedule. Growth cycles will vary by vegetable type as well as the conditions of your greenhouse, so it is important to plant each vegetable at the proper time of year. Tomatoes, for example, should be started from seed in early January and early July to provide ripe tomatoes in both the summer and winter months.

Another important factor when growing vegetables in a greenhouse is pollination. In a garden pollination is usually taken care of by insects such as bees or the wind; however, these factors are typically absent in a greenhouse environment. To ensure that your vegetables are properly pollinated, you will need to watch for signs of peak pollination times. Check with your local gardening center for signs for the vegetables you are interested in growing. When these signs present themselves, you can pollinate your vegetables to ensure they grow to maturity.