Home Greenhouse Gardening

Growing plants in a greenhouse continues gardening throughout the year---and provides families with home-grown vegetables during the winter. Greenhouse gardening also creates a space for your favorite garden plants even during the off-season. To ensure your greenhouse produces plants successfully each year, certain steps must be taken. Greenhouse gardening at home is a major project, but is very rewarding.

• 1

  Choose plants to grow each season. Even in a greenhouse, it's easier to grow cold-tolerant plants like spinach and lettuce during the winter to keep heating costs low. Rotate plants after each harvest to keep the topsoil healthy.

• 2

  Use staging to grow plants in. Staging keeps plants off the ground and brings them closer to the heat. It also makes them easier to access for harvesting and watering---and makes paths throughout the greenhouse.

• 3

  Install an automatic watering system in the greenhouse to limit the amount of times the door needs to be opened. Greenhouses do well in a sealed environment, especially during winter, when cold air can damage plants. Watering systems include overhead sprinklers or tubes that run underneath the soil and supply the roots with water.

• 4

  Install a heating and cooling ventilation system in the greenhouse to maintain the temperature more easily. Heating should include a central heating system. Cooling should include windows that open and close, as well as shades to protect plants from being scorched during the hottest part of the summer.

• 5

  Install grow lights over each row of plants to provide them with extra heat and light during the winter. Grow lights are useful during winter because they extend the amount of usable light available to plants, which helps them grow to maturity more quickly.

• 6

  Insulate the interior walls and windows of the greenhouse to help maintain a more regular temperature. Place reflective insulation along the north wall of the greenhouse to catch more sunlight during the short winter days.

• 7

  Check plants regularly for signs of illness, disease and pest problems. An insect population inside a greenhouse becomes a major problem and requires the use of pesticides to keep them from destroying an entire crop.

• 8

  Clean the greenhouse each spring and fall. Wash all windows, walls and concrete flooring with a garden or organic disinfectant to remove all mold and mildew. Greenhouses have a moist atmosphere that encourages the growth of mold, known to cause health problems.