Garden Girls
Sprout
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Can you grow vegetables all year in a greenhouse?
Can you grow vegetables all year in a greenhouse?
- Thread starter Garden Girls
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lesa
Garden Master
That is a question that could be better answered if we knew where the greenhouse was... It would take an awful lot of heat in the greenhouse to grow most veggies year round- if you have a winter season. I am hoping to use my greenhouse to extend the season- maybe an extra month or two.
wifezilla
Deeply Rooted
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Location will make a Big difference.
NwMtGardener
Garden Addicted
yeah, besides the winter heating issue, mine got too hot once the summer sun was really cooking down. Even with the sides rolled up, the temps were too high in there for successful growing, so you would really have to have a good ventilation plan to have it up in a sunny hot spot through the whole summer.
jackb
Garden Master
I live in upstate New York, zone 5, and grow in the greenhouse from March through late November. Last season, I picked my last tomatoes for Thanksgiving dinner, however, a lot depends on the weather. In the summer I use shade cloth on hot sunny days in addition to damping down the floor and running ventilation. That said, you can get fantastic growth, that I do not feel you get when plants are exposed to the elements. These marigolds have been blooming for weeks and the blooms last much much longer than they would outdoors.
digitS'
Garden Master
Jack is making a good case for "protected growing."
Yes, you can fry things in the summer but, if you can moderate the heat, the greenhouse will moderate everything else, like wind and intense sunlight.
Basil has been a good summer greenhouse crop the last few years:
The tomatoes looked great a month after first frost last year but they were a bit unruly. I may try peppers in 2012.
No heat until mid-March, Garden Girls. So, there's no growing in my greenhouse during the winter months.
Steve
Yes, you can fry things in the summer but, if you can moderate the heat, the greenhouse will moderate everything else, like wind and intense sunlight.
Basil has been a good summer greenhouse crop the last few years:
The tomatoes looked great a month after first frost last year but they were a bit unruly. I may try peppers in 2012.
No heat until mid-March, Garden Girls. So, there's no growing in my greenhouse during the winter months.
Steve
HunkieDorie23
Deeply Rooted
My aunt made a hot box to grow veggies in a plastic storage container that had a split down the bottom. Instead of throwing it out she put it out back beside the house and added soil and a cover. When it got really cold as Ohio does she ran a light out to it and it kept it warm enough to not loss the plants. Not an traditional greenhouse but it works for her. Even if you don't go big you can grow something.
jackb
Garden Master
I have had great luck with Swiss chard in the summer also. Most people seem to think it is a cool season crop, however, it stands up well to heat. The author of one of my greenhouse books claims that he had a plant for three years and would harvest the outside leaves and let the plant grow. He wrote that after three years it looked like a palm tree. Too bad there are no photos in the book as I would like to see that.digitS' said:
pebbles
Chillin' In The Garden
I guess my question to growing in a greenhouse is the opposite -I am in NW Arizona. We get to the low twenties at night for a month or so in the winter. Is there enough sun hours to grow in a green house in AZ over the winter months?
jackb
Garden Master
I can only answer for myself, so here goes: I use supplemental lighting for a few hours to allow at least 12 hours of decent light . Also, I have a small heater set to about 45 degrees in the greenhouse, which usually runs only at night.pebbles said:
