Greenhouse Gardening For Beginners - Planting Guide

Greenhouse Gardening for Beginners

Hello gardeners, we are here today with a beginners guide. If you are a beginner and want to know about greenhouse gardening. This article may help you out to know about greenhouse gardening. In this article, we also discuss all the requirements for greenhouse gardening.

Introduction to Greenhouse Gardening for Beginners

A greenhouse is also referred to as a glasshouse, or if with sufficient heating, it is also called a hothouse. A greenhouse is a structure with full walls and roofs made chiefly of very transparent material, such as glass, in which plants may require regulated climatic or weather conditions are grown. These structures may range in size from small sheds to industrial-sized buildings. A miniature greenhouse is called a cold frame. The interior part of a greenhouse exposed to sunlight becomes very significantly warmer than the external temperature, by protecting its contents in cool and cold weather.

A Step By Step Guide for Greenhouse Gardening For Beginners

Growing plants in a greenhouse can be so much fun for beginners or starters and even for experienced gardeners alike but before you pick or select the plants you fancy to grow, examine and research what conditions, temperatures, and moisture your plants will require or need to flourish. This is a very important or crucial step to make your plans survive well.

What Is A Greenhouse?

A Greenhouse is a fully framed structure that is completely covered with a transparent material and that is very large enough to grow plants under partial or fully controlled environmental conditions to get ideal or optimum growth and productivity.

Advantages or Benefits of Greenhouse Gardening

The yield may be nearly 10-12 times higher or greater than that of an outdoor plantation depending upon the type of greenhouse, type of crop, and environmental control facilities. The advantages are listed below:

Reliability of plant increases under greenhouse plantation.
It is ideally suited for many vegetables and flower plants.
It will produce year-round production of floricultural plants.
Off-season production of vegetable and fruit plants.
Disease-free transplants and genetically superior transplants can be produced continuously in a greenhouse.
Efficient utilization of chemicals and pesticides to control or regulate pests and diseases.
Water requirement of plants very limited and easy to control

Types of Greenhouses

Greenhouse type based on Shape
Greenhouse type based on construction
Greenhouse type based on covering materials
Greenhouse type based on ventilation

Easy Plants to Grow in Greenhouse for Beginners

Greenhosue Peppers — Greenhouse Capsicum (Image source: pixabay)

So what should I start with? What can I grow in a greenhouse? The answer is very simple: Everything. But some plants will survive easier than others. Start with these simple plants and develop your knowledge to make your first experiences:

Radishes
Capsicum/Bell Peppers
Peas
Strawberries
Garlic
Leafy greens like lettuce
Tomatoes
Onions
Potatoes
Sunflowers
Mushrooms
Roses
Marigold
Beans
Hot Peppers
Herbs like Mint, and Cilantro

The Essentials in Greenhouse Gardening for Beginners

A greenhouse is a very excellent controlled environment, especially when you want to extend the growing season for different seasonal plants. You can even grow certain veggies all year round in a greenhouse. But again you may still have a question, where do I start? So, start with seeds.

Seeds Selection for Greenhouse Garden

Starting or sowing seeds normally happens in plain-level seed trays, hydroponic trays, or single plug trays. They’re prepared counting on their particular needs, for instance, they’ll be immersed overnight, stratified, then set in trays inside the greenhouse.

For beginners, it is very important to identify the label and date per seed planted and need to record entries on the seed packets to recognize the plants very easier. Better to start a little and allot your time to the seeds properly.

Types of Seeds to Choose or Select in Greenhouse Gardening

Hybrid seeds

Hybrid seeds are a very healthy option because they are highly accessible at any garden store. They are generally identified or well known as F-1 by seed companies. Hybrid means it is a crossbreed of two similar plants. Here are some more advantages and disadvantages of planting hybrid seeds:

Advantages:

They are very bigger and healthier plants that even look more identical
They have very greater and more consistent production
You can harvest them very earlier than expected with very improved yields
They are not influenced by any ecological stress, pests, and diseases

Disadvantages:

They are very expensive compared to other seeds
Seeds from hybrid plants cannot be stored very longer
They will not be the same as their parent plant
Heirloom seeds

Heirloom seeds are the based on gardener’s choice. You simply cannot defeat the flavour of heirloom-type vegetables and fruits. Heirloom types were produced particularly for their awesome and different flavour.

Advantages:

They produce a genetic variety for future plantation
These seeds are usually adjusted to the local environment
They are passed on for many generations
They are very great for seed swaps
Gardeners can even keep the seeds for another more year
They are very stable

Disadvantages:

Your plants may not be quite like each other
The cross-pollinated species or plants need to be separated
Unusual plants need to be removed
It is very difficult to buy some varieties in some stores
There is no hybrid vigour in this type

Site Selection for Greenhouse Garden

In case if you miss this: Growing Roma Tomatoes In Pots.

Regardless of the style of greenhouse, you choose or select, the location or area must have maximum exposure to direct sunlight, as the natural UV rays may enhance the growing ability of any different type of plant.

If your current location or area does not allow for at least six hours of sun per day (even in the winter months), grow lights need to be installed to ensure that your plants receive the UV exposure as well as the temperatures they need for their positive growth of the plant. The most commonly-purchased or used type of grow light tends to be the LED light and as they are very efficient but very low-wattage, by decreasing the amount of money added to your monthly electricity bill.

Controlling Temperature and Humidity in the Greenhouse Garden

Plants tend to be very sensitive when it comes to temperature. Hot and warm temperatures can cause them to wilt, while cool and cold temperatures may cause them to stop growing, producing, or even deep freeze. They can also be very vulnerable to extreme swings in temperature. With that, having very adequate ventilation installed in a greenhouse can avoid these temperature concerns and allow hot air to escape and cool air in and vice versa and by maintaining an even, ideal and optimum temperature.

Moreover, just like heat and warmth, high concentrations of humidity may be accumulated within the greenhouse. Moulds, fungi, and mildew are very likely to occur in these damp conditions.

If the moisture is trapped inside the greenhouse, this can be chance detrimental to the plants’ growth and development. It may also cause many problems with the condensation and saturation of the plants. But with the right and perfect ventilation, the damp environment can be replaced with dry and cooler air, by keeping the humidity at the ideal and optimum level.

Air Circulation in the Greenhouse Garden

Any plant you’ll grow to completion will need a particular level of ventilation for survival. Oxygen is extremely important to plants because it is to us, humans. Most gardeners tend to extend ventilation by the utilization of fans and air movers to circulate the air throughout the greenhouse.

Watering Requirement for Greenhouse Plants

There are certain watering systems and techniques depending on your plants but the basic and essential rules of greenhouse gardening for beginners dictate that you simply understand the water requirements of every plant you plan to grow. Instead of watering your plants using a general timetable and learn what is required to ensure you do not over or under-water your plants.

Signs of irregular watering may include irregular drying, decreased shoot, and root growth, and immature plants with very bad quality and shelf life periods. This irregular watering also increases the usage of pesticides and growth controls to compensate for incorrect watering routines.

Not every plant wants an equivalent volume or frequency of water. Over or under-watering can make plant dilemmas. Overwatering will not happen when your plant is given huge amounts of water at a time. It happens when water is completed too often before the soil has a chance to empty. To prevent this, you’ll install a drip system, which may be utilized to manage greater or smaller streams of water straight to pots or flat grounds. You’ll set this type of water with a timer and drip gauge.

Check each plant for its watering requirements. If the plant appears light or dull then it requires watering and if the compost is dusty and dry it means water is important. Better remember that the roots that need access to water and not for the leaves. Sprinkling the leaves may be a misuse of water and should increase the scope of the disease.

Ventilation in the Greenhouse Garden

Seasonality plays a very huge role in ventilating any size greenhouse. During the summer, convection currents that are created by the natural heat are more than enough to maintain good circulation in the greenhouse. By keeping both the wall vents and therefore the roof vents open during summer, cool air is going to be pulled in through the walls while hot air will escape through the roof, drawing during a constant supply of fresh air.

During winter, however, you need to maintain air circulation, and preventing the growth of mould can be more difficult. Make sure that the soil is not over watered and this will help a lot, but many greenhouse growers will keep an oscillating fan running throughout the colder months.

Required Accessories for Greenhouse Gardening

Depending on your budget to set up and commitment, you can even add mist systems, fans, tool racks, potting benches, and even shelving, along with many other accessories to make your job very easier.

One of the main greenhouse gardening basics to always keep in mind while shopping for these accessories is to consider what your plants need, what you would like to have, and the maximum amount of space your greenhouse provides.

For example, some of the plants require a slow steady supply of water from a drip irrigation system to maximize their growth while other plants can handle general watering techniques with no adverse effects on their ideal growth.

Some basic greenhouse accessories that you may need are listed below:

Shelving’s are very excellent space savers for small greenhouses. It is very important for maintaining your greenhouse neat and well organized.
Fans can easily serve various purposes inside an enclosed structure. Small fans may help with bug and pest problems by drying up excess dampness or even condensation. Larger fans can do everything and even more. More particularly, they help in purifying and even cooling your greenhouse structure, especially when they are matched with suitable ventilation systems.
A simple thermometer, maybe a tiny accessory, yet it is unquestionably one of the most important and critical when it comes to greenhouse gardening. Some plants survive best and very well in particular temperatures, a thermometer may help to ensure the precise temperature is reached and if it falls under a safe limit.
The demand to manage the daylight stepping into the glass is correctly reached by the appliance of shading. It’s particularly wont to nourish plants that don’t require tons of sunshine to grow.

How to Control Pests in Greenhouse Garden for Beginners

A greenhouse will set favours the fast spread of pest populations. The friendly, humid environment and plentiful plants during a greenhouse give a beautiful, steady habitat for pest growth. Immediate discovery and analysis of pests are required to execute the acceptable pest control decisions before the difficulty gets out of hand and you’ll experience a loss.

Here is the list of major pests to look out for:

Aphids

Everyone knows these aphids. These are very delicately colored and they are very soft-bodied insects that fill the leaves of your beloved and precious greens. Take a peek at the bottom of the leaves; this is the place where aphids prefer to gather. Careful pruning and cleanliness are solid habits to stop or control aphids from damaging your precious plants.

Thrips

Thrips vary in different colours from brownish to black. Thrips may leave damage extending from moderate to very critical. You can stop these invasions by using screens on vents, by examining new supplies entering your greenhouse, and by controlling or regulating weeds will help to control thrips.

Bloodworms

Bloodworms are very elongated, roundworms like fungus gnat larvae in lacking limbs and having a well-defined brown head. The red colour is due to the looks of haemoglobin, a bit like in human blood. The existence of haemoglobin lets them grow in water with very extremely low oxygen content.

Slugs and Snails

Slugs and snails may increase when the moisture is very high. These are nocturnal, fleshy, and very slimy creatures. Cleanliness is very important and necessary for slug and snail control. You should make sure that your greenhouse is very free of plant wastes like uprooted weeds, leaves, and used boards, bricks, or even rocks that give cooling and moistened hiding spots.

Common Greenhouse Gardening Mistakes

The actual and main system of nurturing plants in a greenhouse needs a little bit of confidence and ability. It may even require a little practice before starting so that you won’t get caught up in one of these common greenhouse gardening mistakes. Here are some mistakes to watch out for.

Temperature

One of the many mistakes inexperienced gardeners make is skipping to watch their greenhouse temperature regularly. Use a basic thermometer, or buy any digital thermometer that also has the corresponding humidity level, which is so crucial and important to spot for stopping heat loss.

Humidity

Too much humidity may also let mould, mildew, and bugs run wild in your greenhouse, and even too little will make your plants die of thirst. Misting is the best approach to improve humidity in the greenhouse.

Ventilation

If your greenhouse has very limited or no ventilation at all then your plants may die. Then you can utilize roof vents to release the warm air inside. Or sometimes even a small fan may be required to keep sufficient air circulation inside.

Soil

Soil control is very important, but it even includes some additional challenges. Aside from the basics of combining or mixing compost and fertilizer occasionally, think of applying a blended soil mixture when you are preparing the bases. You should not apply old potting soil, which will carry many pests and diseases.

Greenhouse Gardening For Beginners – Planting Guide

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