New Greenhouse, when to start?
- Thread starter Nugget
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What else I'd like to ask is 'where to start'? too. We have a heavily treed and hilly property. We might be forced to clear a spot but I'd like to remove as few trees as possible.
You should put a greenhouse so the long side gets the morning and afternoon sun right? Do many people use heaters in the early season?
You should put a greenhouse so the long side gets the morning and afternoon sun right? Do many people use heaters in the early season?
momofdrew
Deeply Rooted
Lucky you
afraid I dont have a clue about greenhouses but I would love to have one myself...
afraid I dont have a clue about greenhouses but I would love to have one myself...
obsessed
Deeply Rooted
I am going to guess you should put it where it will recieve the most amount of southern sun light and not under a tree. Keep in mind that the sun is does not stay in the same spot through out the year.
patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
Few questions that may help you get more of an actual answer:
I take it this is an unheated greenhouse, but how insulated is it? Can you insulate it further, in a temporary way? I s it freestanding or against another building? And *what* are you wanting to start in it -- just the sorts of seeds you would normally start in the basement under lights, or do you want to grow things in it, and if so, what?
Pat
I take it this is an unheated greenhouse, but how insulated is it? Can you insulate it further, in a temporary way? I s it freestanding or against another building? And *what* are you wanting to start in it -- just the sorts of seeds you would normally start in the basement under lights, or do you want to grow things in it, and if so, what?
Pat
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- #6
Let's see... it's a free standing uninsulated one. It has a metal frame with plexi panes. When I got reading about them, I saw a recommendation to leave an end free to grow corn and pumpkin inside a greenhouse (completely inside). It's 8x10x6tall and was thinking if I had 6-8 cornstalks at one end I could see how it goes.
I will use it to start basic veggies and hopefully extend my growing season. I am really new to this and only had my first veggie garden last summer. The greenhouse was a surprise gift from my hubby so I got it before I really thought things out myself.
My garden last year had beans, snap peas, potato, carrots, pumpkin (got no fruit), cukes... so I'd like to use it to start any or all of those. Since I'm in zone 5 (I think) I was thinking of trying swiss chard and am interested in other suggestions for northern planting.
What about strawberries? Can they be permanently planted in a greenhouse? If you plant things in a greenhouse will I have to pollenate the flowers by hand? (I suppose grasses like corn will pollenate themselves).
I'll add an embarassing question too... as I got this greenhouse before I had all my thoughts and plans in order I don't really know how to use it to get the most from it. What are they typically used for? Do people mostly start seedlings in them or grow their produce inside? Can I start my plants in there, and in the fall uproot my tomatoes before frost and hang them in the greenhouse to let the remaining fruit ripen? (last fall I wrapped the tomato roots in damp paper towel and put plastic bags on them to allow the plants to live hanging upside down in the garage which seemed to work pretty well)
I will use it to start basic veggies and hopefully extend my growing season. I am really new to this and only had my first veggie garden last summer. The greenhouse was a surprise gift from my hubby so I got it before I really thought things out myself.
My garden last year had beans, snap peas, potato, carrots, pumpkin (got no fruit), cukes... so I'd like to use it to start any or all of those. Since I'm in zone 5 (I think) I was thinking of trying swiss chard and am interested in other suggestions for northern planting.
What about strawberries? Can they be permanently planted in a greenhouse? If you plant things in a greenhouse will I have to pollenate the flowers by hand? (I suppose grasses like corn will pollenate themselves).
I'll add an embarassing question too... as I got this greenhouse before I had all my thoughts and plans in order I don't really know how to use it to get the most from it. What are they typically used for? Do people mostly start seedlings in them or grow their produce inside? Can I start my plants in there, and in the fall uproot my tomatoes before frost and hang them in the greenhouse to let the remaining fruit ripen? (last fall I wrapped the tomato roots in damp paper towel and put plastic bags on them to allow the plants to live hanging upside down in the garage which seemed to work pretty well)
- Thread starter
- #7
I'll try and answer a few questions for you.
Corn is wind pollinated. That's the thinking behind leaving one end open. Block planting for a small scale gardener helps the ears fill out. With only a few plants you will probably get some ears, but they may not fill out fully. You want to try and plant corn say in an 8x8 foot block. With 1 plant every square foot that would be 64 plants. It is going to get a good bit taller than 6 feet however. Corn likes space.
Pumpkins can be hand pollinated, but usually bees do that part. Again the thinking behind leaving an end open or able to be opened. Pumpkins take a lot of space. I had vines that ran between 20 and 30 feet last year.
The benefits of growing strawberries in a greenhouse would be the lack of predators first. Slugs, snails, birds, rabbits...everything likes strawberries. Especially about 2 days before you want to pick them.
You could use your green house to get an early start for transplants in the spring by starting them inside. You can also extend it in the fall by starting plants in containers that can be moved inside or in beds you make in the greenhouse. Tables, shelves and trellises will help you make use of the vertical space.
Hope this helps a bit and good luck with your new greenhouse.
Corn is wind pollinated. That's the thinking behind leaving one end open. Block planting for a small scale gardener helps the ears fill out. With only a few plants you will probably get some ears, but they may not fill out fully. You want to try and plant corn say in an 8x8 foot block. With 1 plant every square foot that would be 64 plants. It is going to get a good bit taller than 6 feet however. Corn likes space.
Pumpkins can be hand pollinated, but usually bees do that part. Again the thinking behind leaving an end open or able to be opened. Pumpkins take a lot of space. I had vines that ran between 20 and 30 feet last year.
The benefits of growing strawberries in a greenhouse would be the lack of predators first. Slugs, snails, birds, rabbits...everything likes strawberries. Especially about 2 days before you want to pick them.
You could use your green house to get an early start for transplants in the spring by starting them inside. You can also extend it in the fall by starting plants in containers that can be moved inside or in beds you make in the greenhouse. Tables, shelves and trellises will help you make use of the vertical space.
Hope this helps a bit and good luck with your new greenhouse.
DrakeMaiden
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Experiment. Try starting some cool weather crops now. Maybe a few seeds every week or two, until you get an idea of what will grow when. I'd start with trying kale, spinach, broccoli, etc.
The greenhouse will get a lot warmer than outside during sunny days, but will only stay 5-10 degrees warmer at night than outside (that is a guess, because it depends on how big the structure is and the temperature extremes, as well as whether it got warm inside that day). You are mostly limited by night time temps. You can extend that by using row covers. Just remember to check that it doesn't get too hot during sunny days.
I would be careful of growing perennials inside, just because greenhouses can have hygeine issues (you can get infestations of bugs or viruses or whatnot) and there is always the possibility that slugs will get in and have a field day.
We sometimes have cool summers, so I have grown corn inside my greenhouse and it works just fine so long as you take the responsibility for pollination (shaking the stalks every day while they are tasseled).
We leave the doors open in the summer . . . we don't have windows yet, just plastic sheeting. The bees find their way in, but some can't find their way out. I've found that keeping flowers in pots near the doors helps and also keeping a pot of water around gives them something to drink so they can survive until they find their way out. Just a few things to think about.
In the fall you will enjoy the greenhouse quite a bit, as you will be able to have fresh greens well into fall or possibly even winter. We also had regular tomato harvests up until Thanksgiving! (Unheated greenhouse)
The greenhouse will get a lot warmer than outside during sunny days, but will only stay 5-10 degrees warmer at night than outside (that is a guess, because it depends on how big the structure is and the temperature extremes, as well as whether it got warm inside that day). You are mostly limited by night time temps. You can extend that by using row covers. Just remember to check that it doesn't get too hot during sunny days.
I would be careful of growing perennials inside, just because greenhouses can have hygeine issues (you can get infestations of bugs or viruses or whatnot) and there is always the possibility that slugs will get in and have a field day.
We sometimes have cool summers, so I have grown corn inside my greenhouse and it works just fine so long as you take the responsibility for pollination (shaking the stalks every day while they are tasseled).
We leave the doors open in the summer . . . we don't have windows yet, just plastic sheeting. The bees find their way in, but some can't find their way out. I've found that keeping flowers in pots near the doors helps and also keeping a pot of water around gives them something to drink so they can survive until they find their way out. Just a few things to think about.
In the fall you will enjoy the greenhouse quite a bit, as you will be able to have fresh greens well into fall or possibly even winter. We also had regular tomato harvests up until Thanksgiving! (Unheated greenhouse)
patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
I'd suggest putting a max/min thermometer in the greenhouse, see what it is doing right now. That will give you a big clue as to when it's likely to be habitable for whatever you want to use it for.
I would suggest, at least this first year, that you use it mainly for rapid crops that can be grown entirely in a (properly ventilated) greenhouse, like lettuce, and things that transplant well to outdoors, like tomatoes and so forth. I am not sure how well chard transplants being of the beet tribe. You could try a few strawberry plants just for fun but it's not going to be a very efficient use of your greenhouse space (at all).
You may need an auto ventilation system, or else you will need to be around a lot and get the hang of when you need to go out and open things up and close them back down. Otherwise you will cook things when the sun comes out, or freeze them when the clouds come up and a cold breeze starts coming in the vents. If you can put a LOT of thermal mass around the plants, e.g. grow them on top of and amongst lots and lots of water-filled plastic jugs/barrels/etc, that will help somewhat (also helps somewhat with cold night temperatures).
If you want to try insulating to ameliorate night temperatures, you can put bubblewrap on the inside of the greenhouse glazing -- sometimes you can get it to stick just by wetting it and pressing it on there, other times you may need some doublesided tape. Another possibility, instead or in conjunction, is to put insulated 'tents' over the plants themselves at night (and remove in the morning, obvioulsy).
Hve fun,
Pat
I would suggest, at least this first year, that you use it mainly for rapid crops that can be grown entirely in a (properly ventilated) greenhouse, like lettuce, and things that transplant well to outdoors, like tomatoes and so forth. I am not sure how well chard transplants being of the beet tribe. You could try a few strawberry plants just for fun but it's not going to be a very efficient use of your greenhouse space (at all).
You may need an auto ventilation system, or else you will need to be around a lot and get the hang of when you need to go out and open things up and close them back down. Otherwise you will cook things when the sun comes out, or freeze them when the clouds come up and a cold breeze starts coming in the vents. If you can put a LOT of thermal mass around the plants, e.g. grow them on top of and amongst lots and lots of water-filled plastic jugs/barrels/etc, that will help somewhat (also helps somewhat with cold night temperatures).
If you want to try insulating to ameliorate night temperatures, you can put bubblewrap on the inside of the greenhouse glazing -- sometimes you can get it to stick just by wetting it and pressing it on there, other times you may need some doublesided tape. Another possibility, instead or in conjunction, is to put insulated 'tents' over the plants themselves at night (and remove in the morning, obvioulsy).
Hve fun,
Pat
