#35. Making the Most of a Greenhouse to Grow Vegetables
Greenhouses serve a variety of purposes. The purpose for which a greenhouse is used is solely up to the individual. Factors you need to consider before setting up greenhouse will include where you will locate the greenhouse, the size and what you plan to grow in it.
Greenhouses are the perfect place to start seed growth. Vegetables growers generally benefit from the use of a greenhouse to start seed growth. Most vegetable seeds need to be started a minimum of eight weeks prior to being planted outdoors in soil. The greenhouse provides an ideally suited environment for the vegetable seeds to germinate in and grow into plants ready for transplanting.
With a greenhouse at hand, you will be able to grow fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs; harvesting produce all through the year. In a greenhouse, apart from starting seed growth, you can stagger plantings and continue growing vegetable crops the full year round.
You can use your greenhouse to propagate plants. For example, plants with soft stems can easily be rooted through cuttings. You can root cuttings in soil or water. Dip cuttings that you will plant in soil, in a rooting hormone before you actually plant them.
You may have heard of the term air layering. It is a method of rooting and propagating plants. You slice the plant stem at an angle to take a cutting, but you do not actually separate the cut stem from the main plant. You slice through at an angle, leaving the cut stem attached to the plant. Put a roll of moist paper towel between the two pieces, wrap the entire stem in clear plastic and secure the package with tape. The stem that was cut will eventually take root and at that time you need to separate it from the main stem, for planting by itself.
Greenhouses are used for grafting plants. Grafting refers to the horticultural method of attaching the part of one plant to another plant. Making use of the grafting technique will provide you with a whole new set of plants you can cultivate.
The position of your greenhouse and what you plan to grow in it will help you decide on the right kind of equipment you will need to use. Equipment ranges from heating to lighting, watering systems and more. You can see the link now between what you plan to grow and the equipment you will need. Some crops may require additional heating to thrive; if you plan on growing these crops in your greenhouse, you will need to factor a heating system into the cost.