Cultivation Handbook for Developing a Thriving Indoor Garden
Extending the Growing Season: A Guide to Greenhouse Gardening in Cold Climates
Greenhouse gardens offer a unique opportunity to cultivate plants that require a longer growing season or warmer weather than local conditions provide. In this article, we'll explore best practices for choosing and locating a greenhouse, maintaining the garden, and growing a variety of crops in cold climates.
Maximizing Sunlight and Minimizing Wind
Positioning the greenhouse with a long side facing south (in the Northern Hemisphere) helps capture the most sunlight throughout the day, essential for heat and plant growth in cold climates. Placing the greenhouse near natural or artificial windbreaks such as trees, fences, or buildings can reduce heat loss caused by cold winds.
Soil, Water, and Location
The soil is the heart of a greenhouse garden, and good soil equals a good garden. Building the greenhouse on good native soil is ideal, but there are ways to improve or replace the soil in the greenhouse. Water supply is another major factor for a successful greenhouse garden, and using warm water is crucial to avoid shocking tender plants. A well-drained, slightly elevated location helps prevent frost pockets and excess moisture.
Greenhouse Layout and Microclimates
To create a stable, energy-efficient environment, consider adding internal layering for extra protection, such as row covers, cold frames, or additional layers inside the greenhouse. These layers can help provide extra insulation for fragile or cold-sensitive plants during temperature swings.
Choosing the Right Location
Avoid placing the greenhouse near trees with shallow roots like Willow, Aspen, Pin Oak, and Beech. Instead, opt for a site with good drainage and sunlight exposure. Understanding your USDA hardiness zone guides plant selection and helps optimize greenhouse design and placement for cold tolerance.
Growing a Variety of Crops
Tropical plants like figs, lemons, and even grapes and kiwi can be grown in a greenhouse, although more experimentation is needed with the latter two. Cool-weather crops like peas, greens, and cabbage family plants can be grown in early spring. Strawberries are a great addition to a greenhouse garden due to their early and prolonged production, with day-neutral strawberries producing earlier and longer in a greenhouse environment.
Maintaining the Greenhouse
Maintaining the soil in the greenhouse garden requires effort to keep it healthy for many years. In spring, the soil is soaked well, and a new layer of compost (1-2 inches) is added to the soil. At the end of the growing season, it's a good idea to wash the entire greenhouse from top to bottom to discourage bugs from staying over the winter.
Watering and Temperature Control
Greenhouse plants need a lot of water, and considering how to water is essential for their growth. Irrigating a warm greenhouse filled with heat-loving plants with well or tap water is not ideal. In cold weather conditions or during the winter months, a heat source and/or a frost blanket are necessary to prevent freezing.
Additional Considerations
A decent-sized greenhouse and thermal mass are essential for temperature regulation. If the greenhouse doesn't have soil, is built on a concrete pad, or has a wooden floor, a structure or containers filled with good soil must be built to grow a greenhouse garden. Many types of greenhouses are available for different uses, and the water tank can serve multiple purposes, including temperature regulation and watering plants.
Energy Efficiency and Hydroponics
Combining passive solar orientation, thermal mass, insulation, and natural heating/cooling methods reduces dependence on active heating in cold climates. Hydroponics can be considered a way to grow a greenhouse garden, although traditional soil-based methods remain popular due to their simplicity and cost-effectiveness.
Herbs and Pest Management
Herbs are essential for a greenhouse garden, with basil, ginger, stevia, and lemongrass being great choices. Chickens can be allowed to scratch in the greenhouse at the end of the season to remove nesting insects. Cool weather crops should be planted in a way that leaves space for the main crop.
In conclusion, greenhouse gardening in cold climates offers a wealth of opportunities for extending the growing season, protecting plants from extreme cold, and supporting year-round productivity. By following these best practices, gardeners can create a thriving greenhouse ecosystem that not only provides fresh produce but also serves as a sanctuary for tropical plants and herbs.
- In cold climates, soil is vital for a successful greenhouse garden as it serves as the heart of the garden, making building on good native soil ideal.
- To capture the most sunlight throughout the day, position the greenhouse with a long side facing south, which helps heat and plant growth in cold climates.
- For a successful greenhouse garden, water supply is essential, and using warm water is crucial to avoid shocking tender plants.
- By adding internal layering such as row covers, cold frames, or additional layers inside the greenhouse, a stable, energy-efficient environment can be created.
- Tropical plants like figs and lemons, and even unusual crops like grapes and kiwi, can be grown in a greenhouse in cold climates, but more experimentation is required.
- In spring, the soil in the greenhouse garden needs to be soaked well, and a new layer of compost should be added to maintain the soil's health and productivity.
- For temperature regulation in a greenhouse, a decent-sized greenhouse and thermal mass are essential, as well as a structure or containers filled with good soil for growing plants.
- Hydroponics can be considered a way to grow a greenhouse garden, although traditional soil-based methods remain popular due to their simplicity and cost-effectiveness.
