The greenhouse growing guide provides a comprehensive guide to gardening in early spring, covering various seasons and tips for beginners. By mid-spring, it is essential to sow fast-growing, tender plants inside your greenhouse, while the summer growing season involves protecting plants from summer heat. Mid-summer harvest is also crucial, with tips on growing lettuce in winter.
In February, the days are beginning to lengthen, making it easier to set up your own greenhouse and enjoy a longer growing season. The temperature in a greenhouse garden is controlled and does not vary as sunlight is present. Tender crops like aubergines, cucumbers, peppers, chillies, and tomatoes can be grown through the summer months, while exotic, heat-loving plants like okra can be tried.
To get a headstart before spring, sow early carrots, salad leaves, and spinach. A greenhouse guide can help you decide what flowers, plants, fruit, and vegetables to grow, when to sow the seeds, and how best to grow them. Near the spring equinox, daylight lengthens, and plants begin to grow more quickly in the greenhouse. To simplify greenhouse growing, grow cool season crops in the cool season and warm crops in the summer season.
The winter season is the foundation of your greenhouse year, with leafy greens like spinach and kale thrive in cooler temperatures, offering fresh, nutritious produce. Hearty herbs like tomato, pepper, and cucumber can be planted mid-summer to mid-autumn. The spring planting season, at least until late April, is the time to add, split, or transplant hardy plants to your garden.
📹 Growing in a greenhouse for beginners
1:35 Night Temps 3:02 Heating the Greenhouse 4:13 Plants response to sunlight 5:36 How much difference warmth makes 6:52 …
Can you grow in a greenhouse all year?
Greenhouses can be used year-round, even in cold weather, with a smart planting strategy. A fully insulated solar greenhouse design with climate control systems can grow almost any crops year-round. Greenhouses provide growers with the opportunity to harvest fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs anytime of year. However, to grow the best produce, specific challenges in planning and care must be addressed, including heating and irrigation. To grow the best produce in a year-round greenhouse, it is essential to carefully manage all aspects of the greenhouse, including heating and irrigation.
What time of year should you build a greenhouse?
The optimal time to install a greenhouse is winter or autumn, as it is less time-consuming, economically profitable, and does not require planting anything. Cellular polycarbonate is the main material used for greenhouse production, allowing installation at any time of the year. However, the spring gardening season is often crowded with orders, leading to missed deadlines. Despite this, winter or autumn are the best seasons for greenhouse installation due to the favorable weather and lack of planting.
Alternatives to spring include installing in the summer, when temperatures are cooler and the site is not yet planted. Overall, the optimal season for greenhouse installation depends on factors such as weather, location, and the availability of cellular polycarbonate.
When should I plant in my greenhouse?
Plants grow quickly in greenhouses, so it’s not advisable to start seeds indoors before early March or early April. Plants will reach for light, which can be a problem for some growers. To prevent this, they should start seeds under a clear plastic cover and remove it when the seeds sprout. It’s also important to ensure that the growing tips are within 15 cm of LED or fluorescent lights to prevent stretching.
Plants grow faster and taller in warm conditions, especially under grow-lights indoors. The heat is higher than in natural conditions outside, so indoor grow-lights are ideal. If temperature adjustments aren’t possible, adding wind can strengthen stems and keep them shorter. A small fan can help move air around plants, strengthening them and keeping them shorter. Add a fan to your indoor grow-op or greenhouse growing area immediately.
Can you grow in a greenhouse all summer?
An energy-efficient greenhouse offers a controlled environment for growing various crops like kale, chard, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers during summer. It uses shade cloth, a Ground to Air Heat Transfer (GAHT®), and an evaporative cooler to prevent overheating and allow year-round growth. To enhance summer growth, remove and store window screens to block out pests and plant flowers outside to attract pollinators. These tips help maintain a healthy greenhouse environment.
What not to grow in a greenhouse?
Greenhouses are ideal for gardeners as they provide controlled environments that extend growing seasons and protect plants from harsh weather. However, not all plants thrive in enclosed spaces. Some common mistakes to avoid include large trees and shrubs, which can outgrow containers and damage structures. Invasive plants, such as mint or certain ivy species, can quickly overtake other plants and become difficult to eradicate once established in a greenhouse.
To avoid these issues, it is recommended to reserve your greenhouse for compact or easily pruned plants. Additionally, plants with high temperature requirements, such as long-lived perennials, should be kept outside for easier control. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can save time, effort, and disappointment in your greenhouse gardening endeavors.
Do greenhouses work in the winter?
Winter is a great time to grow plants in a greenhouse, as they can still thrive with some protection from the elements. While some crops may not grow as quickly as in warmer months, they can still thrive with proper planning. The type of greenhouse and location will determine the appropriate crops for your greenhouse, but some common crops work well for everyone. Here are some tips for growing herbs and vegetables in a greenhouse in winter, as well as tips for insulating and ventilating your greenhouse during colder months.
Do greenhouses help plants in winter?
Keeping your greenhouse unheated during autumn and winter is crucial for maintaining frost-free plants and growing hardy crops like salads and herbs. Unheated greenhouses can keep overnight temperatures up to 5°C warmer than outside, ensuring plants stay dry and frost-free. This helps plants survive by reducing the likelihood of freezing. To keep your greenhouse in top condition, consider using greenhouse accessories and a guide on the best pressure washers.
Ensure your plants get plenty of light, as natural light levels are low in winter. Remove any shading material and clean the glass to maximize available light. This will help keep your greenhouse in top condition and ensure the survival of your plants.
What are the 5 disadvantages of a greenhouse?
Greenhouse farming presents a number of challenges, including the necessity for expertise, high initial costs, the requirement for extensive knowledge to ensure successful crop growth, high operational costs, significant maintenance, space consumption, and a lengthy project duration.
Are greenhouses useful in winter?
Growing food in a greenhouse during the coldest months offers various benefits, including wellbeing, home-grown nutrition, and boosting mood. It’s essential to know what to sow each month and follow tips for winter greenhouse maintenance. Growing food during winter provides a source of nutrition for the spring, and keeping active during winter can help boost mood. Rhino greenhouses provides support for this article.
Are greenhouses good year round?
The Growing Dome geodesic greenhouse kit offers year-round fresh produce cultivation and winter greenhouse gardening without supplemental heat, provided cold-tolerant plants are grown. This self-sufficient, net-zero energy structure can grow food year-round in most US climates, even in winter. Its internal heating sources include an above-ground pond thermal mass and a solar-powered central air system, ensuring optimal heating and cooling.
Does a greenhouse need full sun?
In this week’s podcast, we discuss hobby greenhouses with Sheri George, a lifetime master gardener with over 20 years of experience. Sheri’s greenhouse, located in Atlanta, Georgia, was initially used for filming an episode of Growing a Greener World®. Sheri began her greenhouse gardening journey in Colorado after her outdoor garden struggled in the high winds and extreme temperatures of the high desert.
Her husband, Lee, gifted her a greenhouse kit as a Christmas gift, providing a controlled environment for growing tomatoes and other vegetables that struggled in harsh Colorado conditions. Sheri’s experience in greenhouse gardening has given her a unique perspective on setup and growing conditions within the space.
📹 Learn How to Grow Vegetables in a Greenhouse With These Helpful Tips!
Learn how to grow vegetables in a greenhouse with these tips for cold climates from permaculture expert Kareen Erbe. In this …
You’re so right that it is really hard to find info on greenhouse growing. My environment is extremely cold and I can’t even grow tomatoes at all, in the summer, without one. Consequently, I have a very well-insulated five-wall polycarb greenhouse but with intensity of the sunlight here it can get to 90 when it’s 20 outside, even with automatic vents. And yet I still heat it with thermal mass AND cover the crops right now with a hoop house & a blanket- inside the greenhouse! With all the differences between climates and types of greenhouses, I think gardeners just have to adapt what they can glean from multiple sources. It takes a huge amount of trial and error. But I love it. With three feet of snow on the ground I don’t think I could tolerate the weather otherwise.
The only place I could fit my glasshouse was under a large deciduous tree – not ideal I thought, but actually it is great. My glasshouse never gets too hot and although it cuts the light down a bit, I can still ripen tomatoes etc. I keep the vents open all the time and only close the doors if it’s really windy. I never heat it, Monty Don calls it a cold greenhouse, which put it all in perspective for me. I grow all my seeds in my little shed next door with grow lights and a heating pad
Thank you SO much for putting out this article! I have a small heated greenhouse and have really struggled with the best way to use it. Similar to your observations, despite it being heated, the temperatures still swing VERY widely from as low as 36 degrees at night (outdoor night temp 15 degrees) to as high as 80 degrees during the day (even with shades up and outside temp at 30 degrees) – this temp swing is all within one day. Given these wide swings, I also have found it best to germinate seedlings indoors and then bring them into the green house once they are big enough. I also didn’t know about hardening off going into the greenhouse so ended up killing a bunch of warm seasonseedlings last year! I found I didn’t really need to harden off the cool season plants and I’m thinking this is because the sun is much lower and less intense throughout the winter season when I am sowing things like onions. I am intrigued by your grow light experience — I wasn’t sure so I had left the grow lights on all the time but I think I’ll be trying what you suggested in your article and only supplementing. I would love to know how you figure out when to turn them on? Is it just when the sun goes down until about 10pm or so?
Thanks! I moved to a small house (built for me!) Behind my daughter’s last fall, and brought about 70 plants from across town (McMinnville, Oregon 8b) had the tender plants in the garage last year, on my son-in law’s workbench 😂 He told me he’d assemble a greenhouse if i got one, so i ordered a kit 6×8′ – and he pit it up this fall! I had him tuck it with his shed on the N, and a fence on the S so it’s more protected, and brought my little bistro table and one chair in, plus those tender herbs, a citrus and perennials. I am looking forward to some of the things you’ve mentioned!
Greetings from West Cork, Ireland, from a Sheehy to a McSheehy. Our ancestors probably knew each other! I’ve got a sunroom that I’m using as a greenhouse and it allows me to have a continuous supply of salad greens growing in pots for most of the year. In the wintertime and early spring, it’s fantastic to be able to watch plants growing when it’s wet or blowing a gale outside. This year I started in mid-February and I’ll probably try using grow lights for the winter just like you suggest. Great website, by the way.
Thank you SO much!!! We are working on restoring an old greenhouse we built over 20 years ago and never really used it the way it’s supposed to be used. It is 15 x 30. I want to use it the way you are using yours. I want the first 3rd of it on seed prep area as well as tables to put my seeds on after I get them started if it is warm enough. We are planning on getting a wood stove to heat ours when we need it. We are also going to make some raised beds for some things like Ginger and other things. As soon as we get this one finished, (hopefully by the end of next week!!! fingers crossed), we are going to put up a much larger greenhouse to grow a lot of our regular garden vegetables. My goal in the up coming years is to grow enough plants to sell a lot of them at farmers markets. I am super excited to use them both and learn as well. I really appreciate your article. It helped out a lot!! Thanks again! Oh PS. We live in Eastern Oklahoma, about 1 1/2 away from Fort Smith, Arkansas. Arkansas is such a beautiful state!
Great information. Thanks so much. I have a simple cattle panel greenhouse and I grow in it all summer long. I am zone 6a. Although it does heats up in the summer I have full size doors on both ends and roll up sides. With all that ventilation I grow tomatoes, peppers, green beans and the like all summer long with great success. It makes a huge difference growing them in greenhouse because I can start them earlier in the spring, grow all summer long, and then have more produce well into the fall where otherwise I would not. I would love to have your greenhouse. Beautiful, but I bet if you could rig a door on the other end and open up your sides your greenhouse would be great for plants all summer.
Thank you for the information. I have a vine plant(lily) and i had her in the greenhouse for about an hour and i went to check on her…. her beautiful leaves were drooping and she looks like shes gonna pass. We’re getting ready to put my seeds in the greenhouse i pray we get great results. We started with a small greenhouse, but big enough for tomatoes carrots, lettuce, zucchini i want to get strawberry seeds too. Please pray that my plants will flourishing with beautiful healthy food.
Hello, My son just put up my greenhouse 2\\19\\22. This is my 3rd greenhouse because zone 7b tornadoes & hurricanes damaged the others. I’m trying wind proof dome style this time. Not giving up on greenhouses no matter what happens. I must grow my own food. Your tips were wonderful. I’m going to buy frost cloth and chicken water heater 12 ft greenhouse. I already have shade cloth.
Great idea to use “greenhouse” within the greenhouse during the winter. I bought a 10×7 greenhouse last August and bought a heater fan for the winter nights but this winter I will definitely use clear plastic covers to cut down on electricity use. Thank you for the ideas on how to use the greenhouse.
Do you have plans for your green house for ideas? I’m looking for actual construction plans as this is the size I’m looking at building, and/or when and where you put all your crops for the different seasons! I love your little shelves for the starts and the idea of doing hot crops in there too! I’m in zone 5 and have been looking for some tips to extend our short growing season – thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!!
Just watched your article on five favorite berries, then this one – and I’ve subscribed. GREAT information, well presented and easy to understand – and you’re in zone 4, YAY!!!! Tomorrow’s supposed to be near triple digit heat index – I’ll be watering the garden in the morning, then retreating to the house to keep cool, and I’ll be binge perusal your website!
Have you thought of using Thermal Mass in the winter greenhouse? I have no electricity in my greenhouse, Western Oregon, USDA zone 8a, and I keep it going with food all winter with cool weather crops such as Boc Choy, Mustard, Chickory, Kale, Chard, Arugula. In summer, no thermal mass, with lots of ventilation, I grow the hot season veges: peppers, eggplant, and melons. Thanks so much!
One tip I learned from The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible is to refrain from watering plants in the greenhouse when the temperature drops – leafy greens are much more likely to die if their leaves are filled with water versus withholding water during the colder temperatures. Have you tried this out in your greenhouse? We are aiming to build one this fall, so I haven’t been able to try it out yet. Loved your article – thanks for sharing!
Wow, your articles are so helpful. Thank you so much. I moved to Red Lodge from Billings and the difference is shocking, for two places ostensibly in the same zone. Does altitude have an effect? I’ve noticed some perennial flowers are stunted here, though they get more water than they did in Billings. Just built a wonderful greenhouse as a last attempt to save my green thumb!
Excellent tips. Being up in Canada, I wanted to get my seeds going early so I’m not trying to plant seeds directly in the garden, which is usually mid to late May. I built a hoop house with some ventilation. Not intending to use it during the summer, but I could use it to extend the season. It being my first greenhouse, there is room for improvement.
Wow ! Finally someone who answered all my questions in 1 article. You are awesome & smart as a whip ! Love ur garden 💙 Look how much fresh food u have ! You are what u eat. 💚 I want to build an attached greenhouse at my ranch in Arizona. It would help heat the house, it provides oxygen also from the plants. What do u think ? Have u ever tried to grow fruit trees inside the GH ? Do u think its better to just keep the polinator plants outside to control pests on the other indoor plants ? I want to grow & harvest all year just in the Greenhouse. Use flat black color barrels full of water to absorb heat during day & release at night. ❤ ❤️
Hello Kareen, thanks for the great tips. I am using a hoop house for the first time and had to discover so important facts out just in time, such as transforming from cold to hot crops, when to water etc. I am now listening to your article again to get more info on soil amending in my hoop house. Thanks for being here. Lillian
Great information! I’m from Libby Montana and just purchasing a greenhouse. I really don’t know much about growing in a green house, but want to grow my tomatoes and peppers. I see you have so many greens in your greenhouse too! I am never sure about the correct soil. Im trying to make my own compost, but it’s slow. Looking forward to seeing more of your articles! Thanks
Thank you for this great information. I have a 12×20′ greenhouse because I garden for sustainability in zone 7a. The plants grown in beds last much longer because the soil stays more temperate. I had the entire greenhouse overwhelmed by white flies one year, so I spray the whole place down at the first sign with Dr. Zymes. Haven’t had a problem since.
I have just built a 8×8 greenhouse from glass patio doors. I have one window in the back which opens and I am going to have a door that has a window that will open when needed. I have cement slabs on the floor. I live in Canada zone 4 normally we don’t plant outdoors until end of may. I am not planning on food crops but perennials and annual flowers. I will start them indoors with grow lights but not sure when to put them in greenhouse, I have no heat in there. I don’t know where I can get fleece, or shade cloth as we do get really hot in summer. This year will be a huge learning curve, but excited about it. I am following your tips, and already catch rain in large barrel, as I am also on a well.
Hi Kareen thanks for posting your tips & tricks, I have just brought home the glass windows & twin wall poly for the roofs before i start construction its youtube time to learn.I do like your explanation/presentation. We live in South Australia, snow not being one of our problems but heat will be. One reason for us is to have a safe gardening zone free of snakes as we have three of the most poisonous with-in tripping distance ( wear boots ). Happy Gardening
Very correct information. I find in many of these homestead type gardens they donot get the concept of cool or warm crops. Also you didnt get into the proper watering techniques. The most important fact is to water when soul is dry…never water if soil is wet!!! Or the extreme importance of ventilation especially during the warmer temps.
Really glad I found this website. I’m in the same area and climate (having mixed snow and rain right now, 34°F…May 23…). Just putting the finishing touches on my 12×20 hoop house today. Installing a storm door and vent window on front and back walls. Picked up some seedlings from HD yesterday and they’re under a plastic tunnel I made out of leftover greenhouse film and put inside the greenhouse. Hopefully the low temps don’t hurt them. I have zero experience at this so I’ll definately be tuning in. I need to plant these seedlings by tomorrow before I leave to go to work on monday for a week or so. Do you think it’s too cold to plant them with this weather we’re having? I got tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, corn, etc. Thanks for the help.
Thank you for all this great info! Exactly what I was looking for. Question: My 8X12 greenhouse will have its long sides facing South and North. I though I’d put the raised bed for the tomatoes and peppers on the north wall, and the bench and shelving for the seedlings along the south. That way the tomatoes and peppers won’t block the sun for the seedlings. Does that seem like the thing to do? Thanks for your time and help!
Enjoyed your article. I live in Australia just below the snow line (yes we do have snow fields) which means we have very cold (for us) down to around 0c (32 f) and heat up to 46 c (115 f). I have small hothouse for winter with a southern thermal wall built from 3 ltre milk container. I also place water filled milk containers amongst the plants. Frankly, during the heat of summer I just close the gardens down. Pests and heat cause too much mayhem.
thanks for the awesome tips. We have just purchased our first greenhouse and I am so excited. I am new to this, so I’m trying to figure out where to begin. I guess the first thing to ask is do you keep any of your vegetables in the greenhouse all year round or do you transplant some. I was hoping that we could build a raised garden within our greenhouse and I could plant my seeds directly into that. Or is it best to have both (inside and outside). I am in Canada, so our growing season is like Montana’s very short 🙂
So glad I found your website! We moved from a coastal swamp in the Gulf to Great Falls last July. I have so much to learn for this climate. If you are moving plants into your greenhouse in March, when are you starting those seeds? Also, is there a resource you can recommend for when to plant things? Would things like pumpkin and sweet potato get started inside, or would it be warm enough to start them in a greenhouse?
I have had a few greenhouses at various homes, and just getting back to having one again. One way of moderating the temperature inside a greenhouse was using 55-gallon oil drums (found from health food stores with things like olive and castor oil they had mostly drained but we also got free 1-2 gallons they missed before adding water) and painting them black to attract the sun. Their stored thermal mass helped keep plants warmer in the winters. The drums also made a great base for tabletops to put the plants on, as they were just about the right height for potting, etc. I don’t know how easy it is to find the 55gallon drums these days, but I will be looking for a few over the summer in preparation for winter crops. They release their stored heat overnight as temperatures cool down and add some protection from the colder winds if placed on the north wall of non- lean-to greenhouses. I would love to hear if anyone has employed a low-tech geothermal system to heat the greenhouse floor with tanks like this or just recirculating water heater water from the house? Also, a dear friend added a layer of the bigger-bubble wrap to her half-hoop greenhouse wall (instead of doing the blown air double-walled approach), and that extra air pocket in the bubbles worked well. I wish I had your potting mix -it looks fabulous, and your plants appear to be singing in the sun:) Thank you for sharing your tips!
Thank you very much. I am about to set up my first greenhouse in Belgium and your tips are very useful. I’m still wondering if I will plant direct in the ground versus in raised beds. I notice you have pots directly to your right… is the bed in front a raised bed? Thoughts on direct planting vs. Pots or raised beds?
I live in southern California and have a 10 x 12 greenhouse for vegetables. Sadly, we cannot plant outdoors due to all the critters in the area. Our main issue is with the plants getting overheated. Any tips for areas like Los Angeles where it is hot all the time and growing in greenhouse year round? We have electricity in the greenhouse and someone mentioned a temperature controlled heat/fan system but sounds so complicated. Alternatively, and suggestions to keep critters away from raised beds? Mostly rats and birds. Thank you!
Your article was very helpful. I am a newbie.. and enjoy it lots, especially during this pandemic it has become soothing. I have a small raised bed where I plant peppers etc. I am interested in building a greenhouse but have a few questions. Are the greenhouses in addition to gardens? I live in an area where warm months are very few and in order to keep we have used frost clothes, but I wanted to know if it replaced the garden? Also, do you have a guide as to what plants survive well within the greenhouses? THANKS again
We have an 8×10 green house that was somewhat successful last season. Couple of thoughts…do you have a temperature range for inside the greenhouse you are hoping for? We installed several screened vents along both the bottoms of the east and west sides as well as the south side door. We have a large window on the north side and the whole roof is polycarbonate sheets. The south, east, and west sides are all solid wood with no light coming in on the walls. Is that setup enough natural light? Might we need a fan? There is no option for electricity so have you had luck with a solar option? Lastly, we had an issue w small red aphids (I believe) all over our peppers only that i think caused most detriment to them. How can I eliminate those? I know this is a large comment but I am hoping you can respond. Thanks!
We live in Alaska, zone 4b. We are getting our new greenhouse delivered at the end of this month (april). It is a polycarbonate 8×16′ with a built-in vent fan. We already started our tomatoes and peppers indoors and they growing pretty tall already. I was wondering if they needed to be hardened off before I put them in the greenhouse? Or can I just put them out there when the night temps stay warm enough? Do I have to do anything special to prepare them for the transfer? Also, what can I do to prevent aphids before they become a problem?
How does your lettuce and carrots planted directly in the soil in your greenhouse do in the summer? Do you keep them in the greenhouse? I have plans to grow directly in the greenhouse; cucumbers, tomato, carrots, turnip, melons, but not sure if I am using this greenhouse correctly. Maybe I should be potting everything and have shelving instead of all raised beds?
I’ve made a diy greenhouse with leftover cnc grids from building my bunny enclosure, its raised from the floor and has clear tarp around and over the top, I started growing veggies a bit later than I shouldve but my kale and mint is thriving! The weather is getting colder now but not quite snow and it was reasonably cheap compared to buying a greenhouse that would fit my small patio, and because of the grids I had complete control on the size and shape, I’m slowly bringing my pepper inside to overwinter in my room since I get a lot of daylight
A homesteader in South Mississippi reported. He built a greenhouse to catch the winter sun. But the last few years. The sun is lower in the winter sky. And his Green House is not receiving the winter sun now as it did when he built his Greenhouse. . The ark of the sun is down into his treeline. Have you noticed if the sun is tracking different in your state?