How to Raise Vegetables in the Wintertime With Greenhouse Gardening
Vegetables can be planted pretty well any time of year if you use greenhouse vegetable gardening plans. Cultivating them in a greenhouse is similar to raising vegetables in the garden in summer. You just have to take a few added measures in order to artificially provide what they would get in a natural situation.
To grow vegetables in a portable greenhouse you can use two methods. The first uses the sun's energy during the day to heat up the structure and is known as the cold method. When the temperature drops, a heating element will turn on to keep the temperature to a minimum of 45 degrees F. In this technique plants don't grow; instead they are simply maintained until they can be placed back outside in the summertime.
Greenhouse vegetables need to have warmth and the second technique, the warm greenhouse system, ought to be used if this is the case. This technique will require more money since the temperature cannot fall below 55 degrees F. A heating system must be installed into your garden greenhouse. You can use a propane, electric or gas heater.
There is hardly a vegetable that can be grown in a garden that cannot be grown in a greenhouse. Look in seed catalogs to find seeds explicitly developed for greenhouse use. If you cannot find those get plants that maintain a compact size or that can be cut back to be smaller than the outdoor plants. There's little room in a greenhouse and you do not want it to be used up with only a few kinds of vegetables.
An important natural action that needs to be done artificially is pollination. Insects, particularly bees, don't dwell inside. An example of pollinating a vegetable effortlessly is done by pollinating tomatoes. Tomato vines need to be tied to stakes made of bamboo and when the flower is ready the stakes need to be tapped both in the morning and at night. You will know the flower is ready when the petals begin to curve backwards. Pay close attention to this because there are only three days that the flowers will be producing pollen to pollinate the vegetable.
Sunlight must be given to your plants throughout the wintertime when the days are shorter and sunlight is at a minimum. The rule is to provide plants with at least eight hours of sunlight a day. Fertilizer and water are also essential to the health of your greenhouse plants.
Greenhouse gardening during the winter is a bit more difficult and takes more time than in the summertime, but it's also rewarding. You can go to the greenhouse during a wintery day in January and pick a vine ripened tomato. You can enjoy that summer filled flavor any time of the year.
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January 27 2010 11:37 pm | Reader Articles
