How To Greenhouse

In his new book The Forest Garden Greenhouse , farmer and permaculture practitioner Jerome Osentowski details how he manages to grow things like papaya and figs at 7,200 feet altitude in Basalt, Colo.—deep in mountainous ski country—using very little,...

To make a garden is to create an artificial environment: Some garden plants need extra water or more protection against pests than plants growing in nature. This story originally appeared in the January/February 2018 issue of Hobby Farms.

Heck, making a soda bottle greenhouse is fun for adults too! Read on to see how to make a pop bottle greenhouse.Pop bottle greenhouse instruction couldn't be simpler. Poke a few holes in the bottom of the bottle for drainage.

Seeds are prepped according to their specific needs; for example, they may beIn open flat trays, seeds are usually planted in nicely spaced rows for ease of thinning, watering, fertilizing and treating seedling diseases, such as.

All plants need protection sometime, and a solid roof with occasional panes of glass or skylight bubbles give enough sunlight without burning out the plants in the summer and freezing them in the winter.Check with the local building department before...

The warm air inside rises and stays near the open windows. However, the system is far from free, as you'll need to give it periodic maintenance and must pay the monthly electric bills for using the fans themselves.

The plight of the bumblebee has been causing both scientists and farmers concern, with bumblebee populations declining over the past several years. Tags bee species , bumblebee decline , greenhouse bumblebees , pollinators

Often the windows are changed out and discarded for better fitting and quality.Places with loud public or private transportation, such as airports or seaports, often offer nearby homeowners a replacement package of thicker insulated windows to mitigate...

For a temporary, movable greenhouse, PVC piping may be cut to create your frame and then covered with the same plastic sheeting as above, more or less creating a largewould be simple side or roof vents that can be louvered open to adjust the ambient temperature:...

Some solar tunnels are so large that there is ample room to use a garden tiller or even a small tractor.Plants grown using solar tunnel gardening are also less prone to pests, hence a reduction in the necessity for pesticides.Crops can be grown much later...

The last of your tomatoes and peppers, and even your, will be able to live longer and produce more food in the longer artificial season.Grow tents use plastic for walls and roofs instead of glass, like a greenhouse.

Add an additional small heater, either propane or electric, for the coldest days of the year.Once you have the greenhouse built, experiment with plant placement for the best growing conditions for each variety.

Herbs fail for many reasons, but lack of adequate moisture is among the most common. Some skylights or sunroof-type installations are great for air circulation, but more herbs need shading from the most brilliant of the afternoon sunshine.

Larger greenhouses can be divided internally to create climate zones, allowing different growing conditions within the same structure.freestar.queue.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-300x250-ATF-1"); });The best greenhouse plants thrive...

Most shade cloths come with a system of grommets on the edge, allowing you to create a system of lines and pulleys on the sides of the greenhouse. Clip the edges of the cloth to the lines using curtain rings.

This gives the northern gardener a longer growing season, allows outside of zone plants to be cultivated, protects tender starts and newly propagated plants, and generally creates the ideal growing zone for a host of plant life.

The structures, also known as walipini, take advantage of solar radiation and the thermal mass of the surrounding earth. People interested in sustainable living often opt for underground gardens, which when properly built and maintained, can provide vegetables...

Consider protection of the greenhouse from storm damage or from neighborhood hoodlums that like to hear glass break! Also, think about the ease of maintenance for not only plants but of the structure itself.freestar.queue.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-300x250-ATF-1");...

The cleaning and sanitizing of the greenhouse should occur as soon as possible to eradicate over-wintering pests prior to the growing season.freestar.queue.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-300x250-ATF-1"); });Greenhouse cleaning is a two-part...

If you create the right microclimate inside your mini greenhouse, you can grow nearly anything. Mini greenhouses can be tall or short, but generally take up less than about 10 square feet of ground or floor space.

Monitor moisture levels carefully and never leave normal greenhouse plants standing in water for any amount of time. Viruses are incurable and infected plants must be destroyed. Your plants may all be perfectly healthy until one rogue from the neighbor's...

Contrast that to a Honey bee queen that lives more than 2 years and continues to lay eggs, replacing workers as they die and raising a new queen if needed, and that puts me firmly back in the Honey bee camp.

Unlike a, its warming action is completely passive and doesn't rely on heaters or fans. Stretched across this frame is transparent or translucent greenhouse quality plastic that can be easily folded back in at least two places to allow for airflow.The...

At the end of the day, you just need something that will get your plants up off the ground. This will help keep plants healthy and looking their best.– Many greenhouses need artificial lighting to properly light the plants inside.

Allow the soil surface to dry between watering but not until the plants wilt. The white plastic will also keep the sun from heating the cold frame too much.Seedlings can be transferred to the cold frame or started directly in the cold frame.

Sticky cards placed on and near sensitive plants should be replaced weekly during the busy summer pest season.A surprising number of greenhouse pests can be killed with, including aphids, mealybugs, mites, whiteflies and thrips.

The heat that is collected in the daytime will stay around longer, keeping the inside warm without need extra help.Create an almost free passive heating system by building a wall of water-filled recycled milk jugs.