Greenhouses Your Way to Extend the Growing Season

Greenhouses can be a great way to cultivate seeds and to grow wonderful plants.  Having a greenhouse can be a hobby or can become a way to grow a substantial amount of plants.  It can help to extend a growing season when the climate doesnt cooperate.  A mini greenhouse can be a temporary solution to colder weather in early or late growing. There are all sorts of greenhouse styles from a starter greenhouse to a hobby one. Some models are even available in a greenhouse kit to assemble at your location.  Seed starters qualify as greenhouses. Even if you already have an established one, getting replacement lamps and grow lights can be ordered online or purchased in local hardware stores or garden shops.  Greenhouse supplies like benches and greenhouse shade cloths can be found online and many sites offer support and advice for keeping and starting new growing areas. 

There is much to consider when growing plants such as, how excessive heat can affect the plants.  Since this particular growing season has been riddled with hot and humid weather, this has been especially important for the plants this year.  Greenhouse shade cloths can be used to shade and to protect them from the heat by filtering out some of the sun rays and this reduces some of the heat produced.  Depending on the type of climate, you can choose from cloths that reflect light, absorb it or a bit of both.  Keeping the greenhouse cooler and shaded can be important especially in the southern states.  These cloths can be reused, but many are custom-made so knowing the length is the key to the ordering process.  These are nice because they can be easily removed, if necessary.

If you need other greenhouse supplies like grow lamps or floor coverings, its important to be sure which type of equipment will serve you well.  Grow lights extend the growing season as a supplement for natural light in areas that have exceptionally cloudy days or shorter ones as in winter growing.  Since many plants enjoy a twelve hour growing day, this type of equipment can make the difference in your crops and the yield that you can expect from them.  If you have questions about what type of equipment to look for, there are websites and gardening shops that offer advice for the area in which you live and plan to grow the plants.  Choosing lights that are inexpensive to run or that are a full spectrum light like a fluorescent lights can be a smart choice, but different lights can be effective for different crops.  Some light choices support the environment because they are better or easier to recycle.  LED lights are the newest, cheapest to run and longest life of any lights.  Without the mercury like in fluorescent lights, these can be recycled easily. With people attempting to go green these lamps might be the newest choice, but could become the most popular once people grow accustomed to using them instead of the fluorescent ones.

Greenhouses can be a great hobby or a way to begin growing more plants for consumption or sale.  Building and maintaining a good greenhouse is partially having the knowledge about which plants you wish to grow need to be healthy and strong and partially how much time and energy you are putting into the growing of these crops. From tiny seed starters to large greenhouse buildings, the planning of the and purchasing of equipment that is well suited for the type of climate and the seeds or plants that you are cultivating can make your greenhouse successful.