National Greenhouse News

The cold winter can affect more than our moods and aching backs. Dieting has always been a battle during the winter months, mostly due to the convenience of less healthy, ready-made foods; and the lack of quality seasonal produce at the market that our bodies benefit from in the summer. However, with a lot less effort than most think – you can enjoy the comfort, convenience and health benefits of having produce readily available nearby in your own greenhouse kit.

With some proper attention to detail, a greenhouse kit in the winter can provide all of the benefits and satisfaction of a greenhouse garden in the warm weather. Here are some important tips and facts to consider when growing herbs, fruit and vegetables in the winter with your greenhouse kit:
- Consider an artificial light source to compensate for darker days during the winter months
- Occasionally wipe-down the interior walls of the greenhouse to allow more sunlight in
- Have a back-up heating plan in case your primary source of heat breaks down
- ‘Patience is key’ but consider that if results are not being achieved, you may want to re-work your arrangement(s), heating method or even plant new or different crops
- Research the proper method(s) and time periods to plant certain crops. Lettuce and Spinach, for example, hold true through cooler planting months like January while Tomatoes and Cucumbers are better suited to a late-winter month like April
- Replenish tired soil with composting from the previous summer’s harvest
- Speak with an expert about air ventilation and routinely monitor it

Some of the easiest and more popular vegetables to grow over the winter are: Arugula, Cabbage, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Chives, Broccoli, Garlic, Lettuce and Asparagus. These vegetables, among many others, are able to thrive in cooler settings because the plants do not require much more care than adequate water, modest sunlight, relatively warm temperatures, and good-quality soil. The variety of vegetables and fruit able to grow over the winter in greenhouse kits still require individual maintenance needs, yet boast well for success if properly attended to.

There are incredible communities of gardeners out there who are just like you! Share ideas on how to make the most of your greenhouse kit over the winter. Discuss tips and strategies for achieving better crop results with local experts and connect with others over social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

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While a new greenhouse kit can add curb appeal through a stylish freestanding greenhouse or lean-to greenhouse model and theoretically increase your property value, that’s not what this article is about. This article is about those intangibles that are created when you add a hobby greenhouse to your property and help turn it from a house into a home.

Quality Time with the Family

By adding a greenhouse to your home you create an environment that lets you partake in family activities throughout the year. You can create a fun and interactive learning environment for children and teens which enables you to teach them how to grow and take care of a wide variety of plants. The quality time you spend together can’t be quantified in the numbers of hours spent together but rather the lasting memories it will create. Plus you get to have some fun results, especially if you plant fruits or vegetables. Once you’ve grown your crops you can take the fun into the kitchen and use the homegrown produce to cook and bake any number of things. The time spent together in your hobby greenhouse is priceless.

Quality Time Away From the Family

While this seems to be counterproductive to the first reason, it’s also a great reason. With the stresses of family life and running from school to work to event after event it can get hectic. Sometimes, you just need to get away from it all and relax. Gardening in your home greenhouse provides the escape you need, even if only for a few minutes of the day. Take a break, water the plants, breathe in the aromatic smells and then head back into the wonderful chaos of family life.

Learn New Skills for Little to No Cost

Adding a greenhouse kit to your house will have the obvious initial upfront costs but after that you can learn new skills at your own pace whether it’s trying to grow a tropical plant, growing those Christmas Poinsettia’s or growing your own strawberries to make homemade jams. There are so many new options to try with a greenhouse from baking and cooking, to making your own flower arrangements, to creating dried flowers for scrap booking. Most of the time the cost for you is only a pack of seeds, some water and a little bit of time but the skills learned become a source of personal pride.

Cut Down On Grocery Bills

This has been mentioned in our previous articles but it is a very valuable point to mention. When you add a home greenhouse kit to your home, you provide yourself with a great option to grow your own fruits and vegetables. It’s the freshest produce you can get and you can do it completely organic. A pack of seeds is all it takes and you’ll no longer have to spend a fortune at the grocery store on overpriced fruits and vegetables, meaning you’ll have more money to put away for that family vacation or new basement renovation.

Ultimately, adding a greenhouse kit to your house will help to quickly turn it into a home, leaving you and your family a number of fun new activities to take on without ever leaving the comfort of the house. Now that’s what we like to call real value.

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The average family spends thousands of dollars at the grocery store each year on produce. Most of the fresh food items your family will eat are often grown in locations all over the world and that produce isn’t as fresh as it could be.

In fact, studies have shown that vegetables purchased at the grocery store lose as much as half of their nutritional value during transit. Much of that produce will ripen at varying rates and what you can’t eat ends up in the garbage. Often times you are not able to find special varieties in your grocer’s produce section.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could find exactly what you are looking for, every time and have it fresh on your table each and every day? Having your own greenhouse is one way to ensure you produce is fresh, nutritional and pesticide free.

Some of the benefits of growing your own food in a greenhouse include:

Cost Savings:
It only costs cents on the dollar to grow your own produce. The cost saving benefit of having a greenhouse is the extended growing season that allows you to have fresh tomatoes, greens and other vegetables all year long. That could translate into hundreds of dollars saved on a monthly basis if you buy seeds and grow your own vegetables.

Higher Nutritional Value:
Produce shipped from different parts of the world is harvested prematurely and ripen while in transit. Many of the beneficial nutrients are lost during a process known as respiration. Produce continues to respire long after harvest and use what they already have inside to ripen because they are no longer able to gather nutrients from the plant and soil.

No Harmful Pesticides Used:
By growing your own produce inside of a greenhouse, you can limit the usage of harmful pesticides. By growing your own produce in your greenhouse you know exactly what is sprayed onto your vegetables.

Time Saving:
Does this sound familiar? You get into your car and fight traffic along the way to the grocery store. Now you have to fight the crowds as you sift through the few produce items that look somewhat fresh. Then you have to wait in the checkout line, pay, load up your car and fight traffic so you can get home to cook dinner. Now imagine going home to pick fresh produce right out of your greenhouse.  Why not enjoy the fruits of an indoor garden year round.

A Wonderful Hobby:
Hobby gardening is one of the most rewarding and popular hobbies in the world. Having a greenhouse allows you to grow anything from fruits and vegetables, to herbs and even flowers. Because you don’t need to spend time weeding you can truly enjoy the benefits of gardening all year long. Just picture yourself stepping into the quiet and warm atmosphere of your greenhouse in the middle of winter.

Owning your own greenhouse can extend your growing season, while enhancing your quality of life.

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Having a hobby greenhouse is a great way to extend your growing season. In northern climates there are limited windows of time in which tomatoes and melon will ripen . In the south, intense heat and dry weather can stifle your crops. Using a greenhouse gives you control over the weather which will improve the quality of your plant growth.

One of the main advantages of having a greenhouse is protection from extreme weather. In any climate all over the world extreme weather occurs and in many cases will destroy crops and limit yields. Having a greenhouse will completely eliminate the chance of plant exposure to extreme weather and will help produce consistently great crops.

Here is a list of extreme weather conditions that a greenhouse will help to eliminate:

Damaging Wind:
High winds will force your plants to use their energy to survive. With the protection a greenhouse offers, your plants will develop strong root systems and grow healthy and strong. The energy used to grow thicker stocks in windy climates will be transferred into producing fruit and vegetables inside the greenhouse.

Frost:
Cold weather and frost is one of the most damaging extremes that a plant will face. Just a single night of 32 degrees F. will kill many plants in your garden and retard the growth of others. A greenhouse will provide protection to plants from damaging cold air and ensure that the growing season extends well beyond normal.

Extreme Heat:
Plants are often stressed by extended periods of heat and their growth can be stunted. Soft leaf plants, such as salads or herbs, often wilt and change from delicious and sweet in taste to bitter when exposed to too much sun and heat. A greenhouse can provide valuable protection from wilt caused by extreme heat.

Weeds:
Weeds are a gardener’s worst enemy. They grow more quickly than most other plants and rob the soil of important nutrients. Having a contained environment such as a greenhouse will ensure that the weeds stay out and don’t choke out your fresh produce allowing you food to grow longer.

Insects:
Bugs are difficult to contain once they find your plants. They will get inside of the vegetables and eat away at all of the supple leaves. Greenhouses will provide a natural barrier against the invasion of insects.

Too Much or Too Little Rain:
The correct amount of moisture is essential to ensure optimal growth for your plants. Too much or too little rain will damage or destroy even the hardiest plants. A greenhouse will provide the perfect shelter from the elements and will allow you to provide the perfect amount of moisture for each individual plant.

Using your greenhouse for climate control is a great advantage. Plants are exposed to a variety of climatic conditions from extreme sun and heat to snow and frost or too much or too little rain. Often times those elements will damage or completely destroy the plant. Greenhouses offer protection from these elements and create the best growing conditions day in and day out.

Plants are hearty, but fragile. A greenhouse will provide ideal growing conditions and will extend their growing season by months. A greenhouse can give valuable protection for your plants and ensure increased yields.

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