Home and Family Author: CA Perez

You have just finished assembling or building your back yard hobby greenhouse kit. Now what? It's ready to grow. What do I start with? Well, just about anything will grow better in the controlled environment of a green house than outside in the open soil.


My initial reason for wanting a green house was to be able to get a jump-start on Mother Nature and start my seeds in the early Spring. That was very limited thinking on my part.


Generally, I would suggest that because of increased temperature early in the growing season, you should use the greenhouse to start all your seeds with the exception of root crops like potatoes, carrots, beets, and turnips.


Another type of crop that I would not begin in my hobby green house is those that do well in cool weather like the leafy vegetables, lettuces, spinach, and kale. That's not to say you may want to start them way before your first frost and transplant them later. But since they are generally much hardier, why waste your valuable green house real estate.


Organic gardeners love their green houses. They offer much better pest and temperature control for the young organic seedlings and get them off to a great start once they are transplanted into the garden.


The higher the temperature, say 65 degrees to 85 degrees, tropical plants are the order of the day. Tomatoes, melons and cucumbers are my favorites. I live in the Great Northwest and growing tomatoes and melons in the open garden is nothing short of a major disappointment. The nights are cold and sunlit days are not as warm compared to my Southern neighbors.


My greenhouse takes on three separate roles. As I mentioned earlier, my initial reason for buying a backyard hobby greenhouse kit was to start my seeds earlier. That did work well, but I soon discovered more uses for little backyard green house.


In the early spring, I use it to start almost all my vegetables and some flowers. We have frost as late as the middle of May. And, although I love the sweet smell of rain, our winters are very wet and the ground can't be worked until well into the season.


In the summer, it becomes a hothouse for my tomatoes, melons, and cucumbers. They do so much better in the warmth of my green house on those cool wet nights.


Finally, in the winter, I use it to keep my family stocked with a continuous flow of those fresh and delicious leafy crops like, lettuce, kale, and spinach. A leafy vegetable complemented by my root crops from the open garden makes for fresh tasting salads well into the winter months.


Did I mention that my greenhouse is great for storing my hand tools, empty plastic pots and seeding trays over the winter months?


A word of caution, in southern areas the summer temperatures can far exceed all temperature recommendations. Unless you have excellent temperature controls, you are liable to pre cook your plants before you get them to the dinner table. Green houses are best used in the South for overwintering crops and for early starts.


Hobby greenhouses come in all shapes, sizes, materials, and prices. Finding one that suits your needs and budget is not difficult. Having a green house in your backyard or garden will increase your harvest and provide you and your family with fresh food well into the winter months.


There is nothing like a fresh salad on those cold wintry months when everyone else must rely on supermarket produce. Now is the time to get that greenhouse. You will not regret it and you will wonder why you didn't get it sooner.

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