Growing crops in a greenhouse offers numerous advantages. One of the biggest advantages is that it gets nice and warm early in the spring and maintains a good temperature until late in the year. This makes it possible to grow certain crops that yield much less outdoors or do not grow at all because they require a more tropical climate to thrive. Below you will find more information about the crops that are ideal for growing in a greenhouse.
Sowing and transplanting in the greenhouse
If you have a spacious greenhouse, it’s ideal for transplanting plants that have been grown indoors into the open ground. Make sure the soil contains sufficient nutrients and that excess water can drain away properly. You can make a mixture of potting compost, compost and garden soil to enrich the soil before transplanting the plants.
Make sure the soil in the greenhouse is well moistened before sowing. It is best to cover the parts of the greenhouse that you are not using with a layer of straw mulch. This helps to keep the soil warm and ensures that the water remains in the soil. It also helps to suppress weed growth.
Plants grown in a greenhouse generally thrive in warm conditions. They do best at high temperatures, with fairly high humidity (though not constantly, to prevent mould) and plenty of sunlight.
Crops suitable for greenhouse cultivation
- Tomatoes, chillies and peppers – These plants thrive in warm conditions and do not cope well with heavy rainfall or strong winds. They thrive in stable temperatures, high humidity and good ventilation.
- Cucumbers – these plants love warmth and water. As cucumbers are mostly made up of water, it is very important to water them frequently. Indoor cucumbers tend to grow slightly longer than those grown outdoors in cooler temperatures, which is also an option.
- Strawberries – In a greenhouse, you can extend the growing season for strawberries, resulting in earlier and possibly later harvests than is possible outdoors. In that case, choose an everbearing variety to plant, such as the Ostara.
- Melons – In places where melons are grown in high temperatures and high humidity, the fruit is much sweeter and also larger.
- Herbs – Many herbs, such as basil, coriander and thyme, can be grown in a greenhouse all year round, which is a great advantage during the winter months.
Sowing in the greenhouse during the winter months
- Leafy vegetables – varieties such as lettuce, spinach, rocket, winter purslane, leaf mustard, chervil, baby carrots, beetroot, Swiss chard, radishes, spring onions and kale can benefit from the more controlled conditions in a greenhouse, particularly outside the normal growing season.
Other tips
- DIY tip: Line the inside of the greenhouse with bubble wrap; this will help keep the heat inside for much longer.
- Kruiden-tip: Zelf groeien bij mij heel veel kruiden die minder goed tegen de koude temperaturen kunnen als: basilicum, bieslook, koriander, peterselie, salie en citroen verbena in potten. Deze potten met kruiden zet ik vanaf september, als er al voldoende plek is, in de kas neer. Je zult zien dat je deze kruiden dan nog tot de kerst kunt oogsten en sommige zelfs overleven en je de hele winter hier je kruiden kunt plukken.
- Tip: You could opt for a woodchip path in the greenhouse; the main advantage of this is that it absorbs far less heat from the sun, meaning that this heat is not released into the surrounding area. With tiles or other paving, the greenhouse will always be considerably warmer inside.
- Tip: if it gets extremely hot in the greenhouse during the summer months, you can place a large tub or bucket of water inside. As the water evaporates, it helps to lower the temperature inside the greenhouse by a few degrees.
Soil tip: You can improve the soil every spring by adding compost and some organic vegetable fertiliser; this is good for soil life and gradually releases nutrients that the plants can absorb. This means you don’t need to replace the soil in the greenhouse every year.