Since greenhouse plants lack the natural benefits of uninhibited sun, soil, and rain, special fertilizers and foods for greenhouse plants are necessary for successful greenhouse crops. Outside plants obtain nutrients from the soil, but greenhouse crops are generally planted in sterilized soil to help control bacteria growth and insect infestations. This removes essential nutrients from the soil. In addition, planting in containers isolates plants and prohibits the transfer of nutrients from nearby soil during heavy rains.

It’s that time of year to begin transplanting your starts from the greenhouse. Greenhouses are great for getting an early jump on the spring growing season, but transplanting all those little seedlings can be a challenge. To help make spring planting easier, here are a few tips for novice and seasoned greenhouse gardeners alike.

I love to hear stories about how a family puts a greenhouse to use. This family bought a large greenhouse to not only grow food for the family, but also to sell produce at the local farmers market. They will be the first to bring tomatoes to the Farmers Market in this small town in Idaho.

High Tailing It to Fun
Who said the economy is hurting? Friday morning vendors reported a line of people waiting for the event to open.

We arrived at 11:30am and the place was already packed!  One of the things I love about summertime in the Pacific Northwest is the plethora of garden tours and festivals we have to choose from. Instead of going to the same events over and over, I try to attend a few each year I haven’t been to before.

Container Planted Sunflowers

Raising Their Heads Towards the Sun
I planted dwarf ‘Junior’ in the Solexx panel covered greenhouse in a plastic container on May 27, 2009. I am happy to report we have 2-3” of seedling growth 21 days into their growing cycle.

Feedback
Have you had any experience with growing sunflowers in your garden or greenhouse?
I would love to hear your experience and comments!

“The Earth laughs in flowers.”~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Getting flowers going in the garden greenhouse is always a fun addition to your usual greenhouse gardening activities. There’s just something special about watching those delicate green shoots emerge, knowing that they will produce beautiful, vibrant flower blossoms.

Tamp Dancing
I rented Martha Stewart’s Spring Gardening Series from the local video store for tips and hints on seed starting. In one segment, Dan Hinkley demonstrated how to build handmade soil tampers.

When looking for greenhouse ventilation options to keep greenhouses cool, it’s important to first understand why ventilation is essential. Ventilation is the exchange of inside air for outer air. The act of ventilation can control temperature, remove moisture or replenish carbon dioxide (CO2). If you’re trying to grow the healthiest plants possible in your greenhouse, establishing a proper ventilation system is essential.

Follow the Sun
When we bought our home, the backyard was a blank canvas. To get a sense for how the sun moved across our garden, the first cultivated plant were large headed sunflowers, similar to the one’s made famous by ‘Van Gogh’. I carefully tracked and recorded the turning heads throughout the day and summer season. Sunflowers exhibit heliotropism in the bud stage. Heliotropism causes the flower heads to follow the sun from east to west during the day. At night they return to face east. As the bud stage wanes, the stem stiffens. Sunflowers in their blooming stage lose their heliotropic capacity. The stem becomes “frozen”, in an eastward orientation. Before planting expensive specimen trees, shrubs and perennials - plotting the course of the sun - saved oodles of time, money and labor.

Many times gardeners have no idea if they need shade cloth or shade coverings. Shade cloth partially blocks out the sun and in the process helps to cool the greenhouse. Certain greenhouse coverings diffuse the light and create a natural shade, but glass greenhouses get extremely hot direct sun and will need some sort of shade protection. Some plants are more sensitive than others and will need stronger shade protection. Here is a list of FAQs meant to assist gardeners with many common greenhouse shade cloth questions.