Working with shade cloths, earthboxes, cold frames, and greenhouses can greatly improve your chances for gardening success. Gardening can be challenging, especially for the timid novice gardener.Why are you afraid to take that next step to growing a green thumb? Is it because there is just too much sunlight or wind in your area? Perhaps you have poor soil conditions or even worse, no soil conditions. Maybe you are hesitant because you won’t be able to enjoy the fresh produce year round. Whatever your reason, there are simple answers to help you garden better and faster. Here are some solutions to the above dilemmas.

Too Much Sun or Wind

Trying to garden where there is too much sun or wind can be devastating. As soon as you see the sprout start to poke its head above the surface, it is a constant battle to keep it from drying out or being removed from the ground like a fence post in a tornado. An easy answer to this problem is the shade cloth. There are numerous different types of shade cloths, depending on how much sun and wind blockage you are looking for. Some shade cloths are made out of nylon or plastic while others are made out of a textile material such as polyester.

Choosing the right shade cloth for your application is simple, the bigger the holes, the less sunlight and wind it will block. The smaller the holes, the more sunlight and wind will be blocked. Shade cloths allow balanced UV light transmission to your plants while keeping them out of the harsher environments.

Poor Soil Conditions

If your soil is less than perfect, or if you don’t have the privilege of having your own soil in an apartment or condo, you can still garden and have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The Earthboxis a pre-designed system that is almost 300 times better than container gardening. The Earthbox is a self-contained garden, which comes with its own water reservoir so that the plants get the perfect amount of water at all times, a special gradient system to allow proper nutrients to plant root systems and also is usually made of plastic to prevent the invasion of plant-eating pests.

Year Round Gardening

If you are worried about year-round gardening, worry no more. Building a cold frame and even adding a hot bed can provide year round fruits and vegetables at your table. A cold frame is like a mini greenhouse. The box is enclosed with a glass roof that faces the South for optimum light penetration, even in the coldest of temperatures. The cold frame can help keep plants out of the external temperatures while still providing moies soil and plenty of sunlight.

Greenhouses

Of course a greenhouse will solve all of these dilemmas. A four season greenhouse lets you grow all year in most climates. Your plants are protected from snow, wind and other harsh weather conditions. It also solves the dilemma of poor soil of not having any room in your yard for a garden – a greenhouse can sit on your patio or a cement slab. You use only the perfect sterile soil from your local garden center. So no more worries about tough or nutrient depleted soil in your yard!

No matter what your reason is for not gardening, shade cloth, Earthboxes, cold frames, and greenhouses could, very well, provide a solution to your problem. You no longer have any excuses to not begin gardening, so get out there, protect your plants from the sun and light, and give them the best chance to survive and grow them year round. What are you waiting for?