Greenhouse vegetable gardening : expert advice on how to grow vegetables, herbs, and other plants

342 Pages·2015·22.98 MB·English

by  Inger Palmstierna

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
1. ACQUIRING A GREENHOUSE
2. CULTIVATION
3. GREEN OR BROWN THUMB GARDENER?
4. PLANTING, PRE-CULTIVATION, POTTING UP
5. SUMMER FLOWERS FOR OUTDOOR PLANTINGS
6. WIDE BED SOWING FOR BOUNTIFUL FLOWER BEDS
7. GROWING VEGETABLES IN THE GREENHOUSE
8. VEGETABLES TO PLANT OUTSIDE
9. EARLY HARVESTS IN THE GREENHOUSE
10. HOTBEDS AND COLD FRAMES
11. A GREENHOUSE IN FLOWER YEAR-ROUND
12. OVERWINTERING PLANTS IN THE GREENHOUSE
13. SPRING FLOWERS, BULBS, AND PERENNIALS
14. HOUSEPLANTS—CUTTINGS AND SEEDS
15. GREENHOUSE OPTIONS—LOCATION, STRUCTURE, AND
MATERIALS
16. FOUNDATION
17. HEATING AND IRRIGATION
18. INTERIOR AND LIGHTING
19. CARING FOR THE GREENHOUSE
20. WINTER IN THE GARDEN—RECOMMENDED READING MATERIAL
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX
HOW TO’S
– Sowing
– Potting up
– Planting and care of geophytes (bulbs, roots and rhizomes)
– Wide sowing
– Vegetable cultivation
– Cultivating in a hotbed/cold frame
– Sowing for spring blooms
– Planting bulbs
– Sowing perennials
– Propagation by cuttings
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Fertilizer in the water
Table of summer flowers
Flowering plants for hanging baskets
Suitable plants for wide bed sowing in flat/box
Vegetables that can be started in cell trays
Plants for pre-cultivation and growing in hotbeds/cold frame
Plants for direct seeding in cold frame/hotbed, and for early harvest
Overwintering temperatures for plants
Christmas bulbs
Perennials to grow from seed
Herbs to grow from seed
Introduction
Many gardening enthusiasts take great pleasure in owning a greenhouse; they
delight in its warmth, the scent of the earth and plants, the feeling of spring, the
taste of summer, and the protection against blustery fall winds.
A gardener can plant, grow, and harvest cucumber and basil, as well as create a
splendor of flowers in garden pots and flower beds. A greenhouse makes it
possible to extend the growing season throughout the year, and to feel close to
nature while remaining in sheltered comfort. A hobby greenhouse is seldom
started as a money making venture, but the amount of plants and kilos of
tomatoes that are often harvested within it make it profitable all the same.
The pleasure seeker can create a peaceful oasis with scents and greenery. A few
well-chosen plants are enough to generate the right atmosphere, while still
leaving enough space for an inviting seating arrangement.
No matter how we plan to enjoy our greenhouse, it needn’t be expensive or
cumbersome. We often unnecessarily over-complicate things when something
simple fits the bill. Once we settle on how we’d like to use the greenhouse and
furnish it accordingly, we can then make it both bountiful and easy to care for.
There are many ways to create lush green happiness in the greenhouse—early
snowdrops, pampered geraniums, sun-warmed tomatoes, shading vines, and fine
plantings of summer flowers are only some of the myriad possibilities.
Those who already have a greenhouse will, in the first half of this book, get tips
on additional plants you might consider growing. If the greenhouse isn’t working
in any of the ways you had hoped or anticipated, then you’ll likely discover the
cause in the book’s second half, which deals with the hardware—the type of
building, its size, shape, heat, and ventilation systems. Those who have not yet set
up a greenhouse will glean useful information on what you need to take into
account before you decide on a greenhouse structure.
The greenhouse is an environment that is warmer and lighter than our
gardens and our homes. It allows the plants more time to grow, and gives us
opportunities to cultivate more of them; it also requires more soil, water,
fertilizer and care—an aspect of greenhouse gardening that might be somewhat
tedious but nevertheless critical, and all the more fun and rewarding when
tedious but nevertheless critical, and all the more fun and rewarding when
successful. Together, the time and effort will turn your greenhouse into a
wonderful, lush and flowering oasis, the gem of your garden.
Hven August 2006
Inger Palmstierna