Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels
Even though the concept of a greenhouse is a simple one, there are many people who remain confused. Some people have trouble understanding how to capture the heat from the sun, and others struggle with maintaining the growth of their plants in the greenhouse.
The truth is that maintaining a greenhouse does require some skill and balance. If you are new to the world of gardening, then we suggest reaching out to a professional gardener such as Orange County Landscaping Pros to help you get started. Not only will they be able to assist you in the development of your greenhouse, but they can also get you through any difficulties you may be facing.
But before you make a call to the professionals, here are a few simple gardening mistakes that you should avoid:
- Control the Temperature
Once you set up your greenhouse, it is easy to forget checking the temperature on a daily basis. However, without constant tracking and adjusting, the plants in your greenhouse are likely to suffer. The ideal temperature in summertime for the greenhouse would be up to 85 F in the daytime and 76 F in the nighttime. However, this depends upon the region that you are in.
To avoid this basic mistake, you should remember to control the temperature constantly via good ventilation, use of shade cloth, and provision of heating devices. It is also important to monitor the temperature inside your greenhouse everyday using a good digital thermometer.
- Consider the Trees.
Before you actually set up your greenhouse, you need to decide on a strategic position for it. One of the most common mistakes made by beginners is that they forget to consider any nearby trees, and later end up with a tree that is extending over their greenhouse.
If you do have trees near your greenhouse, you should always be careful about the leaves that prevent the sunlight from reaching your plants. Apart falling leaves and limbs, you also need to be careful about any roots that could be stealing the nutrients from your greenhouse plants by sneaking into it from under the ground.
- Provide Shade.
Another common mistake made by beginners that experts like OC Landscaping Pros know to avoid is that they forget that their greenhouse plants also need some shade, but in moderation. It is easy to forget temperature control for your greenhouse and easily let your plants become overly heated. This can result in permanent damage to your plants or simply rotting.
Remember that your greenhouse has an air temperature, but also a leaf temperature. You need to keep the leaf temperature from reaching too high and this can only be done by providing adequate shade when needed. Alongside of proper ventilation, you would need to use a shade cloth that blocks some of the direct sunlight that your plants are exposed to.
- Control Humidity.
Another important part of maintaining your greenhouse is to learn to control the humidity inside. As a beginner gardener, you need to remember that any rapid temperature changes are bad for your plants.
In order to control for this situation, you always need to control the humidity by ventilating your greenhouse especially during the hottest times of the day. Remember to close all of your ventilation vents before nightfall since it could make the greenhouse temperatures fall more than necessary.
