Learn ideas for designing your vegetable garden in thisfree online video guide to vegetable gardening. Expert: Scott Reil Contact: www.safelawns.org Bio: Scott Reil is an accredited nurseryman and longtime horticulturalist with over two decades of experience in the field. Scott is now working for www.safelawns.org. Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso
If you’re like many home gardeners you might not know about the many benefits that portable greenhouses have to offer. These portable structures come in many different sizes from smaller to larger and are fairly easy to put together. The main benefit is that you have the option of extending your planting season from earlier in the spring to later in the fall. Also, for people living in condos or apartments, portable greenhouse can be very convenient because you can still plant a garden even though you don’t have a yard.
A portable greenhouse can be moved anywhere in your yard. This can be handy if you have certain areas in your garden that receive different amounts of sunlight depending on the time of day. For example, the east side of your home will probably receive more sun in the morning while the west side receives more sun in the evening hours. You can use this to your advantage by using a portable greenhouse with certain plants, fruits, and vegetables if they have unique growing requirements.
If you’d like to grow plants and vegetables but don’t have room for a garden outside there are many small portable greenhouses available that fit nicely indoors and don’t take up a lot of space. You can use them to overwinter sensitive plants or to start new seeds for planting outside later in the spring or fall. You can even use them for growing a small herb garden if you like to cook. There are many options available for these little greenhouses depending on your needs and requirements.
Not sure if gardening is the hobby for you? A portable greenhouse is a great way to get your feet wet and practice planting vegetables and flowers without making a huge commitment in terms of time and money. All you have to do is simply pack up your greenhouse if you decide that you don’t have a green thumb. You can’t do this with a permanent greenhouse building that in addition to costing a lot of money, will become a fixed structure in your yard once it’s been established.
You can also place your greenhouse on a small deck if you live in an apartment and don’t have a place to plant your garden outside. It might take an hour or two to put your portable greenhouse together but once assembled you’ll have a very handy place in your home to grow all kinds of herbs, vegetables, and flowers. If you plan on keeping your greenhouse outside just make sure to tie it down properly so it doesn’t blow off your deck on a windy day.
You certainly don’t want to deal with the mess created if your greenhouse should topple over or fly off your deck like a kite. As an extra precaution you should make sure to secure the bottom of your greenhouse with extra weight to keep it from falling over or blowing away. You can use either water filled buckets or bags filled with sand. Another option is to tie your greenhouse down with extra ropes and tie-downs.
If you’re thinking about purchasing a greenhouse you should take the time to study all the different types of portable greenhouse kits available to find which one suits your situation the best. You don’t want to end up with a kit that is either too big or too small for where you intend to keep it. It should also be easy to move and store if you don’t plan on keeping it up all year long.
Join Robert Norris, Associate Professor and Associate Botanist at UC Davis, as he discusses home vegetable gardening. Topics include tools needed, recommended reading, ground preparation, planting dates, selection of varieties, and seed planting depths. Series: “California Master Gardener Lecture Series” [7/2002] [Science] [Agriculture] [Show ID: 6675]
