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Growing things in a greenhouse was a learning experience for me. The first thing I learned was that at our altitude of 8,500 feet the sun is much too intense to use an unshaded greenhouse. I lost three dwarf banana trees and untold numbers of plants because they were burned by the intense sunshine. I finally went to a local greenhouse in Denver and asked for their secret. They sold me the same shading material that they use to put up in my greenhouse. The material blocks something like 40% of the suns rays. I have a 12 foot by 8 foot greenhouse so I got only 8 feet of shade material, thinking it would put my sun-loving plants in the part that's not shaded. I almost
had a heart attack when I looked for greenhouse shelving. Prices
were anywhere fro $300 on up! I finally ended up buy plastic
shelves from WalMart for $20 apiece. The shelves are plastic
mesh so they let light filter down to shelves below. Our greenhouse is attached to our upstairs living room by a front door so it's easy to heat it on winter nights by running the pellet stove that's in our living room, just a few feet from the open door. In order not to have to haul buckets of water from the tub to the greenhouse, I've devised a small plastic hose that attaches to tub faucet that I can extend into the greenhouse when I want to water. I also learned that it's very hard to keep vegetables growing in a greenhouse because of soil and nutrient requirements. My plan this season is to start veggies in the greenhouse and move them oudoors after the last spring frost (around June 1st). As I said, it's a wonderful learning experience. I have a wooden plaque over the front door leading into the greenhouse that says, "What Is Paradise but a Garden?" I couldn't agree more.
-- Wayne
Harrison |
