A small greenhouse is not for any kind of gardening. But they are very handy for a few purposes. Like seed starters. Small Greenhouse is mostly used as a seed starter. But you can use them for growing those seedlings too.
Taking care of greenhouse is a bit of work, you need to monitor the moisture level and temperature very closely. But if you are able to optimise the internal climate of a small greenhouse, you can grow almost everything inside it. This post is not about how to optimise the microclimate of small greenhouses, this post is about what we can grow inside the small greenhouse easily.
Here are some small greenhouse veggies you can start to grow right now:
1: Asparagus.
You can grow Asparagus from seeds or from the crown (a year old). Starting from seeds will take a very long time, so it is good to start with the crown.
Preparation of soil depends on the method you are using to grow Asparagus. If you have raised bed garden in your small greenhouse, you need to clean all the weeds, add some compost on the top and then plant the crown. Add some mulch to protect from growing weeds in late winter. But if you are growing in pots, change the potting soil of pot and plant crowns.
Most of the protection of your asparagus will be done by a small greenhouse, but still, you need to keep the slugs out of the greenhouse and take care of the moisture level of the soil. Do not harvest the first 2 years after planting. Harvest 3rd year in mid-April.
2: Oregano.
This famous pizza herb is very popular in the USA and all over the pizza lovers. This herb is a perennial shrub, it means it can grow up to 30 inches in height and live for more than 2 years. The leaves of oregano, green stem and flowers are edible.
Growing oregano in a small greenhouse is very easy. You can start with seeds or use cuttings from store-bought oregano. You can use your bed garden to grow or use any pot or you can reuse and old plastic bottle.
If you wanted to grow them from store-bought cuttings, here is the method.
- Choose some green cuttings.
- Put these cuttings in a bottle or glass of water and put that in your greenhouse.
- After a few days, roots will appear.
- Now transfer the cuttings with roots in your pot or bottle.
- Potting soil is best to grow oregano in pots.
Read More: 14 Store-Bought Vegetables and Herbs You Can Regrow in your Kitchen Garden
3: Lettuce.
Lettuce is one of the most popular salad green. Growing lettuce inside the small greenhouse is very easy. You can start with seeds of lettuce, seedlings of Lettuce or you can grow from store-bought lettuce. Lettuce and oregano can easily grow outside or inside too. If your small Greenhouse is inside your home, you can grow them by providing artificial grow light. They will grow just fine.
If your small Greenhouse is outside, then choose a spot that gets about six hours of fun sunlight.
Growing store-bought lettuce is too easy. Here is the method.
- Cut the bottom of store-bought lettuce about 2 inches.
- Put the 2 inches bottom in a glass of water.
- In a few days, that bottom will produce roots.
- Now plant it in a pot or plant in your bed garden inside the small greenhouse.
4: Tomatoes.
There are so many different varieties of tomatoes you can grow inside the small greenhouse. Tomatoes are sun-loving plants, so they grow very inside the greenhouse. Because greenhouse traps some extra heat inside them.
The best thing about the greenhouse is, you can get 2 crops of tomatoes in a year. Here are a few varieties of tomatoes to grow in a small greenhouse.
- Sungold
- Ferline
- Capprica
- Black Opal
- Ailsa Craig
You can grow them in your bed garden, pots or grow directly in the grow bag.
Read More: How to grow tomatoes in grow bag.
5: Courgettes.
This is one of the easiest growing vegetables ever. Courgettes are ideal to grow inside the greenhouse. Because they love sunlight. Sow the seeds of courgettes in March and May. Transfer the seedling in bigger pots or garden bed. These plants produce fruits abundantly. Regularly water the plants, but don’t over them. Use liquid fertilizer to promote the growth of plants and fruits.
6: Cucumbers.
Sow the seeds of cucumber in early spring if your small greenhouse has a heat source, if not, sow the seeds in mid-spring. Cucumbers grow very well in grow bags or pots.
Cucumbers are moisture-loving plants, but soaking is not a good idea. When fruit appears, plants will need some kind of good fertilizer high in potash.
No matter where you are growing, in bed garden or in grow bags, plants will need trellis as support. You can make trellis at your home using some wood or buy from the market.
7: French Beans.
They are also known as snap beans. These beans are easy to grow and they can cope with dry conditions better than other vegetables. After harvesting, the soil French Beans lefts will be in pretty good condition or even in better form, because they built nitrogen in the soil.
Mild sunny area for beans in your greenhouse is best. Good fertile soil with good drainage and temperature of 60-70 degree Fahrenheit would be optimal conditions. Sow the seeds about 1.5 inches apart in raised bed garden. In 5-10 days, seeds will germinate and develop in no time.
8: Squashes.
You can sow the seeds of squash from end March to end of May. Pick a small pot of 3-4 inches and sow one seed in each pot, you can sow seeds in cups too. Sow the seeds deep in the soil and cover it with soil. Potting soil will do great. Put the cups or pots inside the greenhouse. Water them.
After the seeds turn to seedling, make the transfer to a bigger pot of 5 inches diameter or you can use grow bags too. A fully grown squash plant takes up a lot of space, so it is best to use some kind of trellis for support. Or it is best if you grow them in the raised bed.
9: Peppers.
You can grow pepper from seeds or seedlings. Pepper seeds require warm soil for germination. Sow the seeds of pepper before the last frost of Spring inside the greenhouse if you have a heat source in your small greenhouse and you can control the moisture and temperature level.
If you don’t have any control, then sow seeds after 2-3 weeks of the last frost of Spring.
Seeds will germinate in 15-20 days. Some varieties germinate in just 10 days or less. After germination transfer the seedling in a bigger pot or any place in your greenhouse. The temperature of 65-75 F is the very optimum temperature for pepper seedlings to grow in a greenhouse.
10: Spring Onions.
Spring is best to grow in pots or bigger Containers inside the greenhouse. This is a summer crop. Sow the seeds of Spring onion in March-July or September-October or any time you want, if you have a controlled greenhouse. If you want the whole year supply of green onion, sow the seeds every six weeks. They will be ready to harvest in just 8 weeks. You cannot store them for more than a few days, so harvest only when you need.
11: Garlic.
In winter there is not much to do or grow. Garlic is one of the strong veggies to grow in the greenhouse without any kind of heat source. You can grow them from store-bought garlic. Pick a bigger pot (add potting soil) or if you have raised bed (add compost on top).
Now select a bigger bulb, it would be best if you bought a good seed garlic bulb from the nursery because some store-bought garlic is not the best choice for so many reasons. Break the garlic bulb into cloves. Only choose healthy and bigger cloves to plant in the soil.
12: Aubergines.
This is one of the great benefits of having a small greenhouse. If you have a heat source in your greenhouse, you can sow the seeds of aubergine in January, but if you don’t have a heat source, sow seeds in late February.
You can use cups or any kind of small container to grow the seeds. When seeds become seedlings, you will need a bigger pot of about 30 cm in diameter. Or you can grow them in your raised bed inside the small greenhouse.
Here are a few tips for growing aubergine inside the small greenhouse.
- Cut the main tips of plants to encourage branching when plants reach 30-40cm in height.
- Tap water spraying can encourage fruits.
- Liquid fertilizer can do the trick in encouraging flowers and fruits.
Watch: 100 Cheap & Easy DIY Greenhouse Ideas | DIY Garden
Read More:
- Top 6 Microgreens You Must Grow In Your Kitchen Garden
- Which Plants Can Be Grown In Plastic Bottles?
- How To Grow Purple Potatoes In Containers
- 10 Best DIY & Cheap Container Gardening Ideas Anyone Can Use
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