Tag Archives: mini greenhouse

Grow Plants in Mini Greenhouse All Year Around

A mini greenhouse is a great addition to any garden. it comes with the extra protection of growing under glass allowing a much wider variety of plants to be raised, and the growing season to be greatly extended. A 4 tier mini greenhouse can give you so much more control over your garden, allowing you to over-winter your favorite plants, grow from seed and take cuttings.

As well as practical advantages, mini greenhouse growing is a most satisfying and relaxing hobby, providing plenty of enjoyment without the full scale commitment of a large greenhouse.

What can you grow in a mini greenhouse?

With a little planning even the most compact of Mini greenhouses can be full of plants all year round.

mini-greenhouse-1310

Spring

In the early spring the mini greenhouse could be full of young plants, growing on ready for later transplanting into the garden. Many garden centers offer tiny plug plants at the very start of the season. These are able to be grown on inside the small greenhouse. Many plants, especially salad crops, can be grown direct from seed, in fact with a mini greenhouse you can look forward to fresh salads pretty much all through the year.

Summer

In the summer, the small greenhouse is capable to be used for protected crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. As other plants are planted out, the space left can be used for home grown Mediterranean crops.

Autumn

In autumn time cuttings from fuchsias and geraniums can be taken to provide plant material for next year. Salad crops such as lettuce are suggested to be planted in the small greenhouse to ensure a steady supply during the winter months. Vegetables such as spring cabbage can be grown on ready for planting out.

Winter

During the winter months, the small greenhouse can be used to over-winter more delicate plants such as geraniums and fuchsias. Bulbs for winter decoration can also be brought on in the indoor mini greenhouse.

March 17, 2016Permalink

Q & A on Using Portable Greenhouse in Winter

Winter is coming, followed by a series of difficult conditions like rain, wind and snow to challenge our plants cultivating. Here lists some frequent questions when you using portable greenhouse for winter. Hopefully they can be helpful.

Q: Do my Quictent greenhouses need any care and maintenance?

A: Yes,your portable greenhouse will get dirty when you work with plants and soil and from rain spatter on the ground outside. With a low-pressured sprayer, hose down the walls from time to time to get rid of dirt and dust. If mold or mildew has grown, wash with warm water and a mild soap such as dish soap. Before storing your Quictent greenhouse be sure it is clean and completely dry.

Q: How do I control plant diseases in my Quictent greenhouse or mini greenhouse?

A: It’s best to focus on prevention. Begin with disease resistant plants. Do not overcrowd the plants. Remove dead leaves from the plants and soil. Do not over water or keep the atmosphere unnecessarily moist. Ventilate enough to assure air circulation because diseases thrive in stagnant air.

Q: What is the best type of heater to use in my Quictent portable greenhouse?

A: A small ceramic electrical heater works best. There are numerous models on the market but we recommend you look for one with the following features:

Automatic overheat shut off

Thermostat control. This allows you to set your desired temperature and the heater will automatically turn off and on to maintain that temperature.

Humidity sensor. This reads the percentage of humidity in the air.

Heaters of this type are readily available at your local stores. Be sure to use an extension cord rated for outdoor use and always exercise caution when using an electrical device.

Q: Should I let the snow build up over my portable greenhouse during the winter?

A: No. The snow in the city mostly is acid which can erode the cover to some extent. What’s worse, the snow can turn into ice to continuously freeze your plants. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the snow cleared off the top. And for some portable greenhouse with clear cover, such as 4 tier mini greenhouse, it’s more essential to clear the cover to allow the sun to warm the interior of the greenhouse during the day.

December 1, 2015Permalink

Some Factors You Should Notice for Using Greenhouse

Greenhouse is a shelter which provides the suitable environment maintained for your plants, you should know how to make full use of it. The sun provides plenty of sunlight and heat, but you must regulate the environment in your greenhouse. There are some factors below that you ought to pay attention to.

Watering System

A water supply is essential for plants. Watering manually is acceptable for most greenhouse plants if you are available. However, many hobbyists work away from home during the day. Variety of automatic watering systems is available to help you do the task over short periods of time. Bear in mind, the small greenhouse is likely to have a variety of plant materials, containers, and soil mixes that need different amounts of water. Watering kits can water plants in pots, benches, or flats. Mist sprays are used to moisten seedlings or to create humidity. And you can choose time clocks or mechanical evaporation sensors to control automatic watering systems.

CO2 and Light

CO2 and light are essential for plant growth as well. As the sun rises in the morning to provide light, the plants begin to their photosynthesis. The level of CO2 drops in the greenhouse as it is used by the plants. Ventilation supplies the CO2 in the greenhouse. Because CO2 and light complement each other, electric lighting combined with CO2 injection is used to increase yields of vegetable and flowering crops. You may use bottled CO2, dry ice, and combustion of sulfur-free fuels as CO2 sources.

Air Circulation and Ventilation

It is a good investment to fix circulating fans in your greenhouse or portable greenhouse. During the winter when the greenhouse is heated, you need to maintain air circulation so that temperatures remain uniform throughout the greenhouse. The warm air rises to the top and cool air settles around the plants on the floor without air-mixing fans. Turn off these fans during the summer if the greenhouse needs ventilation.

Ventilation is to exchange inside air for outside air to control temperature inside, remove moisture, or replenish CO2. Several ventilation systems can be used. Natural ventilation uses roof vents on the ridge line with side inlet vents. Warm air rises on convective currents to escape through the top, drawing cool air in through the sides. While, mechanical ventilation uses an exhaust fan to move air out one end of the greenhouse while outside air enters the other end through motorized inlet louvers. Exhaust fans should be sized to exchange the total volume of air in the greenhouse each minute. Ventilation requirements vary with the weather and season. In summer, 1 to 1 air volume changes per minute are needed. In winter, 20 to 30 percent of one air volume exchange per minute is sufficient for mixing in cool air without cooling the plants.

Heating

The heating of greenhouses required is dependent on upon the temperature desired for the plants grown, the location and construction of the greenhouses, and the outside exposed area of the structure. As much as 25% of the daily heat may come from the sun, but a lightly insulated greenhouse structure will need lots of heat in cold winter night. The heating in greenhouses must be adequate to maintain the day or night temperature desired. Because the air temperature of greenhouses must be kept at plant-growing temperatures, the greenhouse itself is not a good solar-heat collector. But separate solar collection and storage systems are large and require much space. You can paint containers black to attract heat and fill them with water to retain it, or try to use heat-collecting methods to reduce fossil-fuel consumption. Heating systems can be fueled by electricity, oil, gas, or wood. The heat will be distributed by forced hot air, steam, hot water, or radiant heat.

Cooling

In the middle of the summer, air movement by ventilation alone may not be adequate, so the air temperature may need to be lowered with evaporative cooling. Also, the light intensity may be too great for the plants. During the summer, evaporative cooling, shade cloth, or paint will be necessary. Shade materials include paint, vinyl netting, and roll-up screens of wood or aluminum. Small package evaporative coolers have a fan and evaporative pad to evaporate water, as a result of cooling air and increasing humidity. Heat is removed from the air to change water from liquid to a vapor. Moist the evaporative cooler works best, when the humidity of the outside air is low. The system can be used without water evaporation to provide the ventilation of the greenhouse.

 

June 17, 2012Permalink