Using a Greenhouse for Year Round Hydroponic Gardening

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Using a Greenhouse for Year Round Hydroponic Gardening

Monday, November 10th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

A greenhouse is an asset to both gardeners using the hydroponic method, as well as those who choose to grow using soil. A greenhouse has the same advantages for either, generally speaking. Nevertheless, hydroponic gardening is particularly appropriate for a greenhouse setting, as temperature, airflow and light are controlled with greater ease.

Welsh onions, peas, strawberries, plus other plants grow quite well in a hydroponic greenhouse. Orchids and other flowers will thrive well inside a greenhouse garden.

Hydroponic gardeners find controlling light to be particularly challenging. Growth of algae can become a problem since the plant is in water instead of soil. To solve this, you can control how much light reaches the water, something that is simple to do in a greenhouse.

Obviously, just like plants which are grown in soil, plants grown hydroponically also need plenty of light. You will not get more light in a greenhouse than you would outdoors. Inside the greenhouse, the air is warmer and the light is distributed more evenly due to the light being diffused and filtered. The plants will be given enough sunlight while they are kept safe from the damage that cold weather can cause.

In winter, you will get low temperatures in northern climates of course, but the sun will be be full for several hours. Regardless of the outside temperatures and even at 15 degrees Fahrenheit, the wall of a greenhouse (made of translucent polycarbonate) is able to keep its interior’s temperatures at 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can install vents and fans to keep the inside of your greenhouse from getting too hot; hydroponically grown plants do need a consistent temperature, just as soil grown plants do.

Using a greenhouse opens up many opportunities to make the best of your garden. If you don’t have a greenhouse, then your only choice may be inside your home – something which is not a possibility for everyone.

Growing plants in the home inhibits the ability to create sufficient light and watering systems for them. There are few homeowners who have the room to install HPS grow lights or metal halide lights for their vegetables – not to mention running irrigation systems through the guestroom!

With a greenhouse, the systems can be moved where they are best for the plants, making gardening easier for you. Proper controll of water and light is critical to the success of hydroponic gardens, more important than for soil gardening that is naturally self-regulating.

A feeding system must be in place in order for your plants to thrive and it is easier to install such a system in a greenhouse. With good soil, plants can gain most of the nutrients they need easily. Yet in a hydroponic garden, the gardener must arrange for all of these nutrients to be delivered properly.

Also to be considered, are the pH levels. When in a hydroponic setting there is greater probability in the shifting of the pH. The acid and alkaline levels can change very fast when growing in water. However, in a hydroponic garden a gardener can more easily set up automatic pH controls.

You can buy a greenhouse pre-built or you can make one of your own. Those who are avid hydroponics gardeners should consider these a great investment that will take their indoor hydroponic gardening to the next level. They can be purchased in a wide range of sizes, with modular systems also available so you can expand along with your garden.

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