Using your portable greenhouse to help your plants grow through the seasons is beneficial in many ways. Not only can you save money by walking right outside your door for fresh, hearty vegetables, but greenhouse cultivation that is consistent throughout the whole year also saves you money in the long run. Preparing your greenhouse for fall and winter harvest is actually a great way to keep your soil at its peak fertility level. While your greenhouse provides your gardening with a frost-free climate all year long, there are some important steps you need to take to prepare for the cold weather. And it’s towards the end of summer that you should begin to think about taking these steps.
5 Things to Consider for Portable Greenhouse Seasonal Transitions
Give Your Soil a Little TLC
While preserving your soil by participating in year-long crop cultivation keeps its fertility level at its peak, you can help provide an even better opportunity for growth and sustainability by nurturing the soil. Just as humans need vitamins and nutrients to help us perform at our best each day, your soil needs a little TLC as well. Renewing soil with additives before the conversion can make a big difference in your fall and winter harvest. Depending on the crop, additives such as compost, blood meal, bone meal, and greensand can give your soil the extra boost it needs to be productive.
Location, Location
Although it may seem as though using the same spaces would help preserve your entire greenhouse, this isn’t the case. You should not plant fall vegetable crops in the same location as your summer season crops. In fact, if you can avoid it, you shouldn’t even plant fall vegetable crops in the exact location you planted them the year before. Using the exact same location for your new crop weakens soil because it causes it to lose essential nutrients. It also attracts the biggest culprit of garden breakdown bugs! Continually planting in the same area attracts insects, bacteria, and disease. So keep your greenhouse insect-free and switch it up a little by moving your crops around.
Timing is Everything
Depending on what specific crop you are planting, timing is everything. Most fall harvests require you to plant new seedlings in mid-August. That’s just around the corner! This prepares more plants to be ready for late fall and early winter harvest. But, some crops can flourish even if you plant them in late August into September. Lettuce and spinach are two vegetables that can be planted later in the summer and still be ready for late fall harvests. Mark your calendar and be sure you are planting your seedlings at just the right time to make for better crop growth.
Embrace the Chaos
Sometime in September, you might look at your greenhouse and say “what is going on here?!” Don’t be alarmed! It is completely normal to have your greenhouse in complete chaos as you transition from summer to fall harvest crops. Luckily, by early to mid-October, you will notice that your greenhouse has somehow worked itself into a beautiful spread of fall and winter vegetables.
Pick The Right Options
Not only do timing and soil preservation play a huge part in growing a successful fall harvest, but you also have to plant the right seedlings to harvest your vegetables in the cooler months. Just like the weather, certain seasons are reserved for certain crops. Chives, bunching onions, and radishes are great crops to harvest for fall. Additionally, certain crops can be covered with “blankets” to expedite the growing process. Broccoli, leaf lettuce, and mustard at some cover crops that do well during the fall.
However, you choose to stock your greenhouse with crops for the fall, taking these few extra steps will ensure the best possible outcome for your portable greenhouse crops and plants. Your portable greenhouse isn’t just a hobby; it can bring in extra money when you harvest your crops right. If you want the perfect portable greenhouse construction, you can trust RhinoShelters to provide you with the right choice to bring your crops back season after season. Shop Now!