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 Even though the air grows cold and the days shrink
in length, gardening does not have to stop until the next spring.
The addition of a home greenhouse can give you a green sanctuary
year round, away from even the winter cold and give you respite from
the gloom and depression of even the coldest, dreariest months.
Home greenhouses can be lavish affairs of glass and steel, and can
also be modest buildings of wood and plastic. Both the expensive and
inexpensive are capable of supporting green life inside: fruit,
vegetables and decorative plants. In addition to being a human
sanctuary, a home greenhouse can be used to provide food for your
family.
VIDEO:
Can you grow fresh vegetables in the winter?
Some people may not believe that it’s possible to grow fresh produce
in the winter months. But according to a source from the University
of Illinois Extension and Horticulture Professor Chris Enroth, one
only needs the proper tools and strategies to do so. “Everyone can
enjoy fresh, locally grown produce in the winter months,” according
to this video.
This video, like most resources on greenhouses in winter, features
the use of a high tunnel building. High tunnels are a popular trend
for growers and a proven technology for crop production. The term
loosely defined, is a building primarily used for growing fruits and
vegetables.
Enroth admits in the video that although it seemed intimidating at
first, he and a colleague were able to easily build it from scratch
in two days. “We built our high tunnel spending only four hundred
dollars,” says Enroth. A high tunnel can be built with kits that are
sold online.
Enroth says that in addition to high tunnels, those looking to grow
crops in the winter can utilize low tunnels, or even just small cold
frame boxes and ground covers, and still grow vegetables. “All of
these are devices for season extension,” says Enroth.
VIDEO:
Winter Greenhouse
In this example, the high tunnel is being used to grow cool-season
vegetables, such as lettuce and bok choi. “My favorite crop that
I’ve discovered growing this winter has actually been spinach and
carrots,” says Enroth. Growing these crops in the winter has led to
a sweeter tasting vegetable.
This video gives a demonstration on what an inexpensive small
greenhouse to grow in-ground vegetables and herbs might look like in
winter. “It’s getting ready to be seed-starting season on the
southern side, and…fresh green season on the north side,” according
to the video.
As was the case in the previous video, this greenhouse does not use
any additional devices to generate heat. According to the
thermometer shown in the footage, on the day of filming the
temperature in the structure was thirty-six degrees.
According to the video, “we’re in mid-February, so it’s time to
start thinking about starting onions from seeds, starting kale,
spinach, cilantro, lettuce; different things we want to have at a
good size.”
The video also shows the use of a cold-box built using wooden frames
and a double-paned glass window. These little boxes trap heat from
the sun inside, only needing a small vent or a prop to let some of
the heat out, should it get too warm on sunny days.
As for the crops nearly ready to harvest, this video features
cilantro and stinging nettles. The latter of these plants is “an
incredibly nutrient-dense food,” according to the video, and further
research suggests the plant is used as a supplement for various
ailments. There is also spinach and arugula in the greenhouse that
“coasted right through the winter.”
“We’ve got a whole block or rosemary in here,” says the cameraman,
who is crossing his fingers that the plants will make it through
winter. “Hopefully they continue to grow out, and we have a solid
wall of rosemary, not taking up any light from anybody else in
here.”
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Additionally, this greenhouse includes a fifty-five
gallon drum of water buried in the ground with holes punched in the
sides. This way, groundwater can trickle into the bucket, and the
gardeners can water plants without having to bring water from
outside.
“This is a structure that cost about one-hundred fifty dollars, and
has dealt with any snow load that’s been on it,” says the narrator.
“It’s very worthwhile, I’m very pleased with it.”
VIDEO:
Can the Midwest grow citrus?
This third video gives us a look at a different crop altogether:
citrus. This video features Russ Finch, a farmer living in Nebraska.
“There have been hardly any successful twelve-month greenhouses on
the high plains,” says Finch. The energy costs for running such an
operation all-year round is simply too high.
“By tapping into the earth heat, we’ve been able to drastically
reduce the cost,” says Finch.
Finch says that all they have to do is keep the internal temperature
above twenty-eight degrees in the winter. They have no backup
systems in place. Instead, the earth’s heat is drawn on; roughly
fifty-two degrees at eight feet below the surface. This heat is
gathered and dispersed through a system of underground tubes. This
translates to roughly “a dollar a day” for energy costs.
Finch says that to prove the system would work, they had to grow
something impressive; something other than “geraniums and roses and
things like that.” Instead, they grow figs and citrus, including
Valencia oranges. These oranges have been fighting diseases in
Florida in recent years, and Finch says they can grow them cheaper
in Nebraska using this structure.
“We can grow practically any tropical plant,” says Finch. “I think
you can even grow bananas in the new design.”
It seems, then, that greenhouses are not solely a spring and summer
building. These examples, and the many more that are out there to
view, demonstrate that ornamental and food source plants can be
grown in greenhouses all year long, even in the coldest months.
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