Greenhouses and Garden

If you’re gearing up for a new season of crops, your structure will need a good greenhouse cleaning. Seasonal greenhouse cleaning is important to maintain overall plant health. Cleaning your  greenhouse will help keep diseases from spreading while staving off harmful pests. To do this, you’ll need to remove all plants and crops from within the greenhouse unit and follow the following our helpful greenhouse cleaning tips.

Greenhouse Cleaning Tips

For ShelterLogic units like the GrowIT Greenhouse In-A-Box, it’s important to clean the cover just like you would any other fabric shelter. Avoiding harsh detergents will help stretch the life of your greenhouse. And because this greenhouse also has a steel frame, it’s important to maintain that as well. This includes using a soft-bristled broom when you clear leaves and debris. The same care goes for the ShelterTech High Tunnel Greenhouse. In order to ensure you are giving your plants the best environment possible, it’s important to not only care for your cover, but the steel frame as well. Make sure to use a soft brush when cleaning. You can use a garden hose with a nozzle to clean the roof if it’s hard to reach, and remove any leaves, cobwebs, or other debris.

Best Practices for Cleaning Your Fabric Greenhouse

You might think a quick sweep down will suffice. But an important greenhouse cleaning tip is to disinfect the area to give your plants a truly clean environment to grow. According to the University of Massachusetts, this process can manage algae and stave off bacteria or fungi. The disinfecting process includes a thorough cleaning of the Luminate fabric cover and steel frame to kill off harmful algae, mold, and mildew, and a comprehensive inspection to extend the life of your greenhouse. Whether you have a small greenhouse for your backyard or a commercial greenhouse for your business, you can follow these cleaning steps and prolong its life and usage. Steps to take to thoroughly clean and disinfect your fabric greenhouse:

Remove Everything from Inside the Greenhouse

To be successful, the cleaning and disinfecting of the greenhouse must be complete and thorough. So, before you start the clean-up, everything must be removed from the inside of your greenhouse: that includes benches, pots, tables, shelves, and any equipment stored inside it. You must remove all the plants that are in your greenhouse before you begin cleaning and disinfecting, so check the weather to make sure you will have a few days of satisfactory weather. Also, sweep or vacuum away any cobwebs, dirt, debris, weeds, and soil that may be on the floors, cover, and frame of the greenhouse: that will make the following steps a little simpler.

Disinfect Reusables or Dispose of Trash

Recyclable and non-reusable trays and pots should be removed from your fabric greenhouse area as soon as you can. Dispose of the items that cannot be reused and recycle everything that can be salvaged. Pots, trays, shelves, and equipment needs to be completely cleaned and disinfected before they are returned to your fabric greenhouse. You can wash these greenhouse items and more with soapy water. Once washed, let those items sit in an oxygen bleach solution of 3/4 cup oxygen bleach to one gallon of water.

Clean the Cover and Frame

Your cover and frame need to be thoroughly cleaned to eliminate all fungi, mold, and other pathogens that may not be visible to the naked eye. We recommend cleaning it with a solution of mild detergent and warm water to clean both the greenhouse’s cover and steel frame. To prevent accidental damage to your greenhouse, you should avoid using a brush with sharp edges. Do not use a pressure washer to clean or rinse hard-to-reach places like the top of your cover. The water sprayed from a pressure washer is powerful enough to cause damage to your Luminate cover. However, you can use a garden hose with a nozzle to clean or rinse the cover and frame.

Cleanipedia recommends choosing a warm or windy day to clean. This will allow the inside of your greenhouse to dry quicker, and your cleaning time to be cut down!

How Often Should You Clean Your Greenhouse...

The simple answer: Ideally, you should give your greenhouse a thorough cleaning at the end of every growing season. Each growing season brings different pathogens and molds: removing them will ensure a more bountiful crop season after season. However, whenever there is debris, dirt, mold, or other accumulated, you should clean your greenhouse as soon as possible. Also, your greenhouse cleaning frequency should depend in part on your geographic location. If you experience hot and humid or wet conditions, you may need to be more aware of mold and mildew. At the absolute minimum, your greenhouse should be cleaned

According to research by the United States Department of Agriculture, ...

The spring season almost always inspires a fresh start. Whether you plan to clean out the attic or get your front lawn healthy again after a long winter, everyone feels motivated to revitalize their space this time of year. Rejuvenate your garden this spring and make it a space you’ll never want to escape. Find out how to include some eye-catching new plants, incorporate attractive outdoor décor, and utilize useful tools with these creative garden ideas.

Try New Seedlings in a Greenhouse

With a backyard greenhouse, you greatly expand your options for what to grow regardless of your planting zone. You can get creative with your planting efforts by trying out some new seedlings for the season! Utilizing a GrowIT Backyard Greenhouse for efficient backyard gardening can help extend the season and better accommodate your unique plants. Thanks to its 4 ft. shelving, it makes organizing the interior of your greenhouse easy. Temperature regulation is simplified thanks to screen vents for ventilation, and our unique Luminate fabric improves plant growth by evenly diffusing the light. Grow better, stronger plants – faster. Also, you can use a greenhouse to get a head start on your summer plants. You can plant new summer bulbs, or the bulbs that you dug up in the fall to keep safe from the winter frost. Additionally, you can get a head start on warm weather vegetables that are not very frost-tolerant, like tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. A greenhouse can be used to try out trendy new annuals like beacon impatiens, silver strand didelta, or I’Conia hybrid begonias or perennials like the firefly amethyst, dicentra “pink diamonda,” or “orange you awesome” echinacea before you move them to your garden. If you like how they look, you can transplant them into a garden or a planter. If you don’t like them, you can give them to neighbors, or bring them to a local plant swap event.

Add Beautiful Low Maintenance Plants

Do you consider landscaping to be a must-do chore and not a fun hobby? Then you should think about planting some shrubs or perennials along your house, driveway, sidewalk, fence, wall, or ...

All gardeners know once the temperatures drop, there can be a bit of a winter lull. But just because it’s chilly doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of things to do...

By the time your fall harvest is completed, you will need to decide what you’ll do with your greenhouse for the winter. There are several things you can do with y...

When the days get shorter and the nights get colder, it doesn’t mean you have to give up your gardening hobby for the winter season. With winter gardening, you can turn your agricultural hobby or desire for fresh produce into a year-round activity. Winter gardening may be easier in areas where winter weather in the United States is milder. However, with a standard greenhouse or a cold frame greenhouse, it’s very possible to grow a variety of root vegetables, fruits, and herbs in Canada and the parts of the United States that are known to have cold temperatures throughout the winter season.

What Is Winter Gardening?

When temperatures drop, can you still garden? The answer is a resounding yes. In fact, many garden lovers and hobby growers grow veggies year-round, and there are lots of great reasons for doing so. Whether growing plants and veggies professionally, or to maintain healthy eating for the whole family, many people use these common techniques to grow their own vegetables all year long.

You must winterize your fabric greenhouse before you use it to start your winter garden. When it’s properly winterized, the potential of your winter garden flourishing will increase. If you don’t winterize, you can expect very poor results. Here are some tips and tricks for winterizing your greenhouse.

According to Eartheasy, winter gardening involves planting and harvesting crops primarily during three seasons:

• Late Fall for Winter Harvest: Some crops that are sown in the fall reach maturity before the first frost hits, but you don’t need to harvest them until the early winter. They won’t grow much once they’ve matured, so they will stay fresh in a cold frame greenhouse.
• Short-Season Winter: Any vegetable that is sewn and quickly matures in 3 to 6 weeks falls into this category. Planting short-season winter vegetables allows you to live off the land all winter long,
• Overwinter: In this case, the crops you plant in the fall are not fully grown before the first frost. As temperatures drop, these overwintered crops are inactive. When the days start getting longer, overwintered crops continue to grow again, and are usually ready to harvest in early spring.

Winter G...

Fall is an ideal time to be a gardener. That perfect cool weather means you can tend to your crops without breaking a sweat. The fantastic crisp air signals it's time to plant certain crops ahead of the first frost. Here are a list of fall vegetables to plant for a beautiful and tasty garden.

Fall Vegetables to Plant Anywhere

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When the cooler weather starts rolling in, gardeners know there’s a small window of time where the weather is sheer perfection. You’ll enjoy every single moment of...

Whether you’re a novice gardener, or a farmer looking to extend your growing season, greenhouses can provide the optimal environment for fruits, vegetables, and other plants to thrive. Creating a greenhouse garden means you get to control the air temperature and environment, while shielding your crops from rough weather. This is particularly helpful during the upcoming cooler months as the fall begins to really set in. Here are some greenhouse growing tips that will up your gardening game.

Greenhouse Growing Tips for Beginners

If you’ve just begun your quest to grow the perfect vegetables in your back yard, but you’re not really sure how to begin with a greenhouse, you’ve come to the right place. It’s a great idea to start small and learn the basics. The GrowIt Backyard Raised Bed Greenhouse is a compact option perfect for a starter greenhouse. This easy-to-assemble raised bed model is made of high-quality steel and comes with a roll-up cover to help with temperature control. The heat-bonded translucent cover is waterproof and UV-treated for ultimate protection from the elements. Now that you’ve chosen the proper model for your backyard, here are a few greenhouse growing tips to get you started:

• Choose your plants wisely: Before you begin, make sure to figure out which plants do best in your climate. Some areas of the country might benefit from keeping certain crops inside the greenhouse all year, while others are more forgiving. Here’s a guide on what to grow in your greenhouse year-round.
• Creating the right soil: Good soil is the key to healthy crops. Mother Earth News suggests mixing garden loam and compost, then adding well-aged manure or wood ashes.
• Summer cleaning: We know how a good summer cleaning can do our homes good. But did you know doing the same for your greenhouse will help get rid of pests?
• Fall use: Even winter vegetables and hardy plants need a little extra shelter as the fall begins to set in! bring plants into your greenhouse or close the greenhouse vents at nightfall to prevent frost and damage to plants and flowers overnight.

Up Your Greenhouse Game

If you’re ready to bring your backyard gardening game to the next level, investing in a greenhouse with more space and shelving options is a great next step. GrowIt Backyard Greenhouse is a stellar choice. It is easy-to-assemble and comes with screen vents at both ends for great ventilation and temperature control. The translucent fabric allows light in while reducing harmful UV rays that can destroy plants. Other benefits include:

• Premium powder coat finish that resists chipping and corrosion
• Shelving on both sides to stage plants
• Auger anchors included

High Tunnel Greenhouse for Maximum Return

Whether you’re a farmer looking to increase your crop yield..., or a hobbyis