Greenhouses, Greenhouse Supplies and Greenhouse Information info@greenhouse.net
Why a greenhouse ?
I suppose it can be best be summed up in
the words of good old John Evelyn’s
thoughts and writing in 1664.
He maintained that some form of structure
would offer protection for plants and that
they might
" Stand warm and safe from storms, winds,
frosts, dews, blastings and other mischief’s!"
Now I don’t know about the ‘other
mischiefs’ but I reckon he had it about right.
We do use greenhouses to give plants
protection from frost, gales, heavy rain,
birds and animals.
But perhaps more importantly the
greenhouse enables the gardener to
lengthen the growing season. For example
early vegetables can be sown indoors and
transplanted when hardened off.
Several weeks can be gained over
conventionally sown crops and if there is
some form of heating installed the seed
sowing /growing period can make a big
difference in terms of early maturing plants.
CONTROL
A greenhouse allows the gardener to
regulate to a certain extent, temperature,
light and moisture. In other words the
climate is controllable and therefore it’s
possible to obtain certain guaranteed results.
Of course there are problems – admittedly
pests and diseases are easier to control
within the confines of a greenhouse but, be
warned, an infestation or disease will spread
like wildfire if unchecked.
A warm, moist climate is not only enjoyed by
your plants, believe you me!
INTEREST
Above all a greenhouse extends the
gardener's interest and offers the ability to
specialise, perhaps in alpine plants, orchids
or exotics. And with careful planning the
range of plants that can be successfully
grown will be increased.
Different types, varieties will add interest
and satisfaction.
There’s nothing better than picking your
own juicy tomatoes or saving money by
producing your own bedding plants and
producing new plants by simple propagation.
USE OF SPACE
However small your garden is, even if it is
completely paved or concreted over,
profitable use of space can be made with a
greenhouse.
Today there are tiny free-standing
greenhouses available that occupy just a
few square feet of space. Some can even be
installed on balconies or roof tops.
If space is a problem or a traditional shaped
building is going ‘impose’ too much, the
aesthetically pleasing octagonal
greenhouses look great.
Another bonus with with today’s’
greenhouses is the different choices in
frame colours available.
If you don’t fancy rather glaring aluminium
greenhouse how about a dark green frame
colour, or dark brown and white.
Yes it adds to the initial cost but what a
difference, particularly in a small plot.
PLEASANT WORK
Lastly very importantly, greenhouse work is
less physically demanding than in the garden
and can be enjoyed by the elderly and
disabled.
And according to a customer of mine, his
new greenhouse has not only given him an
absorbing hobby but as he says.
"I can garden whatever the weather is
doing and (here his voice lowered as he
peered anxiously around for ‘er indoors) – it’
s somewhere to escape to!" Perhaps that’s
what John Evelyn meant by ‘ certain
mischief’s’.
Plant protection from frost, gales, rain, hails,
birds and animals.
Pests and diseases are easier to control in a
greenhouse.
A greenhouse gives the gardener an
opportunity to be more in charge of
growing conditions – temperature, light and
air.
The gardener will obtain more certain
results.
Greenhouse work can be less physically
demanding and therefore can be enjoyed by
the elderly and disabled.
Careful planning allows considerable
reduction in gardening costs, by enabling
the gardener to raise his/ her own plants.
Greenhouse gardening widens the type,
varieties and range of plants produced for
general gardening purposes.
Somewhere to escape to!
I suppose it can be best be summed up in
the words of good old John Evelyn’s
thoughts and writing in 1664.
He maintained that some form of structure
would offer protection for plants and that
they might
" Stand warm and safe from storms, winds,
frosts, dews, blastings and other mischief’s!"
Now I don’t know about the ‘other
mischiefs’ but I reckon he had it about right.
We do use greenhouses to give plants
protection from frost, gales, heavy rain,
birds and animals.
But perhaps more importantly the
greenhouse enables the gardener to
lengthen the growing season. For example
early vegetables can be sown indoors and
transplanted when hardened off.
Several weeks can be gained over
conventionally sown crops and if there is
some form of heating installed the seed
sowing /growing period can make a big
difference in terms of early maturing plants.
CONTROL
A greenhouse allows the gardener to
regulate to a certain extent, temperature,
light and moisture. In other words the
climate is controllable and therefore it’s
possible to obtain certain guaranteed results.
Of course there are problems – admittedly
pests and diseases are easier to control
within the confines of a greenhouse but, be
warned, an infestation or disease will spread
like wildfire if unchecked.
A warm, moist climate is not only enjoyed by
your plants, believe you me!
INTEREST
Above all a greenhouse extends the
gardener's interest and offers the ability to
specialise, perhaps in alpine plants, orchids
or exotics. And with careful planning the
range of plants that can be successfully
grown will be increased.
Different types, varieties will add interest
and satisfaction.
There’s nothing better than picking your
own juicy tomatoes or saving money by
producing your own bedding plants and
producing new plants by simple propagation.
USE OF SPACE
However small your garden is, even if it is
completely paved or concreted over,
profitable use of space can be made with a
greenhouse.
Today there are tiny free-standing
greenhouses available that occupy just a
few square feet of space. Some can even be
installed on balconies or roof tops.
If space is a problem or a traditional shaped
building is going ‘impose’ too much, the
aesthetically pleasing octagonal
greenhouses look great.
Another bonus with with today’s’
greenhouses is the different choices in
frame colours available.
If you don’t fancy rather glaring aluminium
greenhouse how about a dark green frame
colour, or dark brown and white.
Yes it adds to the initial cost but what a
difference, particularly in a small plot.
PLEASANT WORK
Lastly very importantly, greenhouse work is
less physically demanding than in the garden
and can be enjoyed by the elderly and
disabled.
And according to a customer of mine, his
new greenhouse has not only given him an
absorbing hobby but as he says.
"I can garden whatever the weather is
doing and (here his voice lowered as he
peered anxiously around for ‘er indoors) – it’
s somewhere to escape to!" Perhaps that’s
what John Evelyn meant by ‘ certain
mischief’s’.
Plant protection from frost, gales, rain, hails,
birds and animals.
Pests and diseases are easier to control in a
greenhouse.
A greenhouse gives the gardener an
opportunity to be more in charge of
growing conditions – temperature, light and
air.
The gardener will obtain more certain
results.
Greenhouse work can be less physically
demanding and therefore can be enjoyed by
the elderly and disabled.
Careful planning allows considerable
reduction in gardening costs, by enabling
the gardener to raise his/ her own plants.
Greenhouse gardening widens the type,
varieties and range of plants produced for
general gardening purposes.
Somewhere to escape to!
Overview of Hydroponics
Consumption of tomatoes in the United
States has reached 4.3 billion pounds each
year. When consumers are willing to pay
double or triple standard prices for a great
tasting, blemish free product, buyers and
sellers alike can smile at the possibilities.
Repeated pricing studies have shown that
only high-quality, garden vegetables, such as
tomatoes, cucumbers, salad crops and
culinary herbs, can provide break even or
better revenues in hydroponic systems.
Hydroponics is a technology for growing
plants in nutrient solutions (water and
fertilizers) with or without the use of
artificial medium (e.g., sand, gravel,
vermiculite, rockwool, peat, coir, sawdust) to
provide mechanical support. Liquid
hydroponic systems have no other
supporting medium for the plant roots:
aggregate systems have a solid medium of
support.
Hydroponic systems are further
categorized as open, where after the nutrient
solution has been delivered to the plant
roots, it is not reused; or closed where
surplus solution is recovered, replenished,
and recycled. The definition of hydroponics
has been confined to liquid systems only,
which blurs statistical data and leads to
underestimation of the extent of the
technology and its economic implications.
All hydroponic systems in temperate
regions of the world are enclosed in
greenhouse-type structures to provide
temperature control, reduce evaporative
water loss, and to reduce disease and pest
infestations.
The principal advantages of hydroponic
controlled environment agriculture (CEA)
include high-density maximum crop yield,
crop production where no suitable soil exists,
a virtual indifference to ambient temperature
and seasonality, more efficient use of water
and fertilizers, minimal use of land area, and
suitability for mechanization, disease and
pest control. The major advantage of
hydroponic (CEA) compared to field grown
produce is the isolation of the crop from the
soil, which often has problems of diseases,
pests, salinity, poor structure and/or
drainage.
The principal disadvantages of hydroponics,
relative to conventional open-field
agriculture, are the high costs of capital and
energy inputs, and the high degree of
management skills required for successful
production. Capital costs may be especially
excessive if the structures are artificially
heated and cooled. This is why appropriate
crops are limited to those with high economic
value such as tomatoes. The
economic prospects for controlled
environmental agriculture and hydroponics
may improve if governmental bodies
determined that there are politically desirable
effects of hydroponics that merit subsidy for
the public good. Such beneficial effects may
include the conservation of water in regions
of scarcity or food production in hostile
environments; governmental support for
these reasons has occurred in the Middle
East. Another desirable societal effect could
be the provision of income-producing
employment for chronically disadvantaged
segments of the population entrapped in
economically depressed regions; such
employment produces tax revenues as well
as personal incomes, reducing the impact on
welfare rolls and improving the quality of life.
Hydroponics is a technical reality. Such
production systems are producing
horticultural crops where field-grown fresh
vegetables and ornamentals are unavailable
for much of the year. The development and
use of controlled environment agriculture
and hydroponics have enhanced the
economic well being of many communities
throughout the world.
The highest prices for hydroponic tomatoes
are during the winter, when there is little or
no production of open field tomatoes in the
United States. Imports from Europe and
Israel present some competition but do not
have the taste and quality of greenhouse
hydroponic tomatoes produced in high light
desert regions of the southwestern part of
the United States.
In the spring, fruit from Mexico and Florida
will decrease the wholesale prices received
for hydroponic tomatoes, but the hydroponic
fruit will still bring two to three times higher
wholesale prices.
The distribution in hydroponic tomatoes is
throughout North America. The major mode
of transportation is by truck. In the future
when markets open in the Pacific Rim
countries, the tomatoes will be shipped to
various regions of the world by air. Typically
packaged in 15 pound boxes, each with fruit
of even size and color. Premium prices are
paid for jumbo fruit weighing 225 grams or
more.
Hydroponic tomatoes are handled by most
major grocery stores today and are
becoming increasingly popular due to their
high quality and flavor. As a result, there is a
rapid increase in construction of greenhouse
hydroponic tomato facilities in the desert
southwest, where growers from Holland,
England and the United States are rapidly
building an exciting new agricultural industry.
Consumption of tomatoes in the United
States has reached 4.3 billion pounds each
year. When consumers are willing to pay
double or triple standard prices for a great
tasting, blemish free product, buyers and
sellers alike can smile at the possibilities.
Repeated pricing studies have shown that
only high-quality, garden vegetables, such as
tomatoes, cucumbers, salad crops and
culinary herbs, can provide break even or
better revenues in hydroponic systems.
Hydroponics is a technology for growing
plants in nutrient solutions (water and
fertilizers) with or without the use of
artificial medium (e.g., sand, gravel,
vermiculite, rockwool, peat, coir, sawdust) to
provide mechanical support. Liquid
hydroponic systems have no other
supporting medium for the plant roots:
aggregate systems have a solid medium of
support.
Hydroponic systems are further
categorized as open, where after the nutrient
solution has been delivered to the plant
roots, it is not reused; or closed where
surplus solution is recovered, replenished,
and recycled. The definition of hydroponics
has been confined to liquid systems only,
which blurs statistical data and leads to
underestimation of the extent of the
technology and its economic implications.
All hydroponic systems in temperate
regions of the world are enclosed in
greenhouse-type structures to provide
temperature control, reduce evaporative
water loss, and to reduce disease and pest
infestations.
The principal advantages of hydroponic
controlled environment agriculture (CEA)
include high-density maximum crop yield,
crop production where no suitable soil exists,
a virtual indifference to ambient temperature
and seasonality, more efficient use of water
and fertilizers, minimal use of land area, and
suitability for mechanization, disease and
pest control. The major advantage of
hydroponic (CEA) compared to field grown
produce is the isolation of the crop from the
soil, which often has problems of diseases,
pests, salinity, poor structure and/or
drainage.
The principal disadvantages of hydroponics,
relative to conventional open-field
agriculture, are the high costs of capital and
energy inputs, and the high degree of
management skills required for successful
production. Capital costs may be especially
excessive if the structures are artificially
heated and cooled. This is why appropriate
crops are limited to those with high economic
value such as tomatoes. The
economic prospects for controlled
environmental agriculture and hydroponics
may improve if governmental bodies
determined that there are politically desirable
effects of hydroponics that merit subsidy for
the public good. Such beneficial effects may
include the conservation of water in regions
of scarcity or food production in hostile
environments; governmental support for
these reasons has occurred in the Middle
East. Another desirable societal effect could
be the provision of income-producing
employment for chronically disadvantaged
segments of the population entrapped in
economically depressed regions; such
employment produces tax revenues as well
as personal incomes, reducing the impact on
welfare rolls and improving the quality of life.
Hydroponics is a technical reality. Such
production systems are producing
horticultural crops where field-grown fresh
vegetables and ornamentals are unavailable
for much of the year. The development and
use of controlled environment agriculture
and hydroponics have enhanced the
economic well being of many communities
throughout the world.
The highest prices for hydroponic tomatoes
are during the winter, when there is little or
no production of open field tomatoes in the
United States. Imports from Europe and
Israel present some competition but do not
have the taste and quality of greenhouse
hydroponic tomatoes produced in high light
desert regions of the southwestern part of
the United States.
In the spring, fruit from Mexico and Florida
will decrease the wholesale prices received
for hydroponic tomatoes, but the hydroponic
fruit will still bring two to three times higher
wholesale prices.
The distribution in hydroponic tomatoes is
throughout North America. The major mode
of transportation is by truck. In the future
when markets open in the Pacific Rim
countries, the tomatoes will be shipped to
various regions of the world by air. Typically
packaged in 15 pound boxes, each with fruit
of even size and color. Premium prices are
paid for jumbo fruit weighing 225 grams or
more.
Hydroponic tomatoes are handled by most
major grocery stores today and are
becoming increasingly popular due to their
high quality and flavor. As a result, there is a
rapid increase in construction of greenhouse
hydroponic tomato facilities in the desert
southwest, where growers from Holland,
England and the United States are rapidly
building an exciting new agricultural industry.
Greenhouses, Greenhouse Supplies
and Greenhouse Information
and Greenhouse Information
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