If you are considering building a greenhouse, the lean to greenhouse can be a good way to start. As the name implies, the lean to structure uses the existing wall of your house or your garden shed to lean against and create an add on greenhouse. Usually the near proximity to your house or shed would indicate easier access to both water and power which can eliminate many of the more costly concerns for your greenhouse.
You may also consider making this room more multi purpose so that it can be used as a sunroom or dining porch.
The Lean to greenhouse can be very inexpensive to build. You may also use products that will enable you to use solar energy which will also result in saving money.
If you’re getting ready to build a greenhouse, there are a number of questions you should ask yourself before beginning. What size greenhouse do you need? Do you have a good, sunny location planned out? Do you have easy access to build on that location? These are just a few important considerations that you should evaluate during the planning stages of your project to ensure a successful result. The following is a list of 10 important things to consider before you begin building your new greenhouse or hothouse:
1. Insure that the greenhouse you choose fits your own needs. The interior must allow enough room for potting plants and moving around easily. 2. Choose a clean, level site that will be easy to build on. 3. Remember that the location of your greenhouse is critical. You don’t want to block a traffic path in your yard; however, the greenhouse should be close enough to your home that it’s easily accessible on a daily basis. 4. Be sure to plan for snow removal. In the wintertime, you don’t want to have to trudge through piles of snow to get to your plants. 5. Be sure there are no trees nearby that will excessively shade your greenhouse. You want maximum sun gain in your greenhouse. Also remember that deciduous trees will not cast shade on your greenhouse in the wintertime; however, evergreen trees will cast shade year-round. 6. Consider the change in angle of the sun from winter to summer and study how much solar gain you want for your particular climate. If possible, align the longest side of your greenhouse to face south. This will allow the roofline to catch the maximum amount of sunlight during the daytime. Also, if you need to use shade cloth during the hottest part of the summer, you’ll probably only have to shade one side of the roof instead of two, thus reducing the labor and cost of materials. 7. Be sure to include potting benches inside your greenhouse of an appropriate height. You’ll want a surface that’s high enough so you’re not constantly bending over. 8. Some potting benches are designed to fold down and out of the way when not in use. If you have a smaller greenhouse, these may be a good option. Also, some benches are designed with slatted surfaces so dirt falls through to a collection bin below, and this can be advantageous as well. 9. Remember that you’ll need to water the plants in your greenhouse. Will you be able to run a hose in? Or will you have to carry watering cans back and forth? Furthermore, will you want a source of water inside the greenhouse, such as a utility sink that you can use to wash your hands or tools? 10. Don’t forget storage for your gardening tools. A small workbench with shelves or a pegboard back can do wonders for organizing your gardening implements.
Remember, to ensure a good successful result to any project, it’s important to devote plenty of time and thought in the planning stages. Building a greenhouse is a big investment in time and money. Be sure that you make the most of both by doing your homework before you begin. A little time invested in the beginning in good planning will pay you big dividends in the end. Happy greenhouse gardening!
Hello my wonderful gardening chums, it’s Beatrix Potts your, “Organic Gardening Enthusiast.” First a word or two about our title. When you are given inaccurate and even false information about organic gardening fertilizer your organic vegetable garden may be in terrible danger. Bad information is just as dangerous as cutworms. We are here to set the record straight and give you the most reliable information available.
More Than Essential
So, on with the show. Beatrix is here to tell you that organic fertilizer, a.k.a. organic gardening compost is the life’s blood of your organic vegetable garden. Organic gardening is incomplete without organic gardening compost. This is not just an essential element of organic vegetable gardening it is probably the singular most important element. And it is the element that you can produce and control. Understanding organic garden fertilizer will allow you to understand how important the plant’s life is and it will help the soil, insects, and everything that our wonderful vegetables need to grow and thrive.
OK, to Put in Your Compost
Many of my gardening aficionados have written to me and asked, “Beatrix, what can I put into my compost?” My dear, the answer is quite simple:
1. twigs, hay and straw 2. leaves, grass clippings 3. eggshells, many kitchen scraps 4. formerly fresh fruit, 5. teabags, coffee grounds, 6. and you always want a good mix of “Greens and Browns.”
Greens and Browns in your Compost
Mr. Melvin Potts, our wonderful spouse and “Mr. Organic Gardening Compost Man,” has reminded yours truly to give a plug for the often neglected “Browns.” They are defined as plant matter that was formerly green and has dried and become desiccated and is now as its name implies, Brown. Dried leaves, plants, and dried grass clippings are excellent sources of brown material for your organic gardening compost.
Rule #1
Please remember our Rule #1, anything that comes out of the ground can go back into your compost and eventually back into the ground. And you know of course to never add meat, bones or items with oils, and never ever do we include dog or cat feces.
All of these things will be consumed by microorganisms, insects, nematodes and what Beatrix likes to refer to as the ‘most uncommon earthworm.’
These are the beasties that inhabit your organic compost and they will voraciously consume the vegetable matter and turn it into the nutrients that our plants need to grow.
We always refer to the worms in our garden as, ‘most uncommon.’ You see my dears the earthworms in our garden are the very essence of organic gardening compost machines, and for that reason we refer to them as being ‘most uncommon.’
NO PITS
Some would have you believe that compost requires a pit. Beatrix is here to tell you that a “pit” is not entirely necessary. All you need is a flat space of ground where you can put all of your compost materials, this space needs to be where you can provide water, turn the compost and provide a most essential ingredient, air. You will then eventually put your compost through a screen to get rid of any sticks or extraneous matter.
The Most Efficient Way
It is an absolute fallacy that you need to dig a deep hole for your organic compost. You don’t need some kind of a “pit” to begin the exciting adventure that is making organic gardening compost. What you need is simply a small flat piece of ground to put your compost material on top of. This is probably the singular and most efficient way to begin making the organic gardening compost that will make your vegetable garden thrive and be absolutely wonderful.
Well, your faithful servant and gardening buddy, Beatrix Potter the “Organic Gardening Enthusiast” has, unfortunately run out of space, much to your chagrin. In the next volume of, “Danger in the Vegetable Garden” we will be taking a look at, “Garden Tools-Dangerous Instruments that Maim or a Gardener’s Best Friend?”
If you want to read more about how Beatrix Potts, Your Organic Gardening Enthusiast can help you make the most wonderful compost, visit my blog, http://bpotts.org“>The Beatrix Potts Blog and download our FREE Report Compost Secrets.
Until next time I wish you, “Happy Gardening.” Your faithful servant and gardening buddy,
There’s no reason you should have any questions about Organic Compost anymore . Get the FREE Report Beatrix Potts Organic Gardening Compost Secrets at The Beatrix Potts Blog and you will have, The Best Compost in the World. Beatrix Potts, Your Organic Gardening Enthusiast can help you learn how to make the most wonderful compost ever. It’s all in the FREE Report. Join your fellow organic gardeners and have the most wonderful vegetable garden.
Growing Your Own Food for your Health Growing your own food has recently taken on a new popularity. Gardening and canning fruits and vegetables was once thought of as a past time for our grandparents, but this is no longer the case. While having a garden may be great for your pocket book, other considerations are even more important. Obviously if you grow your own produce, your food will arrive at your table much fresher than the produce you may buy at the grocery. You will also have the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly where your food comes from. In this day and age where the use of pesticides, food dyes, and preservatives is all too common, growing your own food has its advantages.
Commercial agricultural companies usually have different priorities than your average home gardener. The priority is not your health or even the flavor of the fruit and vegetables. The commercial grower is usually more concerned with a high yield per acre, longer shelf life, and a pretty product. These factors may lead to your produce being treated with sprays and dyes. These treatments may be great for the bottom line, but they are not great for your family.
Once you start growing your own fruits and vegetables you may be shocked at the incredible flavors your home gardening has produced. Heirloom seeds have become evermore popular in the world of greenhouse gardeners. This seeds have not been engineered for a high yield, but instead are all about flavor.
