Greenhouse Gardening Like A Pro: How to Build a Greenhouse At Home and Grow Your Own Organic Vegetables, Fruits, Exotic Plants, & More

By Joan E. Hixson

Thinking about building a greenhouse in your backyard?
Want to know what kind of greenhouse is best for you?
What construction materials to use?
What features do you need?
What plants will you grow in your greenhouse and how?

"Greenhouse Gardening Like A Pro" will answer all of these questions and more. In this book I share my own greenhouse gardening experiences, tricks, & tips with you. This guide will walk you through the entire process of building your own greenhouse, ending with you having just the structure you need to meet all your gardening needs. You will also learn "green" construction and accessory alternatives that are environmentally friendly.

Here are just a few things you will learn in "Greenhouse Gardening Like A Pro":

- What kind of greenhouse do you need...
- What type of tools and materials do you need to build a successful greenhouse...
- How to select the location & determine the size for your greenhouse...
- How to equip your greenhouse with proper lighting, utilities, heating, ventilation, & plumbing...
- What fixtures do you need...

- How to properly water your greenhouse plants...

- How to successfully grow organic vegetables, fruits, annuals, exotic plants, and more in your greenhouse...

- And much more...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Living Plus Healthy Publishing
• Release date: Feb 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301817306

Book preview

Greenhouse Gardening Like A Pro

How to Build a Greenhouse At Home and Grow Your Own Organic Vegetables, Fruits, Exotic Plants, & More

Joan E. Hixson

Copyright© 2013 by Joan E. Hixson

Smashwords Edition

Greenhouse Gardening Like A Pro

Copyright© 2013. All Rights Reserved.

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LEGAL NOTICE

The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this book. While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional.

This book is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent professionals in the legal, business, accounting, and finance fields.

The information in this book is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content contained in this book is for general information purposes only. Always consult your healthcare provider before carrying on any health program.

Table of Contents

Introduction - A Brief History of Greenhouses

Chapter 1: Do You Need A Greenhouse?

Chapter 2: What Kind of Greenhouse Do You Need?

Location

Size

Construction Materials

Flooring

Glass or Polycarbonate?

Utilities

Chapter 3: What Features Do You Need?

The Door

Lighting

Shade

Ventilation

Heating

Plumbing

Chapter 4: What Fixtures Do You Need?

Chapter 5: What Will You Grow?

Vegetables

Annuals

Tropical & Exotic Plants

Chapter 6: Other Uses for the Greenhouse

Conclusion

Introduction - A Brief History of Greenhouses

Human beings have been farming for thousands of years. As far back as 10,000 years ago, in the Fertile Crescent of Western Asia, Egypt and India, humans began to till soil and plant crops upon which they relied for food, rather than relying upon whatever they could gather from seasonal bounty to keep them alive.

Early farming was very different from what we know today, even on the home-gardening level. Irrigation was unknown, fertilization was something that happened when livestock or wild animals wandered through a field, seed selection was rudimentary at best and the concept of rotating crops was unheard-of.

Farming was also completely dependent upon the weather. Fortunately for the early humans, ice core and other historical climactic data indicates that the Earth was in a warming phase at the time farming came into being. The two are quite possibly connected: Early humans noticed that food plants upon which they relied were more abundant, some smart cookie noticed that the seeds they spat out or left in their waste sprouted and grew, and figured out that gathering those seeds before they’d been eaten and planting them in a small plot would save a lot of time and wear and tear on their feet.

However, eventually winter would arrive. Even in parts of the world where winter doesn’t mean hard freezes, it does at the very least mean shorter periods of sunshine and lower ambient temperatures. Also, monsoons are a hazard in the Fertile Crescent, especially, which can destroy crops right at the moment they’re ready to be harvested.

Beyond farming, the growing of plants for beautification, enjoyment and hobby purposes is a far younger activity. The idea of spending valuable time and resources growing a plant that cannot be eaten would never have even crossed the minds of our ancestors, yet today there are millions of acres of fertile land covered with plants such as roses whose only purpose is decorative.

By and large, the decorative plants are even more susceptible to variations in climate than food crops. Many vegetables can endure a light frost, and food crops such as tomatoes actually thrive in the broiling heat of full summer, but hybrid tea roses such as those popular in Valentine’s Day bouquets will drop their blooms and go dormant at a harsh climactic glance.

The Roman Empire, source of such modern inventions as aqueducts, taxes