Hydroponic greenhouses have grown in popularity in recent years. Hydroponics is a gardening method that uses no soil mediums to grow plants. However, understanding the basics of hydroponics will help you decide if it is right for your greenhouse.
Of the many benefits of hydroponic gardening, and one of the most exciting for entrepreneurial growers, is higher crop yield. Hydroponic crops grow at a rate 30 percent to 50 percent faster than a soil plant under the same conditions.
Just because the weather gets colder, that doesn’t mean you have to go without fresh vegetables. With the help of hydroponic gardening, you can enjoy salads, cucumbers and tomatoes even though winter might traditionally dictate those crops are out of season.
Hydroponic gardening offers a unique growing experience, utilizing a soil-less technique that has been proven to increase yield and conserve water. Not only is this a practical approach to gardening, but also it’s an ancient one. Just think of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Floating Gardens of Ancient China.
Regardless of how long you’ve been a greenhouse gardener or the size of your operation, every grower still needs the same essentials to be successful. Of course, some of your necessary greenhouse supplies will be dictated by your local climate, your growing goals and even what you’re planting, but these basics will never go out of style.
Hydroponic gardening is just one more way you can maximize the use of your greenhouse space and try your hand at a different growing strategy. Simply put, hydroponic systems utilize mineral nutrient solutions in water—rather than the more traditional option of soil—to grow plants. Instead of drawing nutrients needed from the soil, the plants’ roots are suspended in, flooded or misted with a nutrient solution so they can grow
If you have been suppressing your interest in hydroponics out of fear or misunderstanding, it’s time to reach out and get help. At Gothic ArchGreenhouses, we are here to provide you with the tools and knowledge you will need to be a successful hydroponic gardener. Whether you are a hobby grower, a commercial grower, or a teaching facility, there are good reasons you should be growing hydroponically.
Nutritious fresh lettuce can be grown in a greenhouse all year-round. Most lettuce varieties prefers cool weather and may develop spindly growth in conditions with a higher temperature range. The time from planting to harvesting ranges anywhere from 5-6 weeks out to 15 weeks, depending on the variety of lettuce that is grown. Each growing season has particular varieties of lettuces that are better suited to each season. In winter, the varieties are the slowest to grow but tend to be hardy and can survive a light frost. Warmer weather varieties will more than likely require some form of ventilation to keep leaf temperatures cool. Following are some basic steps to help you successfully grow lettuce all year long in a greenhouse. A)Germinate lettuce by sowing the seeds ¼ to ½ inch deep in a fine germination soil mix. Provide sun or artificial light and maintain a cool temperature setting of approx. 60 to 65 degrees to ensure a high percentage rate of germination.
You’re on the right track if you’ve been thinking about starting a garden to grow your own vegetables for family and friends, but lack the yard space and are overwhelmed by bugs and vermin, and by extremes of unpredictable weather conditions. If faced with these challenges, you may want to consider an investment in a quality environmentally controlled Gothic Arch Greenhouse and a hydroponic or aquaponic food production system to ensure a sustainable year around supply of fresh nutritious vegetables and fish.
Successful strawberry production can be easily done using hydroponics (the science of growing plants in soil-less material) in the controlled environment of a Gothic Arch Greenhouse…providing you with berries year-round…protected from birds and other animals. Growing berries with hydroponics can be challenging, yet rewarding as it can be adapted to almost any growing environment. The ideal environment to protect from weather would be inside a quality build Gothic Arch Greenhouse with the use of artificial lighting during the winter months.
