blog, gardening, greenhouse, Uncategorized

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Getting Ready for Gardening with a Greenhouse: Your Ultimate Guide!

Getting Ready for Gardening with a Greenhouse: Your Ultimate Guide!

Gardening enthusiasts often face the challenge of growing plants in unfavorable weather conditions or limited space. Thankfully, the solution lies in setting up a greenhouse—a controlled environment that allows you to extend your gardening season and cultivate a wide variety of plants. Outdoor Living Today offers a range of high-quality greenhouses that can enhance your gardening experience.

In this blog post, we will guide you through the essential steps to get ready for gardening with a greenhouse, with a special focus on incorporating Outdoor Living Today’s greenhouses into the process. Prepare to create an optimal environment for healthy and thriving plants with the help of Outdoor Living Today’s exceptional products.

1. Selecting the Right Greenhouse

Choosing the perfect greenhouse from Outdoor Living Today’s selection is the first step. Consider the available space, budget, and the types of plants you wish to grow. Outdoor Living Today offers various sizes and styles to suit your needs from our 8×8, and 8×12 Cedar Greenhouses, to the less traditional, and more modern Sunshed Models which are available in 8×8, 8×12, 12×12, and 12×16 sizes.

2. Site Selection and Preparation

Identifying the ideal location for your Outdoor Living Today Greenhouse is crucial. Select a spot that receives maximum sunlight throughout the day, preferably facing south. Clear the area of any debris or obstacles that may hinder construction or plant growth. Ensure a level foundation and consider installing a weed barrier to prevent unwanted vegetation from encroaching on your greenhouse space.

3. Sustainability 

Western Red Cedar is a sustainable choice. It is harvested from responsibly managed forests in Canada and the United States, which means that the production process has a lower environmental impact than other materials. This is because the forests are carefully monitored and replanted, ensuring that the ecosystem is protected for future generations.

4. Climate Control and Ventilation

Maintaining optimal temperature and ventilation is vital for successful greenhouse gardening. Outdoor Living Today’s greenhouses are designed with ventilation features, such as adjustable roof vents, allowing you to regulate temperature and humidity levels.  Adequate airflow helps prevent disease, mold, and pests while ensuring optimal plant growth.

5. Irrigation and Water Management

A reliable watering system is essential to keep your plants adequately hydrated. Consider installing a drip irrigation system or misting nozzles to deliver consistent moisture. Regularly monitor water levels and adjust irrigation accordingly. Rainwater collection systems, such as rain barrel kits, also offer eco-friendly and cost-effective alternatives to conventional water sources. Proper drainage is equally important to prevent excess moisture, which can lead to root rot or fungal diseases for your plants.

6. Soil and Plant Selection

Choosing the right soil and plants is crucial for greenhouse gardening success. Ensure your Outdoor Living Today greenhouse has good-quality, well-draining soil enriched with organic matter. Conduct soil tests periodically to monitor nutrient levels and pH balance. Select plants suited to the greenhouse environment, considering temperature, humidity, and light requirements. Start seeds indoors and transplant them when they are ready. Alternatively, Outdoor Living Today’s greenhouses can accommodate young plants purchased from nurseries for faster results.

Conclusion

By incorporating Outdoor Living Today’s exceptional greenhouses into your gardening endeavors, you can elevate your greenhouse gardening experience. Follow the essential steps outlined in this guide to prepare for gardening with a greenhouse, while utilizing the features and benefits offered by Outdoor Living Today’s quality products. With careful planning, proper site selection, climate control, irrigation management, and thoughtful plant choices, your Outdoor Living Today greenhouse will become a haven for healthy and flourishing plants, providing you with year-round gardening enjoyment. Happy gardening with Outdoor Living Today!

Birgit Haehnel scaled

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gardening, greenhouse, How to

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Spring Gardening Tips

spring gardening tips Spring is the ideal time to start gardening. However, the garden needs to be prepared for planting after the cold winter. Before you start planting flowering plants and working in your vegetable and fruit garden, complete these essential spring gardening chores to ensure that your garden flourishes.

Spring Gardening Essentials

Clear Up Flower Beds and Borders

Before you can plant new seedlings, clear up the flower beds and borders. Remove dried leaves and other debris from all over the garden and pond. This is the time to trim old and dead branches of perennials as well. You can also retain an arborist to trim back trees and shrubs.

Clean the Greenhouse

The next step is to clean the greenhouse completely. Wash the outside and inside and apply a disinfectant on all surfaces after removing any insects, mold, and fungus that have established themselves over the winter. Wash the potting benches and seedling trays, clean and paint pots, and paint the greenhouse if it needs a fresh coat of paint.

Fix Fences, Gates, Trellis

As part of your spring gardening activities, you also need to clean and examine other garden fixtures such as fences, gates, and trellis. If your garden has furniture that was left outdoors in the winter, these need to be cleaned and painted as well. If you have stored the garden furniture indoors, bring them out and place them in the garden. You might need to mend broken fences and paint the trellis if it has been affected by the winter weather. Similarly, if you have a playhouse, tree house, pergola, or arbor in your garden, these need to be cleaned, disinfected, mended, and painted. Check these structures for mold, fungus, and insects and remove them before they take over the structure. Wash the outside and interiors of the structures.

Bird Feeders and Bird Baths

Another set of garden fixtures that bear the brunt of winter weather are bird feeders and baths. These need to be cleaned, disinfected, and painted if necessary. Test the bird bath to ensure that it does not leak. Once the weather turns mild enough for the birds to return, you will be in a position to fill the feeder and bath, adding bird song to your garden.

Eliminate Garden Pests

The time before spring planting is ideal for hunting down and eliminating garden pests. This will save you plenty of time and effort later on as your garden will be relatively pest free during the growing season.

Soil Test

Another must-do activity before spring planting is a soil test that will help you determine the right fertilizers to apply. You should also add mulch to the empty flower beds and bald patches of soil, to enhance the soil quality.

Compost Pit

Build or start a compost pit and use the garden debris and trimmings you have collected to prepare mulch.

Start Seedlings for Long Growing Plants

Even if the weather is still too cold to plant outdoors, you should be preparing the seeding trays for plants that need to grow for a longer period of time. The seedlings will be ready for planting once the weather becomes milder.

Water Butts

If your garden does not already have water butts, now is a salient time to install them. If the water butts were moved indoors during the winter, bring them out and place them in locations where they can catch rain water during spring precipitation. This move will help save the environment, reduce your water bill, and ensure healthier plants thrive on and live off rain water.

Spring Gardening Tools

Once the weather is appropriate for planting you will be busy in the garden, digging, planting, and so on. Before that, clean and inspect all of your gardening tools, sharpen and repair broken tools, and order any new ones that you will need.

Plan Your Garden

You should also take the time to plan your garden, decide which flowers you want in the flower beds and which vegetables and fruits you plan to grow this spring. With this decided, you will be in a position to order the seeds or seedlings you require and ensure that they are on hand the weekend you decide to plant them. While the actual planting of the garden can start only after the weather is conducive, you can begin work on the garden and prepare it for the spring planting just as the weather becomes warmer. This will give you a head start on your spring gardening; giving you time to ensure that the plants thrive by the time summer is on its way. By checking the soil, tools, and garden structures, and preparing seedlings ahead of time, you will soon have a colorful garden that truly heralds spring in your neighborhood. A little bit of planning will help your gardening efforts go more smoothly as you will have the tools and seeds you need when you are ready to plant.
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greenhouse

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Top 10 Reasons for Having a Greenhouse

owning a greenhouse There are many reasons why having a greenhouse is an excellent idea. When you have one, you can turn your gardening hobby into a full-time passion. Whether you have many hours to spend or just a few minutes a day, having a greenhouse is great for anyone who loves plants. There are certain questions that pop up when considering a greenhouse: What are the benefits of having a greenhouse? Is it expensive? Could I make good use of it? Do I have the space? You will get the answer to these questions when you build a greenhouse as you will see that it offers numerous benefits that you will always be thankful for.

Benefits of Having a Greenhouse

Here are 10 great reasons why you should definitely have a greenhouse on your property:
  1. Multiple Purposes: One of the best things about owning a greenhouse is that you can use it for a variety of things. You can grow fresh organic vegetables, flowers, bulb plants, house plants, exotic plants and all types of seedlings. You can change what you grow in it every year or grow a mix of things. You can grow different plants at the same time if you choose to. You have the freedom to choose what you want to use your greenhouse for. No matter what you want to plant and grow, you can do it in a greenhouse.
  2. All-in-One Gardening Place: When you have a greenhouse, you have a designated spot for everything involved in gardening. You do not need to build a garden shed. You can not only grow vegetables, flowers and other plants, but store all your gardening tools and equipment, accessories, and supplies as well.
  3. Consistent Gardening: When you have a greenhouse, you can evade and ignore all weather conditions and season changes throughout the year. Excessive rains, extreme temperatures, or long droughts will not cause any serious problems for the plants that you grow in your greenhouse. You acquire the flexibility you need to go ahead with any form of gardening.
  4. Plant Protection: By planting your plants inside a greenhouse, you give them protection against problems such as rough weather and serious infestation of seasonal pests like tent caterpillars, locust swarms, spider mites, and many more. You can make sure that your plants are healthy and happy all year round.
  5. Optimum Environment: Whether it is herbs or vegetables you grow, if you are a long-time gardener, you will know that plants love environments that are warm and humid. You can use the greenhouse gardening method and place your plants in a growing environment that enhances their growth. The main purpose of a greenhouse is securing a reasonable amount of heat and water vapors so that warmth and humidity is maintained within the greenhouse.
  6. All- Season Garden: Many gardeners face one common problem and that is not being able to plant certain seeds because of an unsuitable season. When you own a greenhouse, you do not need to worry about this. You have control over the temperature of the garden with a greenhouse and you can start planting seasonal plants earlier than others or delay it.
  7. Great Garden Design: Like gazebos and pergolas, you can obtain a wonderful greenhouse design that suits your landscape perfectly. You do not have to worry about landscape design as there are greenhouse designs of different sizes and shapes. You can attain a beautiful garden design with a profound greenhouse laid across your garden. Like these other structures, you can create a space that has a purpose and adds visual appeal to your outdoor area at the same time.
  8. Save Money: You can easily spend a fortune on plants every spring, but still wish for more flowers to fill in your garden even after spending all that money. When you have a greenhouse, you can grow as many seeds as you want and most times, you will have more than enough greenhouse plants to give away to others. This means that you can save a lot of money on plants.
  9. Fuss-Free Customizations: If you prefer to have a greenhouse that is unique to others that you have seen or have specific requirements for your plants, you do not have to stress as customizing greenhouses is easy. In fact, building your own greenhouse is easier than building a patio deck or pond. You can easily customize the placement of plants, number of doors, size, position of the storage area, and more.
  10. Greenhouses are Healthy: Owning a greenhouse is good for your health. Being outdoors with nature is a fantastic way to escape from all the stresses you have. In fact, greenhouses with diffused lighting can help in alleviating Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. It is just the thing you need to lift your spirits when you are feeling down.
A greenhouse requires you to make an initial investment, but the money you spend is well worth it in the long run. With so many benefits, you can see why owning a greenhouse is a judicious idea.
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