Greenhouses and Other Equipment for Extending the Season

Part Fifteen of the Vegetable Patch from Scratch Series

My last post looked at some of the vegetables you may to choose to make an early start with. Sowing seeds in a warm, protected space can ensure you raise strong and healthy seedlings. These can be planted out into the garden when conditions become more favourable. Starting early may allow you to harvest summer crops over a longer period and extend your growing season. This post looks at some of the equipment you might consider investing in to assist you in making an early start.

What sort of greenhouse do I need?

The great news is that you don’t even need a greenhouse to make an early start.

I have two greenhouses and I hardly use them!

In Melbourne, a greenhouse is typically used from July through to October. In Kyneton you may get another month or two of use out of it. The rest of the time it will probably sit empty. Everything planted after October should be sown directly into the garden. If you have limited space, the greenhouse will be taking up some of that space for little reward.

Our greenhouse houses plants for only around six months of the year. The chickens make it their toasty warm hangout for the other half of the year.

I’ve tried growing crops of cucumbers and tomatoes in greenhouses over the summer so that the season is extended well into autumn. All that happens is that spider mites and fungal diseases run rampant. The plants are weakened and often die before the plants growing outside in the elements succumb to frost or cool weather. Instead of growing lush crops over the summer, your greenhouse will be full of scraggly, diseased or dead plants and a jumble of weeds. It’s going to look mighty unsightly!

If a greenhouse is an expensive investment likely to grow weeds for much of the year, what’s an alternative?