The Complete Guide to Building Your Own Greenhouse
Part-I: Introduction
1. What is a Greenhouse?
The Complete Guide to Building Your Own Greenhouse – Part-I: Introduction What is a Greenhouse? A greenhouse is a small house-shaped structure made of glass or plastic. It is designed to maintain optimum temperature and moisture inside it to help grow a wider variety of plants than the local climate will normally support and to protect them from any extreme weather.
Certain gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane and nitrous oxide do not allow heat to escape back into the atmosphere. This quality makes these gases popular in commercial greenhouses.
Greenhouse with Geraniums (Pelargonium sp)
All greenhouses function on the same principle; they store heat from the sun. The glass or plastic panels of greenhouse reduce the amount of heat escaping while allowing light to penetrate. This increases the temperature within the greenhouse and keeps your plants warmer in winter.
Lettuce seedlings grown in a greenhouse before planting
Greenhouses range from a small structure for keeping in your
terrace garden to as big as a city building. Their glass panels are grouped according to their transmission rate. The energy trapped within greenhouses heats up both soil and plants. They prevent or reduce infrared radiation, convection of gases and arrest electromagnetic radiation too.
Greenhouses are used for growing vegetables, fruits, flowers, and even crops like tobacco. You can grow flowers and vegetables in late winter in greenhouses, then transplant them outside in early spring.
These houses have meant an increase in artificial pollination although using bees is preferred when practical.
