If you have decided that a greenhouse is something you will need to ensure the survival of your outdoor plants over the winter months, then you will need certain essential greenhouse supplies as well. As portable and small efficient greenhouses are becoming more popular, more novice gardeners are able to set up their own greenhouses to keep certain outdoor plants from dying over the cold winter months. Unfortunately, along with the luxury of greenhouse gardening is the need for extra essential greenhouse supplies to make sure these plants will actually survive once inside the greenhouse.

Ventilation

The beauty of plants and flowers is that they are living, breathing plants that take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the environment. The downfall of this is that while they are housed in a greenhouse, they will need a way to breath in order to survive the winter months indoors. Unfortunately, many small greenhouses will not come equipped with proper ventilation systems, so either natural or power generated ventilation systems need to be installed. Natural systems simply be ridge or side vents installed in the greenhouse, while power generated systems are similar to a humidifier used in a home.

Grow Lights

Depending on the climate zone in which you will use a greenhouse, grow lights may be a necessity in the cold winter months. Grow lights are essential greenhouse supplies for almost every greenhouse simply because even the sunniest greenhouses will have shady spots that aren’t receiving adequate sunlight. Most grow lights are overhanging or even freestanding, looking similar to a tall lamp, and need electricity to run, which means running electricity into the greenhouse for a portion of the coldest winter months. This can be as simple as using an extension cord if the greenhouse is close enough to the house.

Heater

Essential [greenhouse]supplies such as a heater will depend on the climate zone and the type of plants that are being kept warm. Most coldframe greenhouses, those without the assistance of a heater, will only keep plants approximately 5-10 degrees above the outside temperature. Since most plants that are housed inside will need to remain at least 50-65 degrees Fahrenheit, if the temperature in your region drops below freezing, a heater is an essential greenhouse supply. While purchasing a separate space heater will work in keeping the temperature above 40-50 degrees, many gardeners also make a connection from their home heaters through tubing that would be similar to ventilation tubes in the home. Of course this will only work if the greenhouse is close enough to the home for such a tube.

Watering System

If you only have a few plants set up in a small greenhouse, then the easiest watering system will be manually watering the plants every few days. Of course if you have several greenhouse plants, then one of many essential greenhouse supplies will be investing in a misting system or a drip irrigation system that can automatically supply water to your greenhouse plants throughout the winter. Drip irrigation and misting systems work best because they give plants a gradual drink of water without soaking them. Because the heat and humidity levels are different in greenhouses, long slow drinks of water usually work better than a little bit every few days.

Do I need a greenhouse? Deciding is as simple as considering the climate zone in which you live and the number of warm weather plants you have in your landscape. Most people think of a greenhouse as a large transparent structure like those used by lawn and garden stores that would take up the majority of a normal sized backyard. This simply is not the case. There are a variety of do-it-yourself greenhouse kits now available that range from small 6 x 8 coldframe greenhouses to large 20 x 50 structures.

Of course these greenhouse kits range from extremely inexpensive plastic units that are easily collapsible after the winter is over to
greenhousesthat will need to be built and maintained year round. Before you delve into making a major purchase of a greenhouse simply because the winter is coming, it is best to determine whether you truly need a greenhouse at all.

What Climate Zone Do You Live In

One of the most important factors to take into consideration when deciding whether or not to purchase a greenhouse is the climate zone you will be living in. If you live in the northern or northeastern half of the country, then it is likely you may need a
[greenhouse] if you plan on maintaining warm weather plants throughout the winter. These are plants that generally need temperatures above 50-65 degrees in order to survive and usually include almost all vegetable plants.

If you live in an extremely cold weather climate zone where the weather does not reach over 65 degrees until late in the spring or early summer, then you will definitely want to consider at least a small greenhouse in order to get started with your seedlings and container planting. Remember that if you cannot get the plants into the ground until late April or early May, it may be near the end of the season before you see beautiful blooms or vegetables.

For those gardeners that only have a few plants that need to be brought into warmer weather, you may be able to get away with bringing the plants into a cooler, well-lit basement, or simply use greenhouse lighting inside the basement to help the plants survive the winter. Of course, if your basement is heated, then these plants may become too warm and will die in the basement. If this is the case, then you will want to look into a greenhouse.

Setting Up Your Greenhouse

Something important to consider before purchasing a greenhouse kit is whether you can accommodate the lighting, heating, ventilation and watering needs within the greenhouse. Depending on the range of plants you will be housing throughout the winter, some will need more heat, more light, more ventilation and more water than others. Almost all greenhouse kits come with plastic tarps that provide ventilation, but for added ventilation you will need to add ventilation windows that will be considerably more expensive.

A greenhouse known as a coldframe is one that does not need additional heating. A coldframe will remain only 5-10 degrees above the outside temperature and is used in areas where there is only a light frost. If you live in an area where the winter temperatures will fall far below freezing then heating the greenhouse will also need to be taken into consideration.

If you live in an area where there is a considerable amount of sunshine, you may be able to get away without grow lights, but if this is the case you probably don’t need a greenhouse in the first place. Most gardeners who are interested in greenhouse kits will also need to consider grow lights to help plants get adequate sunlight in the winter months.

The items that need to be considered for purchase with a greenhouse are essential in deciding whether it is worth the cost to house your plants over the winter months. For a gardener that has a yard full of warm weather plants they would like to keep for the following year, a greenhouse is essential, but for those gardeners with only one or two tropical plants, it may just be easier to replant come spring.