Regardless of its smaller size, gardeners must learn how to maintain a mini greenhouse using regular check-up of conditions and cleaning and sanitation. These two simple tips are straightforward and easy to follow to ensure a useful greenhouse and thriving garden. If you maintain your mini greenhouse properly, you will notice a difference in your plants’ health.
Upon starting, you have probably learned the responsibilities for taking care of a mini greenhouse. But as time goes on, maintenance will dictate the greenhouse’s lifespan and productivity of the plants year-round. The good news is that the small size of a mini greenhouse makes maintenance more comfortable and quicker.
Therefore, you have no excuse to skip these responsibilities.
How To Maintain A Mini Greenhouse: Tips For New Gardeners
One of the things that new gardeners assume in maintaining the mini greenhouse is that it’s going to be difficult and costly. However, the difficulty of the tasks mentioned below depends on your passion for gardening itself. Do not be overwhelmed by the thoughts that come to mind as a newbie because you will find a technique that works to you as time goes on.
As for the expenses, a greenhouse is like a living and controlled environment. Therefore, even if it’s mini, you can expect some costs as time goes on. However, it’s possible to choose management practices that are more economical and even conserve energy.
Regular check-up of conditions
Temperature
One of the essential internal conditions is the temperature. Besides its effect on the plants, not checking and managing the temperature also affects the mini greenhouse materials’ longevity. You can save expenses and hassle later on by using a monitoring system, so you’ll know if you need to adjust the coldness or warmth inside.
This is why it’s crucial to plan everything, including the plants you’ll have in the greenhouse at the same time. You can ensure that they are in their optimal environment. Additionally, do not overlook the outdoor temperatures, so always refer to your state’s hardiness zone as a guide.
Lights
Did you know that lights also affect the temperature in the mini greenhouse? Some plants are sensitive to shine, so it’s crucial to choose the proper one for the mini greenhouse. You’ll also play a role in their maintenance because some crops will thrive in a specific spectrum that requires changing as they grow.
Ventilation
After temperature and lights, the following condition in your maintenance list is the ventilation of the mini greenhouse. Always check the vents and doors if they open successfully, and then adjust to the external climate accordingly. In some cases, you might need to add an airflow fan in the mini greenhouse to ensure proper circulation.
Watering system
An easy mistake that a gardener can do in the mini greenhouse is not checking its watering system. You don’t want to overwater your plants, and you want to avoid having drips that can damage the plants. It’s best to check if the water targets the soil and not the leaves of your plants.
Cleaning and sanitation
Cleaning and disinfection
The term maintenance of the greenhouse already puts cleaning and disinfection the first responsibilities to come to mind. This is also one of the tasks that you must do consistently to avoid problems later on. For example, not addressing the weed problems in the mini greenhouse early can then lead to pests and diseases.
Additionally, you must always maintain cleanliness and orderliness in the greenhouse. Since it’s smaller than a typical greenhouse, you can spot untidy areas or debris in some spots quickly. These may include fallen plant materials, spilled soil, or tools haphazardly arranged.
You want everything, including pots, to be clean thoroughly to avoid harboring pests and diseases. It’s even better to sanitize them with an oxygen bleach solution. As for an area with debris, you can use diatomaceous earth to treat it before leaving the mini greenhouse dormant.
Pest control
Besides proactiveness, regular disinfection of paraphernalia and checking of the greenhouse structure can help in pest control. Did you know that irrigation lines and holding tanks can encourage gnats because of algae?
To address this, use oxygen bleach to disinfect reservoirs and lines. On the other hand, the greenhouse structure itself, such as its wooden parts, can harbor spider mites, aphids, thrips, and whiteflies. You can also disinfect your mini greenhouse with an oxygen bleach solution and use vegetable-based horticultural oil on the wood to reach crevices that can serve as pest hideouts.
Lastly, practice good hygiene as your clothing and shoes can contribute to the contamination of pests and diseases.
Conclusion
The mini greenhouse is a small yet functional addition to your garden. But for it to serve its purpose at full potential, gardeners must know how to maintain a mini greenhouse correctly. It can get overwhelming for beginners to learn about these tasks and responsibilities, but the fruit of your labor, later on, will be tenfold.
You can think of mini greenhouse maintenance as a duty divided into check-up of conditions and cleaning and sanitation. Doing both of these tasks responsibly and consistently will prevent more significant problems later on. Besides, these things are easy to include in your daily schedule in the mini greenhouse.