by Seedlings growing on our windowsills often suffer from poor lighting, become crooked, turn towards the sun, and stretch out from the heat. And if there is no longer enough space in the house for our “green pets”, then a greenhouse can help out! But it needs to be properly prepared.
If you have a spacious and bright veranda, a glazed balcony where all your seedlings fit, then you can take your time to take the plants out to the greenhouse, especially heat-loving crops. But if the house does not have suitable conditions for seedlings, and the greenhouse is located right on the site, then why not take advantage of this?
Why transfer seedlings to a greenhouse
There is a lot of light in the greenhouse, there are no pets that are always trying to get into the boxes with seedlings and get dirty, “taking part” in the picking. And it is much easier to work with plants there than in the house. Therefore, moving plants to the greenhouse has many “advantages”. Let’s consider them in order.
1. Ease of use
Summer residents who plant seedlings at home know how unpleasant it is to make a mess and then clean it up. If the seeds are sown directly into separate containers, this simplifies the task and there is much less dirty work. But if the seedlings are grown by picking, this causes a lot of trouble.
It’s a different story in a greenhouse! You’re not afraid of spilling water, you don’t have to put each container in a tray. And picking and transplanting seedlings turns into pleasure rather than torture. And if you need to treat seedlings from diseases and pests, you can use any product and not be afraid of harming the health of your household.
2. Free placement
How often do we, trying to fit as many seedlings as possible on the windowsill, thicken the crops! As a result, the seedlings grow thin, often suffer from root rot and other diseases, because the crops are not ventilated. And peppers and eggplants, which should grow in separate pots, we often sow in small cassettes or even in common boxes, because this way “more will fit”.
There is enough space in the greenhouse to place all the seedlings in separate containers. If there are too many seedlings, you can make shelves: put the plants that are more demanding of heat and light on top, and the less demanding ones or newly planted ones that require light shading on the bottom.
3. Good lighting
From the moment the cotyledon leaves appear, all seedlings should be evenly illuminated. For example, tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucumber, and zucchini seedlings need illumination within 15000-20000 Lx for 14-16 hours. At lower light intensity, plants stretch out, leaf blades turn pale, inflorescences are laid much higher than usual, and the number of leaves between inflorescences increases.
In the greenhouse, plants receive the necessary amount of light without using special lamps: already at the end of March, natural light is quite sufficient for the full development of plants. In bright sun, the temperature there will be higher, in cloudy weather – lower, that is, the temperature and lighting in the greenhouse are regulated naturally.
4. Hardening
Hardening off seedlings allows you to get strong, stress-resistant plants that can quickly take root after transplanting and will be less susceptible to diseases. The optimal temperature during the germination period of seeds of most garden crops is 23-26°C. But as soon as the first sprouts appear, the containers should be immediately transferred to a cooler and well-lit place for 7-10 days, otherwise the seedlings will quickly stretch out. It is especially important to observe this condition when growing cabbage, tomato, and celery seedlings.
A week after the emergence of shoots, the temperature is increased by several degrees. Many heat-loving crops can successfully grow at room temperature. And only cabbage needs cold. Seedlings of cruciferous crops develop well at a temperature of 6-8 ° C at night and up to 15 ° C during the day. Therefore, containers with cabbage crops can be taken out to an insulated balcony, veranda or placed in a greenhouse without any additional shelter.
Tomato seedlings in greenhouse conditions also grow stronger than at home, on the windowsill. It is especially important to take tall tomatoes to the greenhouse in time, which quickly stretch out and outgrow in home conditions. The optimal temperature for tomato seedlings is 12-14 ° C at night and 18-22 ° C during the day.
In sunny weather, even at low air temperatures, it is necessary to open the vents in the greenhouse every morning and close them in the evening to retain heat. Of course, automatic ventilation saves the situation if the devices work properly. But if there is no automatic ventilation and there is no one to open and close the vents, then it is better to take the seedlings out to the greenhouse at a time when there will be no frost at night, so that you can leave the windows open.
When can you take plants into the greenhouse?
The timing of the “movement” of seedlings to the greenhouse depends on the climatic conditions of the region, the tightness of the greenhouse and the ability to control the temperature there. In the middle zone, cabbage, celery, and onion seedlings can be placed in the greenhouse as early as March and left there without cover, if there is no frost.
But many summer residents transfer tomato seedlings to the greenhouse only on the eve of picking, in order to plant them in more spacious containers. And finally, there will be some free space on the home windowsills: you can sow cucumbers for seedlings, transplant peppers and eggplants from small cassettes and cups into larger pots.
It is better not to rush to transfer peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, pumpkins to the greenhouse if there is no possibility to heat it at night. The fact is that a large difference between day and night temperatures can cause root and basal rot. These delicate crops can be accustomed to new conditions only on the eve of planting in a permanent place, if the night temperature in the greenhouse is not less than 12 ° C.
Spring weather is very changeable, and even owners of reliable polycarbonate greenhouses need to be on the alert: if the forecast predicts night temperatures below 5°C, then you should prepare spunbond or film and put arcs over the boxes with seedlings to create additional shelter in the greenhouse at night. Or install a heater.
How to heat a greenhouse
If you plan to transfer seedlings to the greenhouse during the period when there are frosts at night, then it is worth thinking about how to organize heating of the “house for plants”. In private farmsteads, electric heating devices are most often used, as well as solid fuel stoves. When choosing a heating method, you need to consider the volume of the greenhouse and the needs of the crops that are there.
Solid fuel heating of a greenhouse is the most popular and cheapest option. In addition, it is quite easy to organize stove heating. Long-burning stoves that can be fired 1-2 times a day are best suited for a greenhouse. For example, when using Buran, Breneran, Vesuvius stoves, a full load of firewood is enough for 10-12 hours of burning. In sunny weather, even on frosty nights, it is enough to fire the stove only in the evening. And after the firewood burns, you will have ash – a valuable fertilizer.
In a greenhouse with electricity, using home heaters is the easiest way to maintain the optimum temperature, especially if it is not possible to light the stove every evening. These can be infrared heaters, convectors, fan heaters, oil radiators.
Infrared heaters They do not heat the air, but the soil and plants, like the sun. But the areas that are located directly under or in front of the heating device are warmed up best. These heating devices are the most efficient, since they use electricity quite economically.
Convectors work on the principle of natural heat exchange (convection): air heated by the heating element rises through the air ducts, and its place is taken by colder air. Warm and cold layers gradually mix in the space of the room.
Oil и ceramic heaters Many summer residents always have them at hand – these are the most popular heating devices. However, they heat greenhouses unevenly, and in the far corner of the greenhouse the air warms up weakly. Therefore, plants that are more demanding of heat can be placed closer to the heater, and more cold-resistant ones – moved further away.
To save electricity, it is best to install a heater with a built-in thermostat in the greenhouse. Or organize automatic switching on of the heater by connecting a thermostat from a heated floor to it. And if the temperature in the greenhouse begins to fall below the specified minimum (for example, below 12 ° C), the heater will turn on and the plants will not freeze.
Passionate gardeners who grow a large number of seedlings should take care to create suitable conditions in the greenhouse for placing plants and comfortable work with them. If the greenhouse has electricity and heating, it becomes more functional and can be used from early spring to late autumn.
