When greenhouse plants finally stop bearing fruit, gardeners often simply uproot them and prepare the greenhouse for winter rest. But in vain - before the onset of real cold weather, you can still successfully grow a lot of useful things in an empty place!
We have already talked about using a greenhouse in winter - greens, strawberries, and vegetables can be grown in it even in the coldest months, but, of course, only if you have a well-established heating and lighting system.
However, even if you have an ordinary unheated greenhouse, do not rush to preserve it for the winter immediately after harvesting greenhouse crops for spring and early summer sowing. With sufficient skill and knowledge, a covered structure on your garden plot will allow you to grow another crop in the season in the same beds without installing additional equipment.
How to prepare soil in a greenhouse in the fall
To begin, thoroughly clean the soil of roots, remnants of the upper parts of plants, seeds and pest larvae. Of course, general general cleaning of the greenhouse will also be required. Treat or completely renovate disease-infested areas as necessary. Next, you need to prepare the soil - loosen it, apply fertilizer, take care of lighting and insulation of the beds for growing in a greenhouse in winter. Check the reliability of the frame, strengthen weak beams and connections. The structure must withstand even in the event of strong winds or heavy snowfall.
Growing greens in a greenhouse in winter
It is most convenient to grow greens in a winter greenhouse in boxes on shelves. Plants do not take up much space, it is convenient to harvest portions, and over time you will learn to further compact the crops, increasing the yield from each box.
Bow on feather
One of the most popular and useful plants that can withstand winter weather is onions.
Before planting, the onions sorted by size need to be trimmed and soaked a little in warm water. Then we immediately plant it in the ground at a short distance and deepen it. Onions are not picky about soil: if the soil is initially of good quality, it does not need to be fed. Special lighting is also not required, natural lighting is sufficient.
Salad
Planting lettuce in a greenhouse differs depending on the type of plant.
Leaf lettuce is sown in a 6x6 pattern or in rows with intervals of 10 cm. This distance is sufficient for the development of leaves, and they will not crowd each other.
Head lettuce is sown with seeds or seedlings according to the same principle as leaf lettuce, but with a larger distance between rows - 20-25 cm.
You can also plant ready-made seedlings in the greenhouse. This method is chosen if the greenhouse is not heated, and you want to get the first harvest in the spring.
Dill
Dill is an undemanding crop in terms of growing conditions. It grows well both between the rows of main crops and separately in containers and boxes. The culture is cold-resistant, so it can be placed closer to the doors of the greenhouse. The main thing is to maintain the temperature around 15-18°C. Additional lighting is required only when placing containers with plants on racks on the lower shaded shelves.
Parsley
Parsley has a long pre-emergence period from 30 to 45 days. To reduce it, it is recommended to sow seeds that have been previously germinated for 5 days in damp gauze. On the 10th day, seeds sprouted in the soil are transferred to a room with a temperature of +1 °C. This hardening off procedure increases the growth of greenery three times compared to conventional sowing.
Over the winter, up to 5 harvests of parsley can be harvested in a greenhouse.
Planting dill, parsley and lettuce before winter
After the radishes, we make grooves for lettuce, parsley and dill. We place them in 0.5 cm increments in a row. The depth of embedding is only 1-2 cm. By analogy, we sprinkle them with soil on top (level them), without additional mulching.
In this state we send the greenhouse into the winter. There is no need to throw snow on top. By the end of April next year you will harvest winter crops
and then you can begin the traditional planting of seedlings of cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers.
© Ilya Vladimirovich | 2018-10-14 He's also a gardener
Growing vegetables in winter in a greenhouse
Compared to greens, growing vegetables in a greenhouse in winter is a much more complex process, since fruit-bearing plants are more demanding in terms of lighting and proper care. However, there are crops whose varieties do well when grown in a greenhouse in winter.
Tomatoes
In order for tomatoes to grow and bear fruit well in a greenhouse in winter, the following conditions must be met:
- The air temperature should reach +25, and the soil should warm up to +20.
- Watering the plants is carried out when the soil is almost dry, in the first half of the day, so that condensation does not accumulate.
- Before fruiting begins, be sure to remove excess leaves every week.
Chilli
Chili peppers grow well in greenhouses at temperatures around 16-18°C. The plant should be located in a well-lit area; additional illumination with phytolamps is recommended. Tall plants should be staked. Fertilizing is carried out weekly after the fruits appear and before harvesting.
cucumbers
Cucumbers are a heat-loving crop that does not tolerate dry air. Therefore, these vegetables grow best in winter greenhouses heated using a water heating system. In this case, the air will not need to be additionally humidified and the plant leaves will not need to be sprayed.
Suitable cucumber varieties for winter cultivation should be shade-tolerant, parthenocarpic, and resistant to infections and diseases. It is also good to choose varieties with a genetic predisposition to sparse branching.
Microgreen
Many gardeners believe that only crops that usually grow in open ground can be grown in a winter greenhouse, and therefore completely forget about microgreens. Microgreens are no different from conventional plants in terms of taste and beneficial properties. You can grow radishes, arugula, mustard, red cabbage and cilantro in pots all winter long.
Ginger
Ginger also grows well in a greenhouse, although it is recommended to equip a terrarium for it with a height of 60 cm. In containers with ginger, you need to make many holes through which excess water will drain. The plant also needs to be illuminated with phytolamps for up to 16 hours a day.
LiveInternetLiveInternet
What can be planted in a greenhouse after harvesting?
When greenhouse plants finally stop bearing fruit, gardeners often simply uproot them and prepare the greenhouse for winter rest. But in vain - before the onset of real cold weather, you can still successfully grow a lot of useful things in an empty place!
We have already talked about using a greenhouse in winter - greens, strawberries, and vegetables can be grown in it even in the coldest months, but, of course, only if you have a well-established heating and lighting system.
However, even if you have an ordinary unheated greenhouse, do not rush to preserve it for the winter immediately after harvesting greenhouse crops for spring and early summer sowing. With sufficient skill and knowledge, a covered structure on your garden plot will allow you to grow another crop in the season in the same beds without installing additional equipment.
Crop rotation in a greenhouse
Many people begin harvesting in a greenhouse already in July - it all depends on the selected varieties of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers or cucumbers. So by August, and even more so by September, most gardeners have large areas freed up, on which the hand just reaches out to plant something like that. Plant? Certainly! It is still quite warm outside, the daylight hours are long enough, and some crops with a short ripening period will have time to ripen in place of the harvested ones.
However, do not rush to plant the first early-ripening plants you come across on empty greenhouse beds; remember the requirements of different crops for soil and growing conditions and the rules of crop rotation, the science of competent alternation of plants on a site. It is the observance of these same rules that will help to significantly increase the return from the use of the site without significant investments, improve the health of the soil and allow its resources to be spent more rationally.
For example, there is a rule that the most “gluttonous” crop is grown in the garden bed first, and then plants with less need for nutrients, not forgetting to regularly fertilize the area or improve its health with green manure.
It is impossible to plant the same bed with the same crop for several years in a row, especially with a high need for microelements. In this case, there is a high probability of depleting the soil - because year after year, plants will take from it the same nutrients suitable for them. In addition, the predecessor will almost certainly leave his successor a “legacy” of pathogens of certain diseases, which season after season will accumulate and flourish in one place and on one crop.
You shouldn’t thoughtlessly alternate crops only on the principle of the most distant relationship - they may have completely different requirements for growing conditions (acidity and composition of microelements of the soil, light, groundwater level, etc.), and the successor simply will not take root in the wrong one. garden bed
And it is the rules of crop rotation that will allow you to correctly select the next crop, taking into account what grew in the greenhouse before.
Most often, in our conditions, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are grown en masse in a greenhouse. What can be planted to replace them in August and September (and sometimes even in warm October) so as not to violate the rules of crop rotation?
We bring to your attention tables of predecessors and successors in greenhouse beds, taking into account all of the above.
| Tomatoes | |
| Good followers | Onions, garlic, green manure, carrots, cabbage, beans, peas, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin |
| Neutral followers | Beetroot, greens |
| Bad Followers | Potatoes, peppers, eggplants |
| Cucumbers, zucchini | |
| Good followers | Onions, green manure, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, carrots, radishes, corn |
| Neutral followers | Beetroot, greens |
| Bad Followers | Cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin, melons, cabbage |
| Eggplant, pepper | |
| Good followers | Onions, garlic, green manure, beans, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, melons |
| Neutral followers | Beetroot, greens |
| Bad Followers | Potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkin |
But, of course, not all of these crops will have time to ripen before the cold weather, being planted in the second phase in the greenhouse. What will happen?
What to plant in a greenhouse in August and September
As we can see from the previous table, after harvesting in the greenhouse, after almost each of the main crops, you can plant early-ripening and not very demanding onions and garlic, greens, green manure, as well as some root vegetables (for example, radishes). Let's take a closer look at the conditions for growing them in an autumn greenhouse.
Onion garlic
Onions and garlic on a feather are always a fail-safe option if you have empty beds. These crops are unpretentious, cold-resistant, and early in maturity. And if you lightly fertilize the soil in the greenhouse before planting them, the plants will certainly delight you with quick, friendly, vitamin-rich shoots - under good conditions, you will harvest your first harvest in 25-30 days.
To force onions to harvest, they use species with a very short dormant period or without one at all (they are ready for the formation of a new crop immediately after harvesting) - multi-tiered, batun, chives, slug.
Salads, spinach, arugula, chard, rhubarb
Various types of lettuce and spinach, as well as arugula, chard, and rhubarb grow extremely quickly, are not afraid of cool weather, do not require a lot of light from nature, and a lot of care from the gardener. Plantings will only need to be regularly thinned, loosened and watered.
All these leafy greens are harvested by cutting off the large peripheral leaves and leaving the young ones to grow. The main thing is to choose early-ripening varieties that will fully ripen by the end of the second or third week after sowing. That is, with a successful combination of circumstances, some of these crops will have even more than one harvest before the real cold snap.
Radish, radish
Autumn radishes are the next unpretentious find for zealous gardeners. It can easily be grown in a greenhouse after the first harvest. The root crops of some of its early ripening varieties are fully formed within 2-3 weeks after the appearance of the first shoots.
The only requirements for radishes are sufficient lighting and regular watering. Even in the abundance of fertilizing he has no urgent need. Just remember that when growing radishes at any time of the year, you cannot add manure to the soil. In general, any nitrogen fertilizers can contribute to the formation of voids in the middle of the root crop.
Radishes planted in vacated beds (especially after cucumbers) will also feel good and have time to grow well. Moreover, you can plant almost any variety of it in a greenhouse at the beginning of autumn - black Russian radish, daikon (Chinese) radish.
Dill, basil, parsley, coriander, fennel
Various herbs will also be an excellent replacement for the main crops in the greenhouse at the very end of summer and in the first month of autumn. Certain early-ripening varieties of plants such as dill, basil, parsley, coriander or fennel will be ready for consumption within 20-40 days after sowing (especially if they are planted in fertilized loose soil with stratified germinated seeds, watered in time and protected from drafts).
The most capricious crop of the above is parsley. It requires good lighting, moderate watering and a certain thermal regime (not lower than 10°C and not higher than 18°C), otherwise it will turn yellow and wither en masse.
Green manure plants Planting in a greenhouse after the main green manure crop is another great option to use the empty space of the beds to benefit.
The fact is that these helper plants with a powerful root system and rapidly developing green mass are biological fertilizers, restoring soil fertility naturally. They are sown either in a free plot in the garden, or in the fall after harvesting the main crops. Before the onset of frost, the lush green mass that has grown 15-25 cm is cut off and buried in the ground without digging it up (this does not apply to winter green manure, which is left to grow until spring). This allows you to enrich the soil with valuable nitrogen, loosens it, inhibits the growth of weeds, and prevents the spread of bacterial and fungal diseases. In addition, you will not have to spend a lot of time caring for the new “tenants” of the greenhouse.
Among the most common green manures are:
- cereals (oats, barley, millet, timothy, ryegrass, fescue, wheatgrass);
- cruciferous vegetables (mustard, rapeseed, rapeseed, oilseed radish);
- legumes (lupine, peas, alfalfa, beans, clover);
- borage (phacelia);
- asteraceae (marigolds), etc.
Which ones are suitable for autumn planting in a greenhouse? Almost everything - in early autumn, legumes, buckwheat, rapeseed, mustard, radish, and rape are sown as green manure; just before winter you can sow radishes, mustard, rapeseed, phacelia, lupine, clover, and winter cereals.
Just before you sow an empty bed with green manure, decide what plants you will grow on it next season, because... The main crop and the green manure predecessor should not be representatives of the same family. source
Source
Tips for winter care of plantings
Greens and vegetables in a greenhouse get sick in winter due to lack of moisture, oxygen and incorrect temperature conditions. Therefore, it is important to monitor these indicators and prevent failures in the heating system.
During the period of fruit ripening, it is recommended to gradually remove the lower leaves of the plants, this way it will receive more light.
Using an unheated greenhouse
An unheated or cold greenhouse is a structure insulated with polycarbonate, to which no additional heat sources are connected. In winter, the temperature in such greenhouses is about 15°C, depending on the region and the number of sunny days. These conditions are sufficient for growing some crops, as well as for preparing early seedlings.
Advantages of an unheated greenhouse
The advantages of growing vegetables in winter in a greenhouse without heating include, first of all, the cost of maintenance in relation to the excellent quality of the harvest of strong plants, hardened by weather conditions. Budget savings on heating and consumables are decisive when choosing this type of building.
Autumn planting in the garden
Planting ornamental and fruit trees and shrubs
Can be planted until the end of October - beginning of November. It is ideal to end the planting season a month before the onset of frost. Seedlings that you did not have time to plant before the onset of frost can be sent to the graveyard.
What is prikop>>>
Sowing trees and shrubs
It may sound strange, but who didn’t bury chestnuts in the yard as a child? And they sprouted in the spring! All plants reproduce by seeds, and you can sow not only summer plants, but also trees. Experts use this method to obtain new varieties. And you too can try your hand at this.
You can plant: rose hips, mock orange, thuja, horse chestnut, ash, birch, hazel.
chestnut, oak and maple seedlings
Read more about garden from seeds>>>
They actively reproduce by self-sowing: mock orange (garden jasmine), currants, fruit grapes, ash maple, larch, pine.
It is very interesting that mock oranges are developing very quickly. Self-sowing garden jasmine can be found in the garden near the bush in August-September and transferred to any other place in the garden. In a couple of years you will already have a nice bush of your own.
