Winter Greenhouse December Update
I’ve now been growing vegetables and flowers in my unheated greenhouse for two months. This month I insulated the greenhouse with bubblewrap and am excited to see the pineapple, pansies, lettuce and carrots continue to grow. Every day I go out and check the plants and enjoy the atmosphere of my winter greenhouse.Then in the evenings I am reading new gardening books so I’ll be ready when the first hints of spring start to sneak in to the day.
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Winter Greenhouse December Update
This past month we had our first snow of the season. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make me realize I needed to find a way to insulate it just a bit more. I decided to add a layer of insulation with bubblewrap and duck tape.
Bubble Wrap Insulation
From my research, it seems that for each layer of insulation you move your growing zone down one level. This also creates an inch or so of air space between the greenhouse plastic and the bubble wrap and helps to keep the heat in from the daytime sun.
I tucked strips of bubble wrap in between each of the pipes and then used duck tape to help keep the wrap from dropping down on my head. At first I tried to use packing tape and realized that there was way too much moisture for it to stick. But the duck tape has worked great so far.
What’s Growing
My pansies are starting to thrive instead of just survive. I’m getting new blooms every few days!
The first batch of lettuce is growing!
My second new tray of lettuce is popping through!
The carrots are still growing and looking promising. At some point, I’ll need to thin them out but I’m not quite ready for that yet.
The celery is growing but the pineapple is pretty much a failure at this point.
What I’m Reading & Learning
I am growing some wild mint in the winter greenhouse and hoping it will take off but I don’t know alot about growing herbs. So one of the things I’m doing during these winter days to prepare for next year’s gardening season is to read and study new books on gardening techniques.
Complete Container Herb Gardening
In Complete Container Herb Gardening: Design and Grow Beautiful, Bountiful Herb-Filled Pots herbal guru and certified horticulturist Sue Goetz walks you through the ins and outs of growing these fragrant and flavorful plant treasures in containers.
Highlighted by gorgeous photography, Sue also presents over a dozen container “recipes” for mixing and matching your favorite herbs to create stunning and useful combinations. From the perfect culinary partnerships and natural aromatherapy combos to collections of herbs for natural beauty and chemical-free cleaning products, these herbal arrangements are no-fail and perfectly Instagram-worthy.
No Dig Gardening
With step-by-step instructions, you’ll discover how to build healthy, easy-to-plant garden soil by adding layers of organic matter using one of several different no-dig techniques. Whether you garden in a small, urban backyard or on several acres in the country, this simple approach lets you grow more food and blooms than ever before, and leave the gas-guzzling tiller behind forever. Plus, when you don’t disturb the soil, weed seeds stay buried deep where they can’t germinate and carbon is kept sequestered in the ground. No-dig gardening techniques reduces watering and leads to a healthy population of beneficial soil microbes that help feed your plants by breaking down organic matter and releasing nutrients.
What are you reading to help you prepare for your next gardening season? Do you have a winter greenhouse? Got any tips to help keep it warm and grow more vegetables and flowers? I’d love to hear!
