How A Greenhouse Can Help You Reach Your Gardening Goals

By Victoria Fuller

Living in the great white north certainly has its perks, but the length of our growing season is undeniably not one of them. Here in Southern Ontario we are lucky to get five months of outdoor gardening (May, June, July, August, and September) however at the time of writing this blog post it is approximately 11 degrees celsius (52 degrees farenheit) and the last two mornings we were greeted with a ground frost outside.

Now as North Americans we are used to unpredictable weather and this is nothing new, however it can really throw a spanner in the works when it comes to planning our gardens. Even with a raised garden bed ground frosts can do serious damage to most plants so we have had to think outside the (planter) box to develop a plan so that we can keep our plants healthy and strong and maybe squeeze an extra month or two out of the garden season.

This brings us to the solution: Greenhouses!

When we say Greenhouses, the first thought is often of a solid glass structure not unlike the images featured throughout this blog post, and although these are obviously the best case scenario we also understand that not everybody has the square footage or the budget to effectively have a plant-dedicated home on their property. So that brings us to “Miniature Greenhouses”. These are readily available from most outdoor retailers (Home Depot, WalMart, Amazon, the list is truly endless) and they vary in price starting at just $39.99 for options similar to this little fellow:

At their core, the primary purpose of a Greenhouse is to shield plants from pests and the elements, and to provide a barrier from excess heat or cold and thus extending the growing season. Being a Canadian company this simply makes sense for us here at Cedar Planters, and we truly feel that a Greenhouse may be the solution for you as well if like us you have been sitting staring out the window since October just waiting for the chance to plant the cilantro that you grew in your garage under a heat-lamp in your lovely raised garden bed (a specific example but a valid one nonetheless!).

Greenhouses are also fantastic for those of us who thrive on organization! Having separate shelves and tiers for all of the various flowers, herbs, and vegetables that you are growing can be an excellent and easy way to monitor your progress and quickly see which of your botanical friends requires the most care and attention!

In conclusion, we feel that a Greenhouse would be an inexpensive and effective addition to your garden and we hope that this post has inspired you to start gardening (even if the weather still isn’t quite playing ball where you live!).