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Grenhouse growing has many advantages and greenhouses and polytunnels are ideal for protecting crops such as tomatoes and sweet peppers and getting the season off to a good start.
The advantages and Benefits of growing under cover.
A good way to avoid tomato blight - just keep well ventilated to avoid condensation - or use a greenhouse heater.
In an unheated greenhouse seed sowing may begin early March and seedlings planted out late April or early May. Fruit will be ready in July. These are UK dates.
In a heated greenhouse with minimum night temperatures of around 50-55F seed may be sown in early January and planted out the beginning of March. Fruit will be ready late May - early June.
Protection from wind, rain, cold temperatures, too much sun ... did I say too much sun! ... well seedlings at least need to be protected from a full day’s hot sun.
If it gets too hot in the greenhouse then cool-glass or other sun shading can be applied to the windows to keep the temperature down.
Greenhouses also give the gardener the opportunity to grow varieties that are used to warmer climates such as those from Southern European areas such as the Italian varieties.
Being able to extend the growing season, that is, start early and end later is another bonus of growing tomatoes in greenhouses.
Also, being able to grow more trusses and therefore have more tomatoes.
The disadvantages of growing in an enclosed area.
Problems with insects such as greenfly and whitefly. These may affect the growth of plants if allowed to get out of control.
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The greenhouse border can becomes infested with pests and soil borne diseases such as the wilts (V+F) which affect the roots of tomato plants. Avoid this by growing in grow bags or choose resistant varieties.
Aeration or air circulation is important in the greenhouse even when the temperature outside is cold because condensation can cause blight and other fungal diseases.
A heated greenhouse is of course expensive to run and poor light levels in the early spring mean that additional lighting may be necessary if you wish to avoid plants from becoming too leggy.
On The Other Hand...
Some of the above difficulties can be easily avoided and really apply to growing in larger greenhouses in late winter.
The protected growing conditions of a greenhouse mean that a successful crop is more likely - especially in a wet summer.
Cordon, tall varieties, are mainly grown in a greenhouse as their height can easily be supported.
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