Using a Greenhouse for Year Round Hydroponic Gardening

A greenhouse is a great thing both for hydroponic gardeners as well as those who grow in soil. A greenhouse has the same advantages for either, generally speaking. For hydroponic gardening, a greenhouse is perfect to allow control over airflow, temperature, and light.

Strawberries, peas and Welsh onions are a few of the plants that thrive when grown within the confines of a hydroponic greenhouse. Orchids and other flowers will thrive well inside a greenhouse garden.

Hydroponic gardeners find controlling light to be particularly challenging. Growth of algae can become a problem since the plant is in water instead of soil. To solve this, you can control how much light reaches the water, something that is simple to do in a greenhouse.

Obviously, just like plants which are grown in soil, plants grown hydroponically also need plenty of light. Greenhouses do not have more light for growing than you would find outside. Inside the greenhouse, the air is warmer and the light is distributed more evenly due to the light being diffused and filtered. The plants will be given enough sunlight while they are kept safe from the damage that cold weather can cause.

Northern climates in winter will have low temperatures of course, but they do get several hours of full sun per day. A greenhouse wall made from translucent polycarbonate can keep the interior of a greenhouse at 100 degrees Fahrenheit even when it is 15 degrees outside!

Like plants grown in soil, hydroponically grown plants require a constant temperature and installing vents and/or fans in your greenhouse can keep it from getting to hot.

Using a greenhouse lets you make the best of your gardening opportunities. If you don't have a greenhouse, then your only choice may be inside your home – something which is not a possibility for everyone.

Growing plants in the home inhibits the ability to create sufficient light and watering systems for them. Very rarely do homeowners have the room to run irrigation systems, or install LED grow light panels or metal halide lights just for their vegetables.

With a greenhouse, the systems can be moved where they are best for the plants, making gardening easier for you. This is especially important for hydroponic gardeners, since the water and light are far more important than in soil gardening – a soil garden is typically much better at being self-regulated in this regard.

It is also easier to set up a feeding system in a greenhouse, something which is very important for hydroponically grown plants. Plants will gain most of the nutrients they need easily when they are planted in good soil. Conversly, the keeper of a hydroponic garden must account for the delivery of all of these nutrients by other means.

Also to be considered, are the pH levels. The pH can shift much more easily in a hydroponic setting. When growing in water, acid and alkaline levels can shift rapidly. However, in a hydroponic garden a gardener can more easily set up automatic pH controls.

You can build your own greenhouse or buy one which is pre-assembled. These are a great investment for anyone interested in indoor hydroponic gardening. There are a variety of sizes, with modules that allow it to expand as your garden does.