I have heard numerous times that greenhouses are useless, they only bring additional spending and problems. Some of my friends have already demolished their greenhouses, why, I, myself, have done that once! The argument was very simple - the "vegetable patch" yields the same or even larger harvest and fruit (tomatoes in particular) have a better taste. So what if they ripen a week earlier. Is all of this trouble worth this one week?! Besides, plants in greenhouses are more prone to catch diseases or suffer from pests. For example, the red spider and plant louse in hot weather can destroy all cucumber and pepper leaves in time of few days.
So, what's the deal? Why to some greenhouses bring income, harvest and joy, but we receive only stress and problems? Let’s find out!
Why do we need a greenhouse? A silly question, you might say. For plants to be warm! Well, it is right, but not completely. To be honest, it is completely wrong! To explain, allow me to give you a brief discourse in botany.
Most of our vegetables are tropic or sub-tropic plants. For plants to feel comfortable it is necessary to recreate conditions of their home environments. It means a 25-35 degrees Celsius and 70-100% air humidity (we have this weather here (in the Baltics) for one or two weeks a year, and not for every year!). Although, we have even more sun than in tropics. In summer our days last up to 17 hours, when it is only 12 hours at the equator. Meaning that the main task of the greenhouse is to provide the plants with the most appropriate growth conditions in regard to temperature and air humidity.
