Why you should start to greenhouse you ask us? Give me a chance to convince you by telling you how greenhousing made my life better.
Fresh veggies on the table
When, like me, you love vegetables and cooking, a greenhouse is a dream come true. You can harvest your own freshly grown vegetables and fruits and I guarantee you that they will taste better than the store bought kind. Roaming around in your greenhouse gives you the opportunity to grow all year long and saves you trips to the store or ‘what am I going to make for dinner’ sighs. You will become very creative in the kitchen (what am I going to do with 15 zucchinis?). Look for recipes with your homegrown vegetables in them and use the rest to make soup or a nice ratatouille, bring your leftovers to work or the neighbours, they will love you. It will feel great to prepare your own veggies and serve them to your friends and family (plus you can subtly drop the line: ‘I grew them myself’ in the dinner conversation, which will guarantee you some admiring looks).
A greenhouse is good for you
Greenhousing will help you relax and shake off your day. When you’re in an office job (like us), it will feel great to step outside after you come home and spend some time caring for your plants and vegetables to turn the office switch to the home switch. You can pluck some of your vegetables and take them inside to prepare them or you can just relax a little and enjoy the peace in the greenhouse. A greenhouse is actually just a big sand box for adults and let’s be honest, who doesn’t love getting his or her hands dirty and roaming around in the sand. Enter total relaxation…
The environment
Not only will you become a more relaxed person if you spend some time growing your own plants and veggies, the environment will benefit from your efforts as well. Homegrown vegetables are (mostly) pesticide free and will save you a couple of drives to the supermarket. You don’t need plastic or paper bags to bring your veggies home and you can harvest as much as you need so you don’t have to throw food away.
Greenhouse vegetables are healthier
When your vegetables haven’t been sprayed with pesticides to scare off insects and other small animals, it makes sense that they are healthier. In the supermarket you don’t know what kind of treatments your vegetables have been exposed to. Enjoy the security of knowing exactly how your veggies and fruits have grown in your backyard.
All year round
Most of the benefits we have discussed for a greenhouse are also applicable for an open air vegetable garden, but not this one. While having a vegetable garden is a great way to start exploring the joys of growing your own food, it will limit you in the time you are able to spend in it. Depending on your climate you will only be able to grow vegetables and food during the April to September period and will spend the rest of the year without the pleasure of fresh vegetables and colourful flowers. When you have a greenhouse, you can spend time in there even when it’s raining or freezing outside. If you have a heating system in your greenhouse, you will be able to grow flowers in December and the dark winter months will brighten up for you.
Go exotic
Because you can manage the temperature and lighting in your greenhouse, you are able to grow plants and vegetables you wouldn’t be able to grow in your natural climate. Pick some flower seeds and exotic fruits and try growing them in the right temperature. Remember the dinner parties we talked about?
A refuge
When it’s raining or cold, make yourself a cup of tea and spend some time in the greenhouse. With the heating on and the smell of plants and vegetables, it will create the perfect hiding place after a busy day to recharge your batteries. The lighting and heat in the greenhouse will warm your chilly body and help you regain your energy.
The last and most important one is the one that’s hardest to explain. When you’re roaming around in your greenhouse, getting your hands dirty, enjoying the colors around you and watching your seeds and plants grow, you will feel the magic in the air. Try it and let me know if you felt it too!