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The Advantages of Greenhouse Growing

By Shelley Pierce

Shelley Pierce from the leading blog Gardening Knowhow was given a Snap & Grow® 6×8 greenhouse to try out in her yard. Here is her honest opinion plus starter tips for greenhouse growing.

If you’re like me, you prefer being able to grow all your plants from seed at the start of a new growing season. Growing from seed, however, is not without its challenges.
Seeds that I started indoors get spindly, as I just don’t have enough natural light streaming in from my windows. Seeds that I started outdoors get devoured by birds, rabbits or woodchucks as soon as they sprout. What’s a gardener to do?

As I pondered how to navigate around these challenges, the answer came from Palram Applications, who invited me to test drive their Snap & Grow® 6×8 Silver Greenhouse, which is one of 66 greenhouse configurations that they offer.
Of course – why didn’t I think of that – a greenhouse! With its SmartLock™ connectors, this greenhouse was “a snap” (no pun intended) to assemble and I was soon getting down to what gardeners do best – getting my hands dirty.

There are Many Advantages to Using a Greenhouse

More controlled growing conditions: The Snap & Grow Greenhouse features a roof vent
that provides air flow and allows you to regulate heat and humidity levels while its polycarbonate
panels allow for over 90% light transmission for excellent sunlight exposure.
These polycarbonate panels can also withstand extreme weather conditions,
which I can attest to as they were pummeled by a hailstorm in June and there was
nary a nick on the greenhouse from it. We also endured several days of relentless rain.
Now rain is a good thing for plants, but too much can prove to be detrimental.
When your plants are inside a greenhouse you can control how much irrigation they receive.
You can further control the growing conditions in your greenhouse courtesy of the many
accessories that are available from Palram such as a drip irrigation kit, a shade kit,
and additional venting options.

Protection from pests: Your typical garden predators (insects, birds, small animals, etc.) will simply have to feast on your neighbor’s plants because yours will be safely contained in the greenhouse.

Extend the growing season: Given that I live in zone 5, the option to extend my growing season is a really appealing one. With some careful planning and perhaps the addition of a heater, I can start my seedlings earlier in the growing season and grow crops later in the season.

Maximize your growing space: Palram offers many add-on options such as shelving, trellising kits and plant hangers that will allow you to have your greenhouse literally teeming with plant life. I can have more plants growing in this 6×8 greenhouse than I can in a 6×8 plot of land.

Save money: While the greenhouse will incur an initial monetary investment,
it will not take long to see a return on that investment. For gardeners, green is good
in every sense of the word. If you buy from the nursery, you will simply have a lot less green
in your wallet. The greenhouse will encourage you to start plants from seed and make it easier
to start plants from seed. Furthermore, by extending your growing season,
you will be able to trim back your grocery expenses by having fresh food available longer
and having more food to can and freeze for consumption later.

The above article was written in exchange for free product from Palram Applications.
The information contained in this article may contain links that lead to the advertiser’s website or products.

>> Original article at Gardening Knowhow