The Greenhouse Environment as Mini-Ecosystem

By Colleen Armstrong
Published on November 1, 1984
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Even to flowers in a pot, the greenhouse environment is a mini-ecosystem.
Even to flowers in a pot, the greenhouse environment is a mini-ecosystem.
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Inside a plastic-sheeted greenhouse.
Inside a plastic-sheeted greenhouse.
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Exterior of the New Alchemy Institute greenhouse.
Exterior of the New Alchemy Institute greenhouse.
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Pole beans provide a biological shade.
Pole beans provide a biological shade.
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Water tanks provide heat strorage, fish and fertilizer.
Water tanks provide heat strorage, fish and fertilizer.
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A thermal night curtain.
A thermal night curtain.
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Grapevines can provide shade.
Grapevines can provide shade.
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Homemade
Homemade "sticky card" whitefly traps.
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An early solar greenhouse design.
An early solar greenhouse design.
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A well-designed greenhouse can be a mini-ecosystem.
A well-designed greenhouse can be a mini-ecosystem.
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Greenhouse temperatures should never exceed 86°F; an overheated greenhouse is as unproductive as one that's too cold. Inadequate ventilation is the number one downfall of many solar greenhouse designs. The vent area should equal one-sixth of the glazing area, and the vent's placement is critical.
Greenhouse temperatures should never exceed 86°F; an overheated greenhouse is as unproductive as one that's too cold. Inadequate ventilation is the number one downfall of many solar greenhouse designs. The vent area should equal one-sixth of the glazing area, and the vent's placement is critical.

In the early 1970s, when energy costs first began their upward spiral, accelerating fuel prices drove many commercial glasshouse vegetable producers right out of business. This inflationary upswing also started a modest new trend in American gardening.

With the price tag on winter tomatoes and other warm-weather crops on the rise, many people equipped their homes with attached greenhouses, which ranged from expensive, custom-built models to low-budget, low-tech structures composed of plastic-covered frames.

We’ve now become accustomed to seeing such food- and flower-producing add-ons everywhere. There’s no longer any reason to limit a passion for vegetables and flowers to the outdoors. Even those gardeners new to greenhouse management can be successful at indoor horticulture by following four basic rules.

Know Your Greenhouse Environment

Each attached greenhouse has its own environment, which is created by its location, design, construction, glazing, thermal mass and interior layout.

A solar greenhouse, more than any other type, is sensitive to its surrounding environment. In many ways, this type of greenhouse is analogous to a living plant cell: The sun is its primary energy source, and its glazing acts as a membrane between the inner and outer world, allowing an exchange of heat, light and air. A greenhouse can, in fact, become a mini-ecosystem if the adept gardener can manage the interaction between abiotic factors (such as wind, snow, oxygen, carbon dioxide) and the biological community.

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