The past four posts have been all about foods, so I think it’s about time I write something about gardening!
If you’ve been following me on social media, you know it’s been getting really busy around here. Planting, having seedlings eaten, reinforcing the enclosure, transplanting, more planting… it’s a lot of work!
Having the time to write up my posts during the week has slowed down followed by a mad rush to type something up on Sunday afternoons hanging on the front porch with all my favorites *gasping inhale* - including you readers!
So, this week I’m talking a bit about Outdoor Gardens vs Greenhouse Gardens. Why?
Because all I have are outdoor gardens.
Because I’m envious of owning a greenhouse garden.
The end.
Kidding! I want to know the difference between both environments because it was really difficult to grow indoors this past spring. My home is over a century and unfortunately it has a huge design flaw of having only one South West window, not enough insulation and insanely high electricity bills!! So while I learn how to create the best environment when not having many resources, why not share the learnings with you?!
Outdoor Gardens
Location
Depends what you’re growing, of course! But sunlight is not the only thing to consider here. What is around you? Do you live in the country or the city? Are many wild animals around? This is something I did not consider, and we live in the country, by a creek, surrounded by big trees on an acre. It’s basically an animal sanctuary! So anything I planted pretty much became free breakfast for itty critters.
The location of plants will also determine how vulnerable they are. Planting directly within the ground is much more accessible than, say, a raised bed or hanging planter.
Protection
Based on your location as described above, you will want to consider how to best protect your plants. How much protection will they need? Sometimes it’s a case of trial and error. In the suburbs a little chicken wire surrounding is likely all you’ll need, if any. If you’re in the country, you might need to beef up the protection. I always resort to Pinterest for inspiration (hence why I create pins!) there’s always something to find there.
Planting Recommendations
My personal experience, requiring a full blown enclosure and all, I’ve noticed that plants have a much, much easier time adapting and less chance of being eaten when it's started in a pot. Think of plants in the store and their size. Try to aim for the size that they sell their plants. Yeah.
In our circumstance, we’ve slowly built an enclosure throughout the season (as seen in the pictures above!). We even have plans to rebuild a more solid structure in the fall, with a full roof frame for maximum protection and structured doors for easy accessibility for us! Using clamps and mesh was fine, but I’ll be pretty happy to not have to step so carefully when going in and out of the enclosure.
Greenhouse Gardens
(dream greenhouse by Under A Tin Roof)
Location
Somewhere with plenty of sun exposure! Greenhouses are already enclosed with a clear or semi clear plastic sheet (or windows). This protects them from quite a bit in itself. Not only from animals and most bugs, but also harmful UV rays! It’s the gradual introduction to UV rays that’s the trickier part when using a greenhouse.
Protection
As mentioned above, greenhouse plants are pretty protected. The type of ground to your greenhouse will also help pinpoint how much bug control might be needed. Is it just a tent over some grass? If so, that grass can very well be the nesting grounds to insects and your plants are the nearby grocery store. Finding a permanent spot for this greenhouse and laying down some flagstones, concrete, or even rocks will help reduce the amount of bugs.
Full disclosure, I do not own a greenhouse *yet* but we will one day soon. Hopefully one day very soon.
Planting Recommendations
Based on what I know, you can pretty much start seed starters or even keep raised beds in greenhouses. They’re pretty versatile spaces. Experiment away! I have a lot to learn in this department and will hopefully offer a lot more in a future post!
Where Should I Start?
Start where you’re comfortable.
Gardening can feel really overwhelming at times, and absolutely non-stop. There’s so much weeding, watering, checking, planting, replanting, and etc. if you want to have a full and bounty gardenscape. Ummm, who doesn't?!
I’ve also learned that it takes a lot of time and patience. Extra patience if you’re tight on resources like us. We also take the time to do bargain hunting which slowly builds up the inventory on necessary gardening items overtime. We've gotten some pretty wild deals over the years!
If you’ve got the money, then really what are you waiting for?! Honestly those people are likely not the ones reading this post or blog, so does it matter? Pardon my bluntness.
Take your time, try your best, and just continue to work at it. Everyone’s vision is to grow a huge and lush garden. To achieve that takes some time. Be proud of the small wins :).
Before You Go
Thank you so much for reading this post and blog! I hope you found something helpful in it and I’d love to know how this post made your day!
Pin this post and share with me your gardening work on social media! I've been documenting my gardening journey and one thing I've come to know is that everyone faces struggles that are out of our control!
Happy gardening friends, hope you enjoy every minute of it.
Your fellow beginner gardening pal, Liv
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