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The five crops that thrive in a winter greenhouse are leafy greens, hardy herbs, root crops, cool season brassicas, and quick growing “fill in the gap” crops. When you focus on salads like spinach and lettuce, herbs such as parsley and chives, roots like carrots and beets, compact brassicas, and fast growers like radishes or baby mixes, your greenhouse can keep producing fresh food all winter instead of sitting empty.
Wintering over means using your greenhouse to protect existing plants through cold weather with minimal growth or maintenance. It focuses on insulation and frost protection rather than active production.
Winter growing keeps your greenhouse climate-controlled for active cultivation through the winter months, using heat, ventilation, and supplemental light to maintain growth.
The right approach depends on your growing goals. Choose winter over for plant preservation and lower energy costs, or winter growing for true four-season harvests.
The most efficient way to heat a greenhouse is to combine good insulation, sunlight, and smart airflow. Seal gaps, insulate the base, and use fivewall polycarbonate or double glass to hold heat. Add thermal mass to store daytime warmth and use thermostats and fans to spread heat evenly.
January is the best time to start your greenhouse because it allows you to jumpstart the growing season with ample preparation time, take advantage of winter sales for cost savings, and avoid springtime delays. Starting early also provides a quiet period to plan and customize your setup thoroughly, ensuring a smooth and productive gardening year. Beginning your greenhouse project in January supports sustainable living and helps you achieve your gardening goals with purpose and ease.
The start of a new year brings fresh opportunities to plan and grow—both in life and in your garden. If you’ve been dreaming of a greenhouse, January is the perfect time to make that dream a reality. Here’s why:
Preparing your greenhouse in summer for a successful winter harvest involves succession planting hardy cold-tolerant crops early, planning based on your latitude and daylight changes, and starting seedlings in a controlled nursery area to ensure continuous growth and optimal winter yields.
As summer thrives, it's the ideal time to start preparing your winter greenhouse for a successful cold-season harvest. This guide will provide essential tips on succession planting, choosing the right crops, and maximizing your greenhouse's potential through strategic summer planning.
To keep your greenhouse warm in winter, insulate with bubble wrap, use soil-heating cables or black barrels for thermal mass, and maintain airflow with fans—while energy curtains, Agribon layers, and thermostatic heaters provide targeted, efficient warmth to protect your plants.
1. Add A Scarf
Providing heat just where you need it is easily accomplished with old-school Christmas lights or soil warming cables.
What Are the Tips and Strategies to Maximize Your Winter Greenhouse Growing?
Maximizing winter greenhouse success involves keeping temperatures cool, using layered row covers to protect hardy crops, and starting seedlings early in a warm nursery before transplanting them to the cold greenhouse. Strategic use of soil warming cables, careful crop selection focused on cold-tolerant varieties, and staggered planting schedules help extend the growing season and increase yields despite low winter light. Experimentation and planning are key to adapting these strategies to your specific greenhouse conditions and achieving reliable winter harvests.
An overview of winter greenhouse growing has been covered in our December 2023 blog post, but it seems worthwhile to expand the conversation of winter growing in a home or hobby greenhouse this month as well. For one thing, a greenhouse is not the end of the story. A few other accessories and ideas will make you a more successful grower this winter.
What should you know before starting winter greenhouse gardening? Winter greenhouse gardening is a rewarding but planning-intensive process that requires selecting cold-hardy crops, managing light levels (especially when natural daylight falls below 10 hours), and using techniques like nursery starts and staggered planting to maximize harvests. Unlike summer gardening, winter growing demands attention to airflow, spacing, and temperature control, as well as a realistic understanding of slower growth cycles. With insights from The Winter Market Gardener and practical strategies like using indoor nursery spaces, new growers can simplify the “work” of winter gardening and set themselves up for consistent cold-season success.
Uncover insightful tips and strategies that turn the labor of winter food cultivation into a rewarding journey. Your next adventure in gardening awaits.
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What Are the Insulating Tips for Aluminum Frame Greenhouses?
Proper insulation is essential to maintain stable temperatures and protect plants during winter in aluminum frame greenhouses by preventing heat loss and drafts. Effective insulation involves using materials like bubble wrap, polycarbonate glazing, or fiberglass, combined with sealing air leaks around doors, vents, and foundations to maximize thermal efficiency. Additional strategies such as double-layer insulation, floor insulation, thermal curtains, and regular temperature monitoring help ensure a well-insulated greenhouse environment for year-round plant health.
