What's growing in the Greenhouse?
At the Gardens:
In the winter 2015 the Community Gardens of Santa Clarita installed a beautiful greenhouse. The greenhouse is used by all garden members to start their seeds for each season and is also used to grow milkweed for our butterfly and pollinator gardens.
The use of greenhouse has allowed garden members to grow a wide variety of vegetables and fruits found all over the world. It has also allowed us to participate in seed programs throughout the country.
In the winter 2015 the Community Gardens of Santa Clarita installed a beautiful greenhouse. The greenhouse is used by all garden members to start their seeds for each season and is also used to grow milkweed for our butterfly and pollinator gardens.
The use of greenhouse has allowed garden members to grow a wide variety of vegetables and fruits found all over the world. It has also allowed us to participate in seed programs throughout the country.
Greenhouse:
General Information:
A greenhouse, which is also called a glass house is a structure with walls and a roof made mainly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown. Basically, it is a structure that protects and controls the environment in which a plant grows, by maintaining temperature, humidity, as well as protecting from diseases.
The modern greenhouses of today are referred to as CEA (controlled environment agriculture), CEPPS (controlled environment plant production system), or phytomation system.
History of Greenhouses:
The idea of growing plants in a controlled environmental area has been around since the Roman times. Roman gardeners would use artificial methods similar to the greenhouse system to grow vegetables for the emperor. Cucumbers were planted in wheel carts which were put in the sun daily and then taken inside to keep warm during the night. The cucumbers were stored under frames or houses glazed with either oiled cloth or with sheets of selenite.
The first greenhouse in which temperature could be manually manipulated appeared in the 15th century in Korea. During the Annals of Joseon Dynasty in 1438, mandarin oranges tree were grown in a traditional Korean greenhouse during the winter and the installation of an ondol (pronounced: Hangul) system provided heat. The ondol system is underfloor heating that uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to heat the underside of a thick masonry floor.
The golden era of the greenhouse was in England during the Victorian era, with the use of large glasshouses. In the 1960s, the use of polyethylene film became widely available, greenhouses became widely used on small farms and garden centers due to the decrease in material costs. In the 1980s and 1990s the gutter-connected greenhouses became more prevalent.
How it Works:
So how does the greenhouse operate? The warmer temperature in a greenhouse occurs because incident solar radiation passes through the transparent roof and walls and is absorbed by the floor, earth, and contents, which become warmer. As the structure is not open to the atmosphere, the warmed air cannot escape via convection, so the temperature inside the greenhouse rises.
Ventilation is one of the most important components in a successful greenhouse, especially in hot and humid topical climate condition. If there is no proper ventilation, greenhouses and their growing plants can become prone to problems. The main purposes of ventilation are to regulate the temperature, humidity, and vapor pressure deficit to the optimal level, and ensure movement of air and to prevent build-up of plant pathogens that prefer still air conditions. Ventilation also ensures a supply of fresh air for photosynthesis and plant respiration, and may enable important pollinators to access the greenhouse crop.
General Information:
A greenhouse, which is also called a glass house is a structure with walls and a roof made mainly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown. Basically, it is a structure that protects and controls the environment in which a plant grows, by maintaining temperature, humidity, as well as protecting from diseases.
The modern greenhouses of today are referred to as CEA (controlled environment agriculture), CEPPS (controlled environment plant production system), or phytomation system.
History of Greenhouses:
The idea of growing plants in a controlled environmental area has been around since the Roman times. Roman gardeners would use artificial methods similar to the greenhouse system to grow vegetables for the emperor. Cucumbers were planted in wheel carts which were put in the sun daily and then taken inside to keep warm during the night. The cucumbers were stored under frames or houses glazed with either oiled cloth or with sheets of selenite.
The first greenhouse in which temperature could be manually manipulated appeared in the 15th century in Korea. During the Annals of Joseon Dynasty in 1438, mandarin oranges tree were grown in a traditional Korean greenhouse during the winter and the installation of an ondol (pronounced: Hangul) system provided heat. The ondol system is underfloor heating that uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to heat the underside of a thick masonry floor.
The golden era of the greenhouse was in England during the Victorian era, with the use of large glasshouses. In the 1960s, the use of polyethylene film became widely available, greenhouses became widely used on small farms and garden centers due to the decrease in material costs. In the 1980s and 1990s the gutter-connected greenhouses became more prevalent.
How it Works:
So how does the greenhouse operate? The warmer temperature in a greenhouse occurs because incident solar radiation passes through the transparent roof and walls and is absorbed by the floor, earth, and contents, which become warmer. As the structure is not open to the atmosphere, the warmed air cannot escape via convection, so the temperature inside the greenhouse rises.
Ventilation is one of the most important components in a successful greenhouse, especially in hot and humid topical climate condition. If there is no proper ventilation, greenhouses and their growing plants can become prone to problems. The main purposes of ventilation are to regulate the temperature, humidity, and vapor pressure deficit to the optimal level, and ensure movement of air and to prevent build-up of plant pathogens that prefer still air conditions. Ventilation also ensures a supply of fresh air for photosynthesis and plant respiration, and may enable important pollinators to access the greenhouse crop.
For more information on Greenhouses please visit the links below: