Since there are so many Backyard Greenhouse usage ideas lets look at a few and explain them. We’ve made a list of what you’re going to need to succeed with these greenhouse ventures.

Whether you desire a cool-weather Alpine greenhouse, a greenhouse for tropical growing, or a grower greenhouse for plant propagation, we can set you in the right direction.

Greenhouses are versatile. You can use them to grow orchids, specialty plants, veggies, fruits, or you can build a conservatory and use it to eat your dinner in. 

Greenhouses can be used for hydroponic growing (raising plants in a special soil-less medium—a solution of water with various nutrients) or for providing added protection and heat to plants grown directly in the ground. So it’s best to figure out what you want to use a greenhouse for before rushing into buying or building one.

Tropical Greenhouse

Tropical greenhouses are the most expensive to heat, particularly in a northern climate during the winter. 

To heat your greenhouse to a level required by tropical plants, try installing double- or triple-pane glass or polycarbonate (there will be a slight loss of light caused by the additional glazing). There are some issues when moving plants from a greenhouse with triple glazing outdoors as the level of light is usually 70 to 90 percent higher outdoors, so a plant’s leaves tend to burn if they are placed in direct sunlight after being in a greenhouse for several months. 

Think about the structure as well:  tropical greenhouses can be humid, which can cause the wood used to build it to rot rather quickly. Make sure to construct the greenhouse out of top-quality, rot-resistant materials.

Other considerations for tropical greenhouses involve heat: they must be heated to high levels in winter (50 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night and 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day) and they tend to overheat in the summer, even when shaded by cloth or by trees.

A greenhouse that overheats must have large vents or blower fans to move out the moist, hot air quickly or must use an efficient method of shading with an evaporation cooler. Growth stops for most plants when the temperature rises to between 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above this can be defined as overheating.

What you need

1. Good-quality heater with a thermostat
2. Efficient waterproof lights (on timers “I LOVE THESE TIMERS!”) to extend day length for plants and to allow you to work in the greenhouse in the evening
3. Power supply
4. Fan to exhaust excess heat in the summer and keep air circulating—prevents fungal diseases
5. Automatic vent-opening system (‘optional’ is not a good idea)
6. Misting system (optional)
7. Water supply that will not freeze
8. Low-temperature alarms
9. Tool storage
10. Fertilizer, potting soil and orchid bark storage (in a separate shed, if greenhouse space is limited, or to ensure that the structure retains maximum heat; placing quantities of these in the greenhouse will lower the temperature of the environment)

Warm Greenhouse Usage

Certain tropical plants can be grown in a warm greenhouse.  Warm greenhouses must be heated at night during the winter. Heaters can be fuelled by propane, natural gas, electricity or wood (note: a wood-burning stove emits dry heat that is not beneficial to plants). 

Daylight (or artificial daylight) can be enhanced by adding lighting, making the environment both warm and light for growing plants.  You can also try implementing automated lighting, water and, heating.

What you need

1. Good-quality heater with a thermostat
2. Backup kerosene heater (You can also use a small, canister gas heater, but in an enclosed greenhouse space you must be careful when using any kind of heater with an open flame)
3. Efficient waterproof lights (on timers) to extend day length for plants and to allow you to work in the greenhouse in the evening
4. Power supply
5. Fan to exhaust excess heat in the summer and keep air circulating—prevents fungal diseases
6. Automatic vent-opening system (optional)
7. Misting system (optional)
8. Water supply that will not freeze
9. Low-temperature alarms
10. Tool storage
11. Fertilizer, potting soil and orchid bark storage (in a separate shed, if greenhouse space is limited, or to ensure that the structure retains maximum heat; placing quantities of these in the greenhouse will lower the temperature of the environment)

Cool (unheated) Greenhouse

Vegetables can withstand much lower temperatures than orchids. Leafy greens, for example, grow best between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  A freestanding greenhouse without a heating system will allow you to grow vegetables for most of the year, enabling them to survive for most of the winter in areas up to Zone 5 or 6. 

If greenhouse beds are heated, either mechanically or by the creation of hotbeds, vegetables can grow year-round in areas that reach temperatures as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit.  If your only option is to add an attached greenhouse to your home, you may or may not decide to heat the structure separately. 

Unheated vegetable greenhouses are best constructed with a low ceiling as they stay warmer when the ceiling height is only a little taller than the height of the plants.

Glazing can be simple: an unheated veggie greenhouse needs less winter light to come through the glazing than does a greenhouse for flowers, and because the greenhouse is not heated, there is no need for double-thickness glazing.  Some growers rely on hoop houses or high tunnels with a polyethylene covering to enable them to grow throughout most of the winter.

What you need

1. An automatic vent-opening system (optional)
2. A water supply that can be turned off and drained for the winter
3. Storage for your seeds, fertilizers, tools and other gardening gear (in the greenhouse, in the greenhouse’s airlock, or in separate garden shed)

Alpine Greenhouse Usage

Like many climate-specific plants, alpine plants require unique conditions to survive.  Re-creating conditions found at high altitudes can be difficult.  Plants at high-altitude are covered with frozen snow or ice for much of the year and bloom in the short, high-altitude summer. 

A greenhouse geared to these plants is designed to allow the plants to get very cold but protect them from water or snow gathering on their crowns.  Such a greenhouse might have a glass roof with open windows protected by screens to keep away insects and curious animals. 

Alpine houses often have slat windows that allow air to circulate but keep rain and snow outside.  Inside you will find raised planting benches with mesh tops to allow air to circulate around the pots.

What you need

1. Screens around sides
2. Windows that open and that may stay open all winter
3. A fan to keep moisture off plant crowns
4. Raised benches to allow air to circulate around plants

We hope these greenhouse usage tips inspire your Greenhouse plans.

There you have it our 4 Great Ideas For Backyard Greenhouse Usage, we hope you enjoyed this article.

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Ultimately, the right greenhouse for you is one which you will use for a long period of time – one which meets your demands and fits in with your lifestyle.  Once you’re happy with your choice, read our guide on getting the most out of your new greenhouse.  What works for some growers may not meet your requirements.  More complex plans may be just up your alley, sometimes those plans can stifle success.  Grow smart, not hard!  Gardening advocates advise that you start with a basic,  structure like a pop-up greenhouse so you can get the hang of your new plant responsibilities. The full-size challenges of Backyard Greenhouse gardening await! If you’re looking for more in-depth greenhouse reviews or comparisons, click here to check out the top reviews.