Mini greenhouses are temporary structures that many people use to grow their plants outdoors in summer. They can be used for starting seeds, growing backyard vegetables, or rejuvenating your houseplants and orchids during the summer growing season.
They look like the perfect place to grow plants on your patio or deck.
Wait a minute!!
All the photos of mini greenhouses show vibrant, healthy plants bursting out of their pots. But if you don’t make a couple of adjustments these cute looking structures can actually be plant killers!
It’s not your fault!
Here’s what you need to know –
The Plastic Coverings That Come with Mini Greenhouses are Plant Killers!
Plants growing outdoors will need protection from the elements if you don’t have a good place to grow them. (A good growing area allows for a little morning or afternoon sun with the plants shaded from midday sun. Midday sun will scorch the leaves of any plant that was growing indoors in minutes.)
The plastic cover that comes with every mini greenhouse is advertised as the solution for protecting your plants outdoors.
The problem is – those plastic covers do not protect plants from the sun. Plastic covers actually intensify the sun’s rays and create a heat trap that will kill your plants on the first sunny day! Temperatures soar to over 100 degrees inside the plastic covers. Plastic covers are actually plant killers!
Solution – Replace the Plastic Cover with Shade Cloth
Replacing the plastic cover with shade cloth will make your mini greenhouse the growing place they are meant to be. Commercial growers cover their structures with shade cloth to protect their plants from the sun and that’s exactly what you should do with your mini greenhouse.
Shade cloth is a woven or knitted polypropylene covering that protects your plants from hot sun. The percentage number associated with shade cloth describes the amount of sunlight that is blocked. 60% shade cloth blocks 60% of the sun’s rays.
Blocking the sun’s rays also lowers the temperature.
I recommend 70% shade for orchids and 80% shade for houseplants.
If your mini greenhouse is already in a spot that is partially shaded just keep the flap in the front open for more light.
Unfortunately mini greenhouses with a shade cloth coverings are hard to find. I research these things every spring and the only mini greenhouse I recommend is the 4-Season, 4-Tier Mini Greenhouse – sold by FarmTek. see it here.
We sold these structures in our retail store for many years and received excellent feedback from our customers.
Don’t be fooled by the fancy photos and glowing descriptions of how easy it is to grow plants in a min greenhouse. They are plant killers until you replace those plastic covers.
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