Crops You Can Grow in Cooler Weather
Many times in the early to late fall I debate on whether it is time to turn the heat up in my greenhouse. As the frost gets heavier and heavier and I watch my thermometer in the greenhouse drop, I know I need to start using my heat. I live out in the “boonies” as some would say, and when the cold weather finally decides to come it is here to stay. Between finishing out my outdoor gardens and starting plants in the greenhouse for winter I have found there are quite a few plants and vegetables that do well in the greenhouse during this cooler time.

Posted Thursday, April 13, 2006

Even when the temperatures are getting cooler, the sun is still shining to heat up my greenhouse. As the sun continues to shine, my daylight temperatures are quite appealing to growing plants even at forty or fifty degrees. Some vegetables that do well in cooler temperatures are radishes, onions, certain types of cabbages, carrots, lettuce, spinach, and beets.

When the weather is a little cooler I start gathering up seeds for the winter that I want to grow. I also start finding out how many pots I have so that when I turn my heat on I can start getting my winter garden underway! As the summer is turning cooler I also start bringing in most of my container garden flowers. I can extend their life well into November and December when I cut them back and then water them to bloom one last time.

Even when my greenhouse dips below the forty degree mark, I know they are not freezing yet, and I let the heat stay off for just one more day. Growing and raising plants in a cooler atmosphere makes them hardier. When you are thinking about turning the heat off in the spring months you should remember not to “baby” your plants too much or you will shock them when taking them out of the conditioned environment of the greenhouse.