My Greenhouse!

Greenhouse on my deck!

I'm excited to share something that is not school related! One of the things I love to do in my spare time and summer time is work on gardening/growing plants. I'm not a fabulous gardener, but I'm working on it and I enjoy it!

Inside the greenhouse last fall.

Last year, I bought a small greenhouse that I keep on my deck, (fortunately the hubby doesn't mind it being there) to try to extend the growing season a bit. The greenhouse is 5 ft by 5 ft, and is portable! So, I can break it down and put it in its carrier over the winter. I bought it at The Home Depot in the middle of last summer and was able to keep quite a few different plants going into the late fall (I live in PA so it starts getting colder then).

Normally, MY gardening season is from the end of school (mid-June) to the beginning of school (now the last week in August). This is mainly because I have 3 children, and up until last year, we had various sports, programs, etc. (plus teaching!) on weeknights and weekends  during the school year, and I just never got to the gardening before school let out. My oldest has now moved to DE (to teach music), my middle child just finished the first year of college, and my youngest is not involved in sports....this spring I finally had some free weekends and weeknights! So, with the addition of the greenhouse and fewer activities, my gardening season started in early April this year, with the germinating of seeds in the greenhouse.

Inside the greenhouse now.

This year, I was able to start tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, green beans, and broccoli in the greenhouse and transplant them into the garden. I have kept a few tomato plants in the greenhouse, because last year I lost my tomato plants to blight late in the season and got almost no tomatoes. I also kept a few pepper plants, bean plants, and broccoli plants in the greenhouse. It's hard to see in the picture, but I have basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley and thyme in the greenhouse, in various containers.

The one plant that I have been absolutely thrilled with in the greenhouse is my lettuce! The seeds that I bought from Burpee are called "Little Caesar," and they have grown so beautifully (picture below) that I never bothered to move them to the garden. I have a new round germinating in the greenhouse, and I won't bother putting these plants in the garden either. It is just so handy to walk out to the deck and pick it for dinner!

Romaine lettuce grown in the greenhouse.

Eventually, I'd like to build a permanent greenhouse in the yard, but I'm not to that point yet.

Do you use any type of greenhouse?
Do you have any greenhouse or growing tips I could use?
Any favorite plants?
Any favorite books?