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What are Greenhouses?
By admin | August 15, 2010
Greenhouses are instrumental in growing a large variety of plants, including flowers and vegetables. Created using glass or plastic walls and ceilings, they use a simple frame to house as small or as large of a crop as desired. By harnessing the infrared power of the sun that bathes our planet each and every day, a greenhouse creates the perfect growing and living environment for nature, even on the coldest days of the year.
Small greenhouses are known as cold frames and are common in home gardens. Large, even gigantic, greenhouses are usually commercial facilities, where plants are cared for and grown with precision and care. A greenhouse allows plant growth to continue outside of normal growing seasons because of its basic structure. The glass or plastic allows the infrared power of the sun to penetrate the inside of the structure, which in turn heats the fixtures, the soil and the plants inside. This heat is then radiated back into the air within the structure. The trapped heat further warms the air inside, creating the significantly warmer air that ensures plant survival.
Greenhouses have many benefits other than just heating the plants. They also protect crops from pests, storms, wind and extreme temperature fluctuations. With these benefits come some considerations that must be taken into account in order for a greenhouse to remain efficient and effective. Additional protection from garden pests such as insects is required, since they can often sneak in the door or be brought in on other plants. Irrigation and drainage must be installed and maintained in order to keep plants properly watered and not left to drown. Extreme heat can build up inside as well, and must be vented in some way to prevent the crops from being fried. In cold weather climates, additional heat and light sources may be needed to supplement what nature provides.
A greenhouse can be a small hobby in a private garden, or it can be an industrial mammoth that produces enough food to sustain a village. In places such as the Netherlands, they produce billions of dollars worth of vegetable a year, and are the source of nearly 150,000 jobs.
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