What is greenhouse growing?
Greenhouse growing means growing plants under a structure covered with plastic or glass that lets sunlight through but protects them from rain, wind and cold. It sits halfway between outdoor and indoor growing.
The plant gets natural light, as it would outdoors, so you don't need lamps or pay for electricity for lighting. But because it's under cover, you have more control over conditions than in a garden.
It's the same thing farmers do with vegetables: a greenhouse brings the season forward in spring, stretches it out in autumn and keeps a storm from ruining the harvest.
Advantages
- Protection: rain and autumn humidity are a risk for buds, because they encourage mold. Under cover, that risk drops a lot.
- Longer season: you can plant earlier in spring and harvest later in autumn, because it's a little warmer inside.
- Free, powerful light: sunlight is still the main source of energy.
- More privacy and fewer pests: plants are less exposed than in an open garden.
Disadvantages
- Heat in summer: a closed greenhouse can get too hot. It needs good ventilation, with side windows or vents.
- Humidity: if the air doesn't circulate, moisture builds up inside.
- Space and setup: it takes a plot of land and a structure, although there are small greenhouses for terraces.
Can you control flowering in a greenhouse?
Yes. Some growers cover the greenhouse with an opaque tarp for a few hours a day so that photoperiod plants get longer nights and start flowering sooner. That way they can harvest before the autumn rains or get more than one harvest a year. If you want to keep things simple, autoflowers do very well in a greenhouse without anything special.
Related terms
- What is the difference between indoor and outdoor growing?
- What is flowering?
- What are photoperiod seeds?
- What are autoflowering seeds?
Before you grow, check the laws in your country: growing cannabis is not allowed everywhere.
