Ground soil or potted veggies in the greenhouse?

Credit: alh1

Q: I received a small greenhouse for Christmas 2010. I was planning on growing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in it. I see in some of the seed catalogues that some seeds are listed as “good for growing in greenhouse.” I was wondering if it is advisable to get seeds like this or can I grow any vegetables in my greenhouse?

Also some people advise growing right in the soil, while others recommend growing the plants in pots. What’s your opinion?

Thank you so much for your help!

Given that each seed package has its own maturity date, it’s a good idea to check that first. Peppers are one of the easiest veggies to grow in a greenhouse, while cucumbers and tomatoes require a lot of space and water.

You can grow any variety of tomatoes in the greenhouse, but the ones that are noted for being “good in a greenhouse” will likely have a better chance of giving great results compared to the ones that say “good for patio.”

The benefit of the greenhouse is that you have a great environment to try out different varieties and see what you like best in terms of flavour, size, etc. Long English Cucumbers are known as the ‘Greenhouse Cucumbers’ – and many people have great success with this variety. To ensure a good bumper crop, the seeds need to be planted as early as February so you can take advantage of the warm summer days.

We have lots of customers that are very successful at growing directly in the ground soil in greenhouses, however, over the years we’ve had people tell us that when a disease introduces itself into the soil, it can be widespread and take a couple of seasons to completely run its course. For this reason, we usually recommend that growers use pots or planters so the soil can be changed if necessary.

Many people will add to or change the soil in the planters seasonally. It used to be common for people to use soil sterilizers to have the best results using the same soil yearly in their planters. The sterilizer is essentially an electric oven that bakes the soil to kill any disease or pests.