How to Manage A Greenhouse?

Greenhouse is a plastic or glass building, with glass or plastic roof, and this building is used to grow plants.  The incoming solar radiations heat up the soils, plants and other things inside the greenhouse, and the heated up air is retained inside by the walls and roof.   A greenhouse can be a very large building, or just of the size of a small shed.  Detached, ridge and furor and lean-to are three main types of greenhouses.

There are many aspects involved in greenhouse management including taking care of the greenhouse heating requirement, diagnosing nutritional deficiencies, monitoring the quality of irrigation water, growing pH and media, fertilizing crops, managing soluble salts, treating and recycling irrigation runoff and treating irrigation water.  The cost involved in purchasing the heating equipment and operating it is high, and badly designed system can be disastrous to the plants.  Oil, coal and gas are commonly used for heating the greenhouse, and choice is mainly based on the economics.   There are many different types of environmental controllers and thermostats available for commercial greenhouses.

Managing the adequate nourishment is one of the most important aspects of producing crops in the greenhouse.  The growth of plants in the greenhouse depends on several factors, and application of fertilizer is a critical element.  Some greenhouse managers add the nutrients during the peak perlids of growth of the plants, however regular feed of soluble fertilizer given at each irrigation also results in good growth  It is essential to correctly diagnose the nutritional deficiencies to maintain optimum plant growth, and the expressed symptoms are often dependent on several factors such as stage of the growth, species of the plant, external controlling factors and so on.

The quality of water used directly affects the production of nursery and greenhouse crops.  Sometimes, there is high level of soluble salts in the irrigation water, and drastic measures are required to balance them so that the crops are not affected.  To combat adverse effects of alkalinity/high pH and optimize fertility, sometimes the irrigation water needs to be treated with acid.  Greenhouse industry constantly faces the threat of potential contamination of surface and ground water, and greenhouse managers rely heavily on usage of fertilizers and pesticide for producing the quality crops.

Excessive soluble salts resulting from use of poor quality irrigation water  limit the production of greenhouse crops, but if these salts are managed properly, their effect on the crops can be minimized.  To develop an effective irrigation plan, the irrigation manager needs to carefully create a balance between the growing medium and needs of the plant.  Most growers are often too concerned about lack of water in the medium, however research indicates that there is a tendency of overwatering, which can be more hazardous..