Greenhouses came about during the 17th century, as a designated place to protect plants from extreme elements. As time passed and glass became less expensive, these brick or timber housing units began to resemble glass houses, only using minimal wood or metal for, primarily, the frame itself.
Due to advanced heating and other relevant technology, modular grow rooms evolved from a mere place of protection as the necessity arose, to a fully-functional controlled environment suitable for micromanaging nearly all aspects of plant growth.
While greenhouses may vary from small unsophisticated plant havens to monstrous powerhouses of mass plant production, there are many inherent benefits to having a greenhouse.
The following are just five of the greatest benefits of having a greenhouse:
1. Optimize Your Environment
Having ultimate control over virtually every aspect of the greenhouse is also its greatest feature. You have full control over the temperature, humidity, lighting (or radiation), CO2 levels, space, plant or crop types – pretty much anything you can imagine.
With that element of control, you can optimize conditions depending on the needs of whatever you are trying to grow. Some technological features even allow you to control the environment in different partitions of your greenhouse, so that you can manage different types of crops or plants within a single roof.
The glass paneling allows you to take advantage of natural light, but you even have the means to control how much or how little of that you want to filter through.
2. The Growing Season of Your Choice – Year Round
Before greenhouses, many crops or other plant life was limited to growth during specific seasonal ranges, depending on their needs. Having the ability to manipulate the environment within a greenhouse has the added bonus of allowing you to grow any type of plant at any time, whether it is in season or not.
This means that you can have spring crops in the fall, and vice versa. Best of all, you can grow anything you want during winter! Greenhouses can be built with insulated metal walls.
That’s right, you can have an all-season garden – the icy hand of death will not touch your protected indoor crops, which is a major benefit of having a greenhouse.
In addition, since you can perfect the growing atmosphere, you can create the healthiest, fullest, and most beautiful plants possible!
3. The Ultimate Protection
Within the safe confines of your greenhouse, your plants are protected from the elements, predators, floods, and any other environmental hazards that might occur.
Another fantastic benefit is that you will not need to protect your plants using pesticides, which can easily contaminate soil, water, turf, and even your plants.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t bring in ladybugs, bees, beetles, or other beneficial insects – you have the capability to decide who gets an invite and who doesn’t!
4. Conservation of Resources
Since you have the ability to make use of natural light through glass panels and have specific control over just how much water you use, which type of lights and heating sources to install, temperature, and practically every other factor, you can use energy efficient technology and reduce waste in ways that might not be an option if you are working out of doors.
Plus, while blocking your glass paneling is generally not the best idea since you would eliminate nature’s bounty of free light, there are new solar panels that are specifically built to capture renewable energy while allowing your plants to continue to enjoy the natural light filtering through the panels.
It’s the best of both worlds and can save a lot of money while doing a nice turn for the environment.
5. Stress Relief
For some people, this may be the absolute greatest benefit of all with having a greenhouse. Nature has long been known as a stimulus for relaxation, and being in your glass house provides these incredible benefits year-round.
You can choose exactly what you want to grow and design the perfect assortment of beautiful plants that trigger your stress relief, giving you a peaceful, safe environment to rest and relax.
Not only is it a great place to enjoy nature at its finest, but it is here for you year-round. This is particularly nice for those who find toiling in the greenhouse, grooming, and working with plant life, to be a source of stress relief; the onset of winter will not eliminate the capability to do so.
Decorate the inside intentionally to evoke a desired mood, choosing color schemes, accessories, building materials, lighting, and other features to orchestrate the ultimate mental wellness center. Since the panels are glass, you can design the area around the greenhouse to enhance the atmosphere, too!
If interior design is not your strong point, there are plenty of professionals who can listen to your ideas and end goal, then create a design plan to optimize space and select decor to promote that ideal environment.
The Bottom Line
For those who love plants or enjoy gardening, it’s hard to go wrong with a greenhouse. With the power to control every aspect of the environment, it’s easy to maximize plant health and growth, while offering an unparalleled amount of protection from the weather, toxic chemicals, harmful bugs, and other natural hazards.
The potential to grow a variety of different crops regardless of the season year-round is an incredible benefit that can allow you to have your cake and eat it too, so to speak.
Plus, the ability to take advantage of natural light while creating an energy efficient environment is advantageous not only to your wallet, but also to the environment itself.
Furthermore, plants are not the only ones who can benefit from a greenhouse. Mental health can be a determining factor in how we behave, make choices, and relate to others. A greenhouse designed to create a tranquil, peaceful utopia for relaxation will allow you to take the weight of the world off your shoulders for a while and live in your own personal plant utopia.
These health benefits can make a huge difference in your life by eliminating harmful stress!
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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