For beginner gardeners, one of the most exciting questions is: "What to plant in a greenhouse with?" And what is so about this? For those who have not yet encountered gardening, this question seems silly. In fact, this is not so: like flowers in a bouquet, vegetables can be “friends” or “not friends” with each other, so if you want a rich harvest, you need to consider their compatibility.
Vegetable compatibility
Before embarking, compatible and incompatible vegetables should be identified. Why this is done: crops that can grow nearby peacefully will be more resistant to various diseases and pests, which increases productivity. Conversely, if there are hostile plants in the neighborhood, then the yield will be small.
How does the amount of yield depend on the plants themselves? The fact is that they secrete special substances that penetrate the soil and air, therefore, the nearby garden culture absorbs them and can be harmful or beneficial. Therefore, with proper planting, there will be a rich, saturated with necessary substances environment, which will allow you to use less fertilizer.
Compatibility criteria
To know what to plant in a greenhouse with, you need to follow the basic criteria that take into account how effective the vegetable community will be:
- Plant height. Neighborhood of stunted and tall crops cannot be allowed.
- The same need for air humidity. Some require a hot environment, while others need good ventilation.
- The need for lighting. Plants that need a lot of light should be allocated a place in the southern part of the greenhouse.
- Some types of crops are wonderful precursors for subsequent seedlings. It is very important to observe crop rotation, especially for mixed plantings.
Crop rotation is an alternation of different vegetable crops. Planting the same species in the same place can cause soil depletion. It is recommended to alternate the beds every three years.
Mixed landings
Most gardeners solve the dilemma "what to plant in a greenhouse" with a simple method - mixed plantings. It is believed that they contribute to increasing yields and stimulating the growth of crops. Moreover, such a neighborhood greatly simplifies the greenhouse life: you can save on fertilizers and pest protection. The thing is that some vegetables enrich the soil with useful elements necessary for other crops, while others emit substances that protect against pests.
But this method has its drawbacks - it is pollination and thickening of vegetables. Over-pollination can negatively affect the taste of products, and sometimes it happens that neighboring crops can become infected with pests. Therefore, if a gardener uses a mixed planting, he should more closely monitor the future harvest. And in order for the described method to bring good results, you need to remember what to plant in a greenhouse.
It is best to choose one base vegetable, most often a cucumber or tomato. And already other cultures are selected for this basic product.
Basic principles of mixed landing
For this method to be effective, you need to know some rules:
- The width of the beds should not exceed 1 m - so it will be more convenient to sow, process.
- Before sowing, you need to mentally divide the garden into several parts. Sowing begins with the central part, in which crops with long growth and the same ripening period are planted. These include cabbage, tomatoes, peppers. By the time of harvest, they will occupy most of the greenhouse.
- Plants with a short ripening period should be planted along the edges of the beds - these are all types of greenery.
Technology of growing vegetables in a greenhouse
Besides the fact that you need to plant vegetables, taking into account their compatibility, you need to know how to grow them properly. Even if you take into account the neighborhood, you can ruin everything if you do not create the necessary greenhouse conditions. Why do we need a greenhouse? And it is needed in order to create the necessary microclimate for the growth of vegetables.
In fact, a greenhouse is a miniature tropic, but do not forget about one important nuance: the temperature should not be too high or too low. Therefore, in very hot weather, be sure to do airing. Watering greenhouse plants should be more plentiful than that of crops that grow in the garden, because strong evaporation occurs in the greenhouse.
With a mixed planting, you can not plant all the crops at the same time - a gradual planting, taking into account the ripening time of the vegetables, will be more correct.
Year-round greenhouse cultivation
I want fresh vegetables to be always on the table, and not just in the warm seasons. It turns out that growing in a greenhouse is possible all year round. A greenhouse made of polycarbonate is best suited for this, because it has a sufficiently high strength, low heat conductivity and good light transmittance.
But in order to create summer conditions in the cold seasons, you need to take care of additional lighting, insulation and ventilation in advance. To improve the quality of year-round planting, next to them it is worth growing ornamental plants that will contribute to the saturation of the soil and the air with nutrients.
It is also necessary to take care of additional "warming" of the soil with humus, straw. Only it should be remembered that a large amount of humus can cause the appearance of various pests, so it is necessary to periodically combat them. Not all vegetables are suitable for year-round planting. Give preference to the following types:
- Chinese cabbage;
- radish;
- cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Bell pepper.
In the pursuit of a large number of crops, some gardeners use various chemicals to accelerate growth and maturation. But as a result, the vegetables are tasteless and watery. Therefore, it is better not to stimulate the processes with chemical additives, but to take more care of the plants.
Having considered the basic rules for planting in a greenhouse, it is worth returning to the question of what to plant in a greenhouse. The following vegetables will be considered: cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, pepper.
Tomato and Vegetable Compatibility
Tomatoes are rather capricious vegetables, so you need to carefully approach the choice of plants adjacent to them. Often gardeners plant cucumbers and tomatoes together , but this is wrong. At first glance it seems that they are ideal neighbors, but this is a mistaken opinion. Although they are similar in their requirements to growth conditions, tomatoes and cucumbers do not get along well together.
Tomatoes need moderate heat and frequent airing, because they do not like too much humidity. Water them only under the root. Choosing places for their planting should be next to doors or windows.
How to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse? Eggplant and pepper should be grown with tomatoes, because they also need a lot of fresh air. They also grow well next to onions, parsley, herbs, carrots and radishes. But cabbage, pumpkin and strawberries do not get along with tomatoes.
Pepper and other vegetables
Close relatives of pepper are tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes. Consequently, with these crops, he can easily share one territory. Although, due to their similarity, they can attract the same pests. Some gardeners believe that there may be competition between related species for nutrients and the amount of light, resulting in a small crop.
What is better to plant pepper in a greenhouse:
- bean and bean;
- bow;
- eggplant;
- carrot;
- spices;
- Tomatoes
What is better to plant eggplant in a greenhouse
Eggplants are quite demanding vegetables, and although they can get along with pepper, it is extremely undesirable to plant any other crops next to them, because they really do not like to share space with other vegetables.
But if there is not much space in the greenhouse, and you want to grow purple vegetables, then beans will be a good neighbor for them. Eggplant also grows well next to sweet pepper and potatoes. Just be careful: if a Colorado potato beetle appears in a potato, eggplants will have to help. Therefore, they still should not be planted together.
Good neighbors would be:
Neighborhood with cucumbers
Cucumbers love heat, high humidity, so do not often ventilate the greenhouse. During watering, you need to irrigate not only the roots, but also the tops. For watering, use warm water. Another feature of these vegetables is that they do not need fertilizer, only nitrogen-containing ones will be enough. Cucumbers should highlight the warmest place in the greenhouse.
What is the best way to plant cucumbers in a greenhouse? They will be most comfortable together with pepper - the crop will turn out to be good. With a strong desire or a small greenhouse area, you can add eggplant to cucumber and pepper. An excellent combination will turn out with beans: together they enrich the soil with nitrogen, which is very necessary for good cucumber growth.
Cucumbers in the greenhouse
These are thermophilic vegetables, so you need to carefully approach the creation of the right greenhouse for cucumbers. It should be in a warm place and lit most of the day. The area under the construction should be flat, the presence of any slopes or pits is excluded. The greenhouse for cucumbers should not be too large - so it will heat up faster. It is mandatory that there is a ventilation hole so that fresh air enters at night and in cold weather. The coating is durable and transparent.
You can make a greenhouse - this is a simplified version of the greenhouse. It does not provide for the installation of an irrigation system, additional lighting, heating. The base of the greenhouse is a strong frame, which can be wooden or metal. It is fixed on the box, and the coating is translucent.
A greenhouse or greenhouse made of polycarbonate will be more expensive, but effective. Why is it considered the best for growing not only cucumbers, but also all crops?
- Resistant to all the vagaries of the weather (rain, hail, snow), so it can be chosen for year-round cultivation.
- The heat remains inside due to a special air gap.
- Cools slowly.
- Frost resistant.
- The material is very durable.
In order for the polycarbonate greenhouse to serve for a long time, one should not forget about several nuances:
- sheets should be taken 4-6 mm thick;
- There should be vents;
- the material is easily scratched, and when using cleaning products it becomes cloudy, and its light transmittance becomes worse, so you need to be careful.
Vegetable compatibility is a very important aspect in gardening. After all, each person hopes for a good harvest, and without knowledge of the symbiosis of vegetable crops it will be very difficult to achieve a good result. Not all plants are undemanding in care, so it is very important to consider all their nuances.
Why do gardeners like greenhouses? In addition to the possibility of growing all year round, greenhouse vegetables grow faster and better in taste. But the main guarantee of a rich harvest is still concern for vegetables and a real desire to engage in gardening.