There are so many Benefits of Greenhouse Gardening in Alaska! The best part is that you can start as early as April and grow all the way through October. Believe it or not but I cannot grow tomatoes or cucumbers outside here in Homer, Alaska! So having the benefit of using a greenhouse, also known as a conservatory, is such a plus! And it saves all kinds of room in my living room because I use to grow them there.
This photo above is my greenhouse! I was just getting started transplanting for the new season. Most gardeners know that we should have start our seeds in the house in March. By May the plants will be ready to transplant out in our covered nurseries. Although these tips are for anyone with a greenhouse, they are more specific to those of us who live in Alaska. If you have transplants left over, trade them with friends for more growing fun during our short growing season.
Pretty Blooms for your Greenhouse or Conservatory
Most greenhouses in Alaska are filled with fruits, vegetables, and herbs throughout the summer. You can also plant some pretty blooms too. If you want edible flowers, plant pansies, violets, geraniums, marigolds, sunflowers, and nasturtiums. You can make teas using the flowers from chamomile, daisies, lavender, and cornflower – and you can grow them right in your greenhouse! I have huge rafters that I may hang some flower baskets from this year. But flowers have a lower priority in my greenhouse.
Veggies & Fruits to Grow
In Alaska, unless you live in the interior where it is warm, most warm season vegetables need to be grown in a greenhouse or hoop or high tunnel. Plants such as cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, zucchini, eggplant and pepper plants are perfect for a greenhouse. I even grow some corn in mine and freeze it for use during the winter too.
You will need to either hand pollinate these plants or make sure you let in bees or butterflies to do the job. I buy cucumber seed that does not need pollinating. But my tomatoes I shake the plants for pollinating. And I hand pollinate pumpkins and squash with a paint brush. I shake my corn to make sure the tassels get pollinated.
I plant successive plantings of bush green beans. They do not grow outside. And we love the Roma II green beans!
I have not been able to get blackberries to produce in my greenhouse. The plants grow well but they do not fruit. I miss having fresh blackberries to pick, growing up in Oregon. So I took the blackberries out and will use the space for something else such as pumpkins that grow well for me in the greenhouse. Last year I got just enough pie pumpkins for the fall! I was faithful to hand pollinate.
Don’t forgot that the vining veggies need a bit of space so that the vines can grow out or up. I am trellising mine to grow on cages. You will need to either hand pollinate these plants or make sure you let in bees or butterflies to do the job.
You can grow everything you need for an amazing salad in your Alaska conservatory too but that is wasted space for a greenhouse in my opinion. Salad greens grow so well outside here – everything from mesclun to romaine, spinach, kale, chard and even arugula.
Herbs for the Greenhouse
Most herbs grow better in a greenhouse in Alaska. Basil, for one, loves the heat and won’t grow well out in the cool summer garden here in Homer, Alaska. Marjoram, oregano and sage are excellent to grow in containers in your greenhouse as well. Don’t forget to plant dill and cilantro too, but put them in a spot where it is a bit cooler – near the entrance usually works well. I was lucky enough to have thyme grow wonderfully on my deck outside last year!
Do any of you greenhouse owners have any other suggestions for great veggies and herbs that grow well inside a greenhouse? I’d love for you to share them in the comments! Everyone will benefit from sharing tips.
We had a fan in the greenhouse which is a must! And panels on the ceiling open when temperatures reach a given which is usually set at 82 degrees. In order to grow transplants out in April, we found we needed a heater in the greenhouse so that was added. The extra heat early and late in the seasons give a prolonged picking time!
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I would like to have a small greenhouse but do not have a clue about self pollinating anything. I can’t imagine living in an area to cool during the summer months to grow all you have in your green house. In Mississippi it is in the 90+ degrees daily and I would love cooler temps. I enjoyed your post.
I wish I had a greenhouse!!
A green house would be so awesome! If only I could garden.
I have always been interested in the greenhouses. Thank you for the information.
I just knew that Basil won’t grow well in the cool summer garden.
It would be nice to have a greenhouse. I love to grow my own vegetables.
I live in an apartment building and I’d love to have a green house. I once lived in an apartment building and we had the most charming garden, with a green house to boot. But where I live now, I can’t even get my neighbor to agree to a composter, alas.
We have a pretty big back yard and I wish we had a greenhouse but I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the upkeep I;m afraid.
How awesome to have a greenhouse to grow all these items!
My grandma has a greenhouse! I wish we had at home also.
I would love to have a greenhouse on my home it looks like so much fun and you could grow your things inside, it would be so much easier for me to have a greenhouse
wish i had a green house
I love also plants.. Hope to have a space in our house which I can put plants..
My favorite food, cucumbers, is easy to grow in a greenhouse. Tomatoes and melons are too. If I had a greenhouse, it would be full of cucumber, tomato, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, chives, dill, and cilantro. Sounds wonderful!
Tawny, give me your secret to growing cantaloupe! Do you hand pollinate them?
i love to grow my own vegetables and you save money and its healthier especially if you have allergy to gluten
I wish I had the funds to build my own greenhouse. This looks good!!
I wish I had a greenhouse so I could grow all these lovely items. I do grow a few vegetables and herbs in my garden box though.
Great Pamela Gurganus! Don’t need a huge spot…a garden box is a great thing to do!
I am going to have to get a greenhouse, I would love to do this 🙂
This looks really nice
I wish I had the time and money to build a greenhouse. Your looks very nice.
I wish I had the space for a greenhouse
Thanks so much for the Fantastic Review and Information on Great Plants to grow in your Greenhouse! I wish I had a greenhouse! We have planted our vegetable garden, but there is only so much room to work with. We planted several tomato plants, cucumber bushes, green peppers, zucchini, onions (everyone loves the scallions!) etc. I would still love to get some other things, like herbs for the garden yet. It would be so nice to have a greenhouse to grow vegetables all year round! Thanks so much for sharing your greenhouse and what you have and are going to plant this year. I can believe that if you live in Alaska, the growing season isn’t too awful long! Thanks again! Michele 🙂
We lived in Montana for 20 years and I had an outside garden…enough heat there during the summer! Here in Alaska the season is long but the heat is lacking! We have almost 22 hours of sunshine a day! Just need the heat. The interior near Fairbanks has some good gardening with heat and long hours of sun but we live on the ken peninsula and a hot day here is 70 which we don’t get very often.
I wish we had the room and money to have a greenhouse. We love tomatoes and fresh vegies, just don’t taste the same when you buy them at the grocery store. Luckily we have some farmers that brings them to a stand in our park.
Oh Carolyn if I had farmers near to get food from…we do have a farmer’s market. But you still have to pay there. There is something about growing it yourself 🙂
Oh, if we only had room for a greenhouse. I’ve always wanted one. One thing I’d check into growing in it would be loquat trees (there are some dwarf versions that would fit in a greenhouse). Unfortunately, we can’t grow them in our climate and don’t have enough room in the house to try to grow one in a huge pot.
Hmmm loquat, I have never even tried one of those!
I wish I had a greenhouse. It would be nice to have fresh fruits and vegetables year round. Store bought doesn’t compare.
As someone who struggles to keep FAKE plants alive, I gaze with longing at the greenhouses of others.
I don’t have a “green thumb”! I don’t think I could get anywhere with a whole greenhouse!!! lol
I just wish I even had money to build a proper greenhouse. What a great sight!