Great Plants to grow in your Greenhouse
Clean out those greenhouses and get ready for a super awesome time gardening! That photo above is my greenhouse, I’m just getting started transplanting for the new season. Most gardeners know that we should have started our seeds a couple months ago and are ready now to plant our transplants out in our greenhouses. These tips are for anyone with a greenhouse, I just happen to live in Alaska. If you have transplants left over, trade them with friends for more growing fun during our short growing season.
Here are great plants to grow in your Greenhouse this year from flowers to herbs to vegetables. The best part of growing in a greenhouse is that you can start as early as late April and grow all the way through October. I was vacationing in April so I’m getting a late start getting my plants where they belong. Time to get gardening, my friends!
Pretty Blooms for your Greenhouse
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 flowers 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 like jalepenos or bell peppers are perfect for a greenhouse. I even has some corn growing in mine and will plant successive plantings of bush green beans this year.
I will also be planting blackberries to see if I can get a crop to produce in my greenhouse. I also plan on planting a zone 5 fruit tree in my greenhouse. It wouldn’t make it outdoors in my area of Alaska.
Don’t forgot that the vining veggies need a bit of space so that the vines can grow out. I am trellising mine to grow on wall side wires. You will need to either hand pollinate these plants or make sure you let in bees or butterflies to do the job. If you don’t, these plants won’t grow vegetables after they flower out. I have pie pumpkins and cantaloupe growing. Last year I got just enough pie pumpkins for the fall! I was faithful to hand pollinate. This is the first year I am growing cantaloupe so I will have to see what works for them.
You can grow everything you need for an amazing salad in your Alaska greenhouse 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. 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.
Christy Peeples DuBois says
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.
sarah poole says
I wish I had a greenhouse!!
Sandra Watts says
A green house would be so awesome! If only I could garden.
Denise Low says
I have always been interested in the greenhouses. Thank you for the information.
FJ says
I just knew that Basil won’t grow well in the cool summer garden.
Mary Czerczyk says
It would be nice to have a greenhouse. I love to grow my own vegetables.
Gaa Mosh says
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.
Cathy French says
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.
veronica lee says
How awesome to have a greenhouse to grow all these items!
Gervie Marquez says
My grandma has a greenhouse! I wish we had at home also.
Crystal Rogers Walker says
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
legacy stranger says
wish i had a green house
AnthonyHechanova says
I love also plants.. Hope to have a space in our house which I can put plants..
Tawny says
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!
Colleen says
Tawny, give me your secret to growing cantaloupe! Do you hand pollinate them?
kim thorne says
i love to grow my own vegetables and you save money and its healthier especially if you have allergy to gluten
Elizabeth H. says
I wish I had the funds to build my own greenhouse. This looks good!!
Pamela Gurganus says
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.
Colleen says
Great Pamela Gurganus! Don’t need a huge spot…a garden box is a great thing to do!
judethomas21 says
I am going to have to get a greenhouse, I would love to do this 🙂
Sara says
This looks really nice
johnthuku0 says
I wish I had the time and money to build a greenhouse. Your looks very nice.
JACKIE PHIPPS says
I wish I had the space for a greenhouse
micheleash1961 says
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 🙂
Colleen says
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.
Carolyn Massey says
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.
Colleen says
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 🙂
Linda Szymoniak says
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.
Colleen says
Hmmm loquat, I have never even tried one of those!
lisa says
I wish I had a greenhouse. It would be nice to have fresh fruits and vegetables year round. Store bought doesn’t compare.
Gabrielle says
As someone who struggles to keep FAKE plants alive, I gaze with longing at the greenhouses of others.
playfulpaws75 says
I don’t have a “green thumb”! I don’t think I could get anywhere with a whole greenhouse!!! lol
Mai Tran says
I just wish I even had money to build a proper greenhouse. What a great sight!