Today's Grower - Greenhouse Blog

As we head into October, the cooler days signify that heating season is here. Heating your greenhouse is a necessary reality for commercial growers to maintain an ideal climate for their crops, but with energy prices on the rise, warming the greenhouse can be a costly endeavor. Growers must ensure they're getting the most out of their heating system and often maintaining efficiency involved simple maintenance. Here is quick checklist to maximize the efficiency of your greenhouse heating system:

As we enter into September, it’s inevitable that colder weather and shorter days are not far behind. For areas that experience significantly colder weather and snow during the fall and winter seasons, it’s important to prepare your greenhouses so your crops are protected. Here are a few things to consider when preparing your commercial greenhouse operation for the fall and winter:

Choosing a greenhouse covering is an important decision for a grower and depends on a number of factors including durability, climate, light transmission and cost-efficiency. The most common materials used to cover greenhouses include glass, acrylic, poly film and polycarbonate, all of which come with varying advantages depending on what a grower is looking to get out of their covering.

Summer is once again coming to a close, and as much as we try to savor the long days that accompany the warmest season of the year, the beginning of August signals that shorter, cooler days are not far behind. Growers need to prepare their greenhouses for colder weather which means they also need to prepare for the high energy costs associated with operating a commercial greenhouse through the winter.

One of the biggest challenges faced by growers is finding and developing an efficient integrated pest management (IPM) program that works for their operation. Once a disease spreads or pests infest a crop, it can be incredibly arduous to fix and can cost thousands of dollars in damaged products. It’s critical that a holistic approach to managing pests and diseases is implemented to avoid costly infestations.