Using Your Garage as a Mini Greenhouse

rssmasher 0 Comments April 24, 2018 Garage News

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As spring in the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington area draws near, many people have gardening on their minds. As you know, your garage doesn’t just need to be your carport. We’ve talked about different ways to repurpose your garage in previous blogs, showing how your garage can second as anything from a home gym to a tiny guest house to an art studio. However, did you know that your garage can also be used as a mini greenhouse, too? Well, it can!

In this edition of the Larry Myers Garage Door blog, learn how your garage can help give your green thumb a boost!

Supplies

For starters, you’ll need:

• Trays or pots for your plants
• Potting soil
• A thermometer to ensure temperatures optimal for growing
• Plant lights or grow lights
• A timer for your lighting

Make a Gardening Plan

Decide what you want to grow and what will grow well in your space. Do you want an indoor vegetable garden? An herb garden? The world is yours!

Considerations to make include how much natural sunlight comes in, heat sources, and the amount of space you have. Some great garage greenhouse-friendly options to consider include:

• Cool season crops, such as carrots, lettuce, broccoli or carrots
• Warm season crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and squash
• Herbs, such as basil, cilantro, chives, dill, parsley, and dill

Bring the Light In

In order to make your greenhouse as successful as possible, you’ll want to bring in as much natural sunlight as you can. Aside from grow lights, ways to bring in natural light include:

• Installing a glass garage door;
• If possible, adding windows in exterior walls; and
• Using reflective material on the garage interior to bounce sunlight coming in.

Environment Control

Depending on the types of plants you plan to grow, you’ll often need some source of heat for the colder months and access to fans in the winter months. If your garage isn’t heated, space heaters are great alternatives, as are heating mats placed under your seedling trays.

Garage insulation maximizes the efficiency of your home garage, and helps tremendously with temperature regulation. Learn more about choosing the right insulation for your garage; we’re always here to answer your questions.

Protect the Floor

When you’re watering your plants, your floor is likely to get quite wet. You’ll want to have a proper drainage system and waterproof your garage floor with floor tiles.

Pest Control

If you’re gardening in your garage, you’ll want to keep those pests out of your growing plants! Hop on over to our blog about how to keep pests out of your garage, and be sure to check your plants regularly for bugs and infestations.

How Can We Help?

If you have any questions, want to install a glass garage door or update the insulation for your garage, please feel free to reach out to us, your local garage door experts. Happy gardening!

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Posted in Garage News