Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Protect Your Plants
By growing your vegetables indoors, you'll have more control over
the amount of heat, light, and water your vegetable plants get. You
can add artificial light, control heat, and control your plants' access
to water. In contrast, when you grow your vegetables outdoors, you
have very little-if any-control over how much sunlight or rainfall
your vegetable beds get.
Some vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, okra, and eggplants,
need extra heat to grow their best. If you live in a cooler climate or
your garden site is at a higher elevation with extreme temperature
fluctuations, a greenhouse may be needed in order to grow these
heat-loving vegetables. Other vegetable plants such as lettuce, spin-
ach, and salad greens grow better when the weather is cooler and
may need protection if the weather gets too hot.
Smoothie Garden Solution
Corn, trellised peas, and climbing beans are all great sun screeners
for other vegetables. As they grow they will give smaller and more
tender vegetable plants the shade and protection they need from
the sun. Plant your lettuces and other salad greens around these
taller plants during the hot summer months.
Tomatoes and carrots can attract diseases and pests if their leaves
become damp. It is very beneficial for these vegetable plants to be
grown under cover where you can control how they are watered.
Drip irrigation is often used in greenhouse settings and is a very
effective way of watering your vegetables.
Growing indoors can help you prevent certain pests and diseases
from reaching your vegetable plants. For example, flea beetles can
