Vegetables can be grown just about any time of year if you use greenhouse vegetable gardening plans.
Growing them in a hothouse is similar to growing vegetables in the garden in summertime.
You just have to take a few extra steps in order to artificially supply what they would get in a natural situation.
To grow vegetables in a portable greenhouse you can use two techniques.
The first uses the sun's energy during the day to heat up the structure and is called the cold technique.
When the temperature decreases, a heating element will turn on to keep the temperature to a minimum of 45 degrees F.
In this technique plants do not grow but instead they are just maintained until they can be placed back outside in the summer.
Growing vegetables during the winter requires warmth so the warm technique is the method to use.
Garden greenhouses need to maintain a temperature of at least 55 degrees F in order to grow and require a heating unit.
Heating units can be gas, electric or propane.
Almost any vegetable you can grow outside can be grown in a greenhouse.
Almost each vegetable has a variety that has been hybridized to grow indoors.
You can find them in most catalogs that sell seeds.
The types of seed you want are the ones that do not require a great deal of heat to grow.
You should look for varieties that grow small or can be trimmed to be small since there is not as much room in one of these structures as there is in a garden.
An important natural action that must be performed artificially is pollination.
Unfortunately insects, particularly bees, do not dwell inside.
An example of pollinating a vegetable easily is done by pollinating tomatoes.
Tomato vines should be tied to stakes made of bamboo and when the flower is ready the stakes should be tapped both in the morning and at night.
You will know the flower is ready when the petals start to curve backwards.
Pay close attention to this because there are only three days that the flowers will be producing pollen to pollinate the vegetable.
Because there is not a great deal of sunlight during the winter you must add sunlight by using grow lights.
Most vegetables require at least eight hours a day.
Of course, the plants will also need to be watered and fertilized regularly.
Greenhouse gardening during the winter is a bit more challenging and takes more time than in the summer, but it is also rewarding.
You can go to the greenhouse during a snowy day in January and pick a vine ripened tomato.
You can have that summer filled taste any time of the year.