Definition and Various Benefits of Greenhouses for Plants

Benefits of Greenhouse – Greenhouse or greenhouse is a building where plants are grown. This building can be a small building or a building that is also quite large in size. The concept behind greenhouses dates back to Roman times when the Emperor Tiberius demanded to eat Armenian cucumbers every day, and his gardeners had to use a system similar to modern greenhouses to ensure he had cucumbers every day.

Definition of Greenhouse

The greenhouse in 13th century Italy was one of the first modern greenhouses. Initially, greenhouses were more common in the lands of the wealthy, but they have since been studied by universities around the world. It was only in the 19th century that some of the largest greenhouses were built, while geodesic domes grew in popularity for use in many greenhouses in the 20th century.

The use of greenhouses in plant cultivation is one way to approach optimal conditions for plant growth. Greenhouses were first developed and commonly used in areas with subtropical climates. The use of greenhouses is primarily intended to protect plants from air temperatures that are too low in winter.

Nelson (1978) defines a greenhouse as a building for plant cultivation, which has a translucent roof and wall structure. The light needed by the plants can enter the greenhouse , while the plants are protected from unfavorable environmental conditions, namely the air temperature is too low, the rainfall is too high, and the wind is too strong.

Environmental parameters in the greenhouse that affect plant growth, namely sunlight, air temperature, air humidity, nutrient supply, wind speed, and carbon dioxide concentrations can be controlled more easily. The use of a greenhouse allows modification of the environment that is not suitable for plant growth to be closer to the optimal conditions for plant growth.

The greenhouse structure interacts with the surrounding climate parameters and creates a microclimate in it, which is different from the climate parameters around the greenhouse . This is known as the greenhouse effect or the greenhouse effect.

According to Bot (1983), the greenhouse effect is caused by two things, namely:

  • Air movement inside the greenhouse is relatively very little or tends to be stagnant because of the closed greenhouse structure and the rate of air exchange inside the greenhouse with the outside environment is very small. This causes the air temperature inside the greenhouse to tend to be higher than outside.
  • Short wave solar radiation that enters the greenhouse through the roof is converted into long wave radiation. This long wave radiation cannot get out of the greenhouse and is trapped inside. This creates a greenhouse effect which causes the air temperature to increase in the greenhouse.

How Greenhouses Work

How does a greenhouse or greenhouse work? Greenhouses reduce the rate at which heat energy flows out of buildings by inhibiting heat that has been absorbed by convection. The material for greenhouse construction is usually glass or plastic, so sunlight can pass through.

This sunlight is an integral part of the greenhouse, so the temperature stays warm as the sunlight heats the soil inside the greenhouse. In turn, the warm soil then warms the air in the greenhouse, which continues to heat the plants within the greenhouse building. In essence, sunlight in a greenhouse easily enters the glass building, but the heat is difficult to get out of the building.

Greenhouse Benefits

The main benefit of a greenhouse or greenhouse building is to protect plants from cold or overheating and unwanted pests. Greenhouses make it possible to grow certain types of plants all year round. Various types of fruit, tobacco plants, vegetables, and flowers are the plants most often grown in greenhouses.

High-altitude countries are the countries with the most amount of greenhouses. It also has to do with concerns related to maintaining a proper food supply. For example, Almeria and Spain are among the countries with the largest greenhouses in the world, reaching more than 50,000 hectares in area.

Greenhouse gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in these countries. So, operating a greenhouse garden is logical. The main benefit of the greenhouse is intended to extend the season of various valuable crops. Horticulture enthusiasts should also be enthusiastic about greenhouses as they allow them to grow plants and flowers throughout the season, which they can then bring home or sell.

Simple greenhouses can be built with plastic or glass. Once you have chosen a good location for your greenhouse location, you can build your own by ordering greenhouse packages from a number of popular manufacturers. This pack can also be made in do-it-yourself projects as desired.

The following are some of the other benefits of a greenhouse :

1. Plant Cultivation

The season or climatic conditions in an area are the main factors that cause the diversification of plant species, for example, strawberries are generally grown in mountainous areas with cool climates, so of course they cannot grow well in hot climates.

Well, the first benefit of a greenhouse is of course as a place to cultivate various types of plants, including types of plants that may not be suitable to be developed under local climatic conditions. This is made possible by utilizing a ventilation system and greenhouse building materials which are relatively easy to modify according to the needs of each plant. In this way, farmers can set their own time to plant or harvest certain crops, while reducing the level of crop diversification between regions.

2. Multipurpose Place in Agriculture

The process of planting a plant can be said to be quite long and sometimes requires various gardening equipment and tools, such as shovels, water hoses, fertilizers, and so on. Greenhouses in general do not only function as a place for cultivating plants, but also a multi-purpose place that can be used to store various gardening tools and equipment that you have. This of course will make it easier for you to find and retrieve equipment when needed. Practical right?

3. Supports Plant Growth

Third, the benefit of a greenhouse for plants is to create an environment and climatic conditions that are conducive to supporting the process of plant growth. A plant can generally grow in a warm and humid environment. Therefore, keeping plant seeds in a warm growing environment will speed up the plant growth process. Greenhouses can save the amount of heat from exposure to sunlight and moisture to keep the environment warm, while maintaining humidity levels in the greenhouse.

4. Protects Plants

Apart from supporting plant growth, a greenhouse can also protect risks against various kinds of problems that may arise if your plants are cultivated outdoors. These problems include extreme weather changes, high rainfall, and seasonal pest attacks that can damage crop quality, such as tent caterpillars, grasshoppers, spider mites, and others.

Greenhouses are generally specially designed using materials that are insect-resistant and of course shady enough to protect plants from climate change. This allows the resulting plants to have high quality.

5. Relieves Stress

Not only for plants, it turns out that the benefits of greenhouses are also felt for workers and visitors. Research shows that being outdoors and being one with nature is one method that is quite effective for releasing yourself from the various kinds of pressure, stress, and depression that you are currently experiencing.

Furthermore, other studies also state that the greenhouse has good lighting and is spread all over the room, so it is very good at reducing Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) by bringing back your spirits when you start to feel sad.

Greenhouse Construction

Greenhouse building construction is a type of building that is broad, light, and thin. Thus, to build a greenhouse, materials that are light and thin, but strong, are needed. The best frame for a greenhouse is of course steel. However, we can also use wood or bamboo as the main frame. This will give a good natural impression from within. In addition, warm conditions also help protect wood and bamboo from damage.

Greenhouse wall materials can use strong glass or sheet plastic to make it cheaper and safer. However, if you use plastic, you must pay attention to the lock so that it is not blown away by the wind. For greenhouse roofing materials, it can be made with glass tiles, flat glass, or plastic sheets.

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