If you are anything like me you most likely are so excited for the new spring season, which after the long winter is a welcome season. If you are a procrastinator the interior of your greenhouse most likely needs a good clean out before you can start taking your seedlings into the greenhouse for the spring. Most gardeners will clean out their greenhouse as the winter months are approaching while others of us leave everything we can in the greenhouse continue to grow until the coldest freezing temperatures come. All of this brings me to the interior details of your greenhouse.
If you are cleaning out for the new spring season or if you are starting with a brand new greenhouse for the new growing season, you will need to make a plan for this new year, where you will put your supplies, where you will put your garbage and where you are going to do your repotting. Making space so you can work in the greenhouse will save you time and energy later during the busy garden-planting season. One thing that you might not think is going to be important in the greenhouse is a chair or at very least a stool. When you are busy working in the greenhouse, planting, replanting, and enjoying your flowers or cutting off your vegetables you will find that you will want a little rest and a chair is the perfect opportunity to rest your feet for a minute. A chair in your greenhouse is also a good place for your visitor to sit while you are busy and they are talking to you so that they will stay out of your way. Many times your chair will become your catch all when you have your hand full on your way in and out of the greenhouse and as an easy ‘shelf’ so you can rearrange just one more thing before you leave the greenhouse for the day as well.
Keep comfortable things in the greenhouse such as a radio, a small cooler where you can put your drinks when you are in the greenhouse, possibly even a little box where your snack are hidden. Snacks hidden in the greenhouse are often a great way to occupy children who visit in your greenhouse and won’t keep their hands off of your precious flowers! Speaking of comfort, keep your racks and shelving to a space where you will still be able to walk through the aisle when you hands are fullest or when you are carrying the largest container you can imagine carrying. There is nothing worse than trying to get to the back of the greenhouse only to find that you can’t fit without lifting the item above your head! Don’t forget about your own safety in the greenhouse. No matter how careful you are, electricity, water, and plastics can cause trouble. Keep your water containers away from the electric outlets and keep your heaters away from the sidewalls of your greenhouse. Many heaters will state right on the container how far you need to keep it from shelving and from walls in order to be safe and not start a fire. Read and follow all the instructions that come with your heater. Keeping your plants as far back as recommended by the manufacturer will also mean that your soil in these plants will not dry out faster than they should be. Keep a fire extinguisher in the greenhouse if you ever feel unsafe about leaving your heaters on all the time. You can easily put out a fire if one should start, but without it you won’t have a chance with wood benches and polycarbonate walls.