Spring GreenHouse Chores Guide

Spring is finally here! As the days get longer and temperatures begin to rise, your greenhouse will quickly become one of the busiest places in the garden.

For Kiwi gardeners, spring is the perfect time to give your greenhouse a freshen-up, prepare your soil and start planting for the productive months ahead. Whether you have an Urban Backyards Glasshouse, Polycarbonate Greenhouse or Tunnel House, a little preparation now can help set you up for a fantastic spring, summer and autumn growing season.

Wondering what to plant in your greenhouse in spring in NZ, or what jobs should be at the top of your list?

Here’s our handy Spring Greenhouse Chores Guide.

1. Give Your Greenhouse a Spring Clean

After a long, damp winter, one of the first jobs on your spring greenhouse checklist should be a good clean.

• Clean surfaces: Wipe down benches, tables and shelves and remove dead leaves, old pots and plant debris left behind from winter. Clean with dishwashing liquid and a non abrasive sponge or soft brush. 
• Clean your glass or panels: Wash down glass, polycarbonate or plastic film to remove dirt, algae and mildew that may have built up over winter. Cleaner panels allow as much of that valuable spring sunshine as possible into your growing space.
• Clean pots and seed trays: Before starting your spring seedlings, wash out old pots and trays to help reduce the chance of transferring pests and diseases to your new plants.
• Clean your tools: Give secateurs, trowels and other gardening tools a good clean before the busy growing season begins. Using a sanitiser is a great way to avoid spreading fungus or bacteria from plant to plant. 

A clean greenhouse isn't just nicer to work in – it gives your new season plants the best possible start.

2. Inspect and Maintain Your Greenhouse

Spring is also a great time to give your greenhouse a once-over after the wet, windy and cooler winter months.

• Check the frame: Look for loose bolts, screws or connections and tighten anything that has worked loose over winter.
• Check doors and vents: Make sure doors, windows, roof vents and roller mechanisms are opening and closing smoothly.
• Inspect your covering: Check glass, polycarbonate panels or greenhouse film for damage that may need repairing.
• Check gutters: Clear leaves and debris from gutters and downpipes, particularly if you're collecting rainwater for the garden.

Doing these little maintenance jobs now can save you headaches once your greenhouse is overflowing with plants!

3. Prepare and Feed Your Soil

Your plants are about to enter their busiest growing period, so spring is the perfect time to give your greenhouse soil some love.

• Add compost: Mix quality compost or well-rotted organic matter through your garden beds to replenish nutrients used by previous crops.
• Check your soil: Healthy greenhouse soil should be loose, rich and able to hold moisture without becoming waterlogged.
• Add nutrients: Depending on what you're planting, consider adding an appropriate organic fertiliser or soil amendment before planting.
• Mulch: Once your new plants are established, add a layer of mulch to help retain moisture and regulate soil temperature. Remember to leave a small gap around plant stems.

If you've been growing vegetables throughout winter, also think about crop rotation. Where possible, avoid planting the same family of vegetables in exactly the same spot year after year.

4. Get Your Greenhouse Ventilation Sorted

Spring weather in New Zealand can be unpredictable – a cool morning can quickly turn into a very warm afternoon!

As the sun becomes stronger, temperatures inside a greenhouse can rise surprisingly quickly, making good greenhouse ventilation increasingly important.

• Open doors and vents: On warm days, allow plenty of fresh air to circulate.
• Check automatic vent openers: If you have Auto Roof Vent Openers, make sure they're operating correctly before the warmer weather arrives.
• Encourage airflow: Avoid overcrowding plants and leave enough space between them for air to circulate.
• Watch humidity: Good airflow helps reduce excess humidity and can lower the risk of fungal diseases.

During early spring you may still need to close your greenhouse overnight, particularly in cooler areas of New Zealand where cold nights and late frosts are still possible.

5. What to Plant in a Greenhouse in Spring NZ

This is the exciting part!

Spring is when the greenhouse really starts coming back to life. It provides a warm, protected environment for getting your summer vegetables and seedlings underway while outdoor conditions are still a little unpredictable.

Some great vegetables and herbs to start growing during spring include:

Tomatoes • Capsicums • Chillies • Cucumbers • Courgettes • Pumpkins • Beans • Basil • Lettuce • Spinach • Coriander • Parsley

Your greenhouse is also a great place to get companion flowers such as marigolds established before planting them outside once conditions warm up.

Remember that New Zealand's climate varies considerably from Northland to Southland, so planting times will differ depending on where you live.

Don't be tempted to plant frost-sensitive seedlings outside too early simply because you've had a few beautiful spring days!

This is where a protected growing space really comes into its own. A Glasshouse can give you a fantastic head start while you wait for outdoor soil and overnight temperatures to warm.

6. Keep an Eye Out for Greenhouse Pests

Unfortunately, we're not the only ones excited about spring!

As temperatures rise, aphids, whitefly and other greenhouse pests can quickly become more active.

• Check plants regularly: Look underneath leaves and around fresh new growth where pests often appear first.
• Deal with problems early: A small pest problem is much easier to manage than an infestation later in the season.
• Keep things tidy: Remove dead leaves and plant material rather than allowing it to accumulate around your greenhouse.
• Encourage beneficial insects: Where possible, allow helpful insects into your greenhouse to give nature a hand with pest control.

If you're using pest-control products, always follow the product instructions carefully, particularly when spraying edible plants or around beneficial insects.

7. Check Your Greenhouse Watering System

As the days become longer and warmer, your plants will begin using considerably more water than they did over winter.

• Check irrigation: Inspect hoses, drippers and irrigation lines for leaks, blockages or damage.
• Increase watering gradually: Your greenhouse may need more frequent watering as temperatures rise, but check your soil rather than watering purely by habit.
• Water in the morning: Where possible, watering earlier in the day gives plants time to absorb moisture while allowing foliage and the greenhouse environment to dry before nighttime.
• Consider automatic irrigation: If spring and summer get busy, an automatic watering system can make greenhouse growing much easier – particularly when you're away from home.

8. Make Room for All Those Spring Seedlings!

One thing that always seems to happen in spring – suddenly there's nowhere to put everything!

Before your seed raising gets into full swing, think about how you can make better use of the space inside your greenhouse.

Greenhouse shelving and staging can give you extra room for seed trays, small pots and herbs without taking valuable growing space away from larger plants.

Using the vertical space in your greenhouse can make a surprisingly big difference, particularly in a smaller urban backyard.

Make the Most of Your Greenhouse This Spring

Spring is one of our favourite times of year in the greenhouse. Seeds are germinating, seedlings are growing and every week seems to bring something new.

A protected growing space allows Kiwi gardeners to start growing earlier in spring, protect young plants from unpredictable weather and create the ideal environment for many of our favourite summer vegetables.

Whether you grow in one of our Polycarbonate Greenhouses, prefer the traditional look of a Glasshouse, or need the extra growing room offered by our Tunnel Houses, spring is when these spaces really start to earn their keep.

With a little cleaning, maintenance and planning now, your greenhouse can be producing an incredible range of fresh food right through spring and summer.

There are so many things you can grow at this time of year – Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Capsicums, Chillies, Beans, Courgettes, Lettuce, Spinach, Basil, Coriander, Parsley and plenty more!

And don't forget to experiment. One of the best parts of owning a greenhouse is discovering what grows particularly well in your own little microclimate.

If you have some great spring greenhouse gardening tips and tricks, please comment below! We'd love to share your ideas with our readers so we can all continue improving our greenhouse growing.

Happy Spring Growing!

Urban Backyards – Helping You in Growing, Living and Loving Your Backyard.