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With all the worries today about the purity of food, not to mention the current escalating price of food, it’s time we took another look at the art of hobby greenhouses. If you look at information on the Victorian lifestyle, you will find that many people had a home greenhouse.

In Victorian times home greenhouses were used not only to put food on the table, but to satisfy the Victorian’s curiosity for all things natural. It was considered a worth while past time to have a hobby greenhouse in which to grow amazing specimens of tropical plants and rare species of native plants.

There were large “conservatory” greenhouses in the large homes of the rich back then but you don’t necessarily need a large space to grow enough food for you and your family. There are mini and small greenhouses that fit on porches, balconies and decks that will allow you to grow lettuce, tomatoes and some herbs for great salads. A small to medium green house is large enough to produce enough food for a family of four if planned properly.

A neighbor of mine grows an abundant of flowers and vegetables in a very small greenhouse. She does heat it during the winter and provides her family and friends fresh flowers and produce year round. Since she is retired, she has a lot of time to dabble and try different growing techniques with her backyard greenhouse.

The best practical use for a green house is growing your own produce on a year-round basis. Once you have a backyard greenhouse and have done a bit of research to learn what you need to know to start, you are well on your way to providing your family with home grown food in all seasons. The environment needs to be paid attention too as this will be the main reason you will have success or not. You can also decide if you want to grow your plants organically (without pesticides) or not.

For the average family, growing salad vegetables is a good way to start. You can plan on beginning by planting pots of lettuce, radishes, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers and spring onions. All of those are easy to grow and can easily be made into a salad or salsa. Once you become more accustomed to growing your own food, you can start plants that take a little more care, and take up more space like squash, cucumbers and egg plant.

After you have tasted the produce that you have grown yourself, you will not only comment on how much better it tastes, but be proud that you are helping to save the planet by not consuming produce that has been picked way to early, sprayed with who knows what, crated, stored and shipped many miles away. Having a backyard greenhouse is a great way of going green and staying green. It just makes since to save the environment, eat better and healthier and do it no matter what season you’re in.

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