What Are the Best Spring Plants to Grow in a Greenhouse

Spring is nearly upon us, and if you are a greenhouse gardener, it is time to start thinking about what to plant. When March arrives, it is time to transfer any of your cold weather plants from earlier months, like lettuce, broccoli and radishes, into bigger pots, and begin planting your spring seeds.

Here are some great plants to start growing in your greenhouse in early spring:

Petunia

If you like growing flowering plants for decorative use as well as edible crops in your greenhouse, the petunia is an excellent choice to plant at this time of year. Unlike some other plants you can grow from March, petunia plants do not need an additional heat source in early spring, and will grow comfortably in the shelter of your greenhouse.

Petunias are just one example, but annual ornamental flowering plants you want to transfer to your garden can all be started easily in your greenhouse at this time of year.

Cucumber

When it comes to food crops, you can start to grow cucumbers ready for your summer salads by planting the seeds in March. It may be advisable to use an extra source of heat for these, along with some of the other food plants we have included in this list, but often the spring season can be warm enough for them to grow without this. There’s such a variety of different cucumber plants to choose from, you can grow a mix of varieties quite easily.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a classic greenhouse plant, which have a good yield of food and can of course be used in anything from salads to pasta sauces. They are also a good plant to grow because there are a lot of things you can make with tomatoes that can be preserved, so you don’t run the risk of not being able to make good use of your harvest before they spoil, which can be a problem with some other home grown fruits and vegetables. Tomato plants, like cucumbers, may need extra heat in spring depending on how warm the season turns out to be, but in general March is a suitable time to start growing them.

Melons

Melons can be fun to grow, and can make an interesting change from a lot of the commonly grown greenhouse produce. The requirements a melon plant has are similar to that of a cucumber, so it can be good to plant and nurture these crops at the same time. Also growing Melons is a bit, well, “exotic” and pretty exciting really. Imagine sitting down to eat a home grown melon, fantastic!

Beans

Beans are not for every greenhouse as they do need a fair amount of space, but they can be a great crop to grow and if you have a larger greenhouse, now is a good time to start planting the seeds. Green beans and runner beans yield plenty of food, so if you like them and have the room, they are a great addition to a greenhouse you use to grow your own food.

Spring is a great time of year for gardeners, so start planning your greenhouse layout for spring and get ready to start growing these great plants!