A greenhouse is a system for environmental modification and management that allows plants to be grown in climates and seasons that would not otherwise be well suited for their growth.
Greenhouses can be used to grow many different kinds of plants with a wide range of environmental requirements from tender rainforest plants to desert succulent and just about everything in between.
The purpose of this course is to familiarize you with the various systems, and the day to day management, of the greenhouse environment. And, to help you maintain more or less optimal conditions for growth of whatever type of plant or plants you choose to grow in your greenhouse.
Our goal is to present the information in such a way that it is useful to anyone wishing to acquire greenhouse management skills— whether you are a student, an entry level professionial, or an amateur gardener.
The focus is on helping you understand the basic environmental factors, and systems involved in greenhouse management and the skills necessary to manage the greenhouse enivroment. There are many resources available on the principles of greenhouse degisn and the various kinds of greenhouse structures available to you, this is not a course on greenhouse design and/or construction, and assumes that you will be applying your greenhouse management skill in a relatively well designed and equipped greenhouse whether it be a commercial green house range, a research/teaching facility, or a home greenhouse.
The information presented in this course is provided from the point of view
of John Kumpf, who has been a professional greenhouse manager for over 40 years
at the research and teaching greenhouses of the Department of Floriculture and
Ornamental Horticulture at Cornell University. Over the years, John has worked
closely with a long line of Cornell Floriculture Professors, greenhouse staff,
students, and others, to facilitate their research and teaching objectives by
providing the highest possible quality of greenhouse grown plant material.
John has been involved in the team effort over the last decade to develop an approach to environmentally sound greenhouse management known as Best Management Practices and these concepts and strategies are integral to all the lessons presented here.
"Welcome to the diverse world of plant culture. It has been my good fortune to work and manage a teaching and research greenhouse for the last 40 years. During this time, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the leading Horticulturists in the world. I have interacted with professors, students, master gardeners, commercial growers, and homeowners. One of the most rewarding experiences I have had was to see a budding horticulturist develop. This, however, did not always come easy. My purpose in bringing you this distance learning module on greenhouse management is to introduce you to some of the basic facts of greenhouse growing."~John Kumpf
The environmental factors that must be understood and managed for the production
of quality plant material in the greenhouse include both the above and below
ground physical enviromment as well as the biotic environment. The physical
environment includes light, water, temperature, inorganic nutrients necessary
for plant growth. The biotic environment includes the plants
themselves as well as the insects, microorganism and other creatures that are
competing for the same resources.
Please begin your study of basic greenhouse management by reading the following sections on Learning Objectives and Concepts and Definitions.
Remember to familiarize yourself with the course by reading the documents in the Course Information section of the CourseInfo site. For further information on how to access the web-based information presented in this Distance Learning module, refer to the section on Setting Up Course Utilities.
1. Identify and explain different greenhouse structures and their functions. Be able to recommend particular structures and components.
2. Identify various media components. Explain the characteristics, chemistry,
and functions of container media. Understand the concept of soil-less/artificial
media mixes and their role in growing container crops.
3. Identify containers used for greenhouse production. Explain the various properties,
functions, and uses of these containers. Be able to decide on the appropriate
container for a specific crop and/or propagation technique.
4. Identify and explain the different types of benches and their functions.
Summarize the pros and cons of each bench system.
5. Identify and explain various watering techniques and apparati.
6. Understand the environmental control systems that regulate light, temperature,
and ventilation in the greenhouse.
7. Understand the relationship between poor sanitation and pest infestation.
Be able to recognize problems that could be minimized or eliminated with proper
sanitation procedures. Can develop a sanitation routine that minimizes the spread
of pests and the necessity for pesticide spraying.
8 . Be able to find information on greenhouse management using reference books
and the World Wide Web.
The information presented in this distance learning course was created with the understanding that no discrimination, or endorsement of any other information or products that may be interpreted as discriminatory, linked to from this Web Page, was implied.