Controlling the Greenhouse Environment.....

These large gutter-connected greenhouses are the most recent additions to the Bessey Nursery!

Greenhouses have come a long way......The first attempts to grow plants under cover probably date back to ancient Egypt, but not much is known about how this was done.

The first true greenhouse on record, in the modern sense, was built in Rome in 30 A.D. It was built by the ancient Romans, who were famous engineers and innovators, and this greenhouse was built for Emperor Tiberius, who was sick and was prescribed to eat one cucumber a day.

You know the saying, " a cucumber a day....."

Since then we have seen these structures go from simple frames with glass ceilings to extremely large, complex structures with many automated controls and advanced systems for heating and cooling. As the population on our planet continues to grow and our soils and available outdoor space to grow crops continues to decline, greenhouses will become an ever important agricultural system for keeping up with the global food supply.

Inside a smaller, gothic-arch style greenhouse.

Here at the Bessey Nursery, we have 11 greenhouse structures of various sizes that we use to grow our seedlings. They range from small high tunnels to extremely large polycarbonate covered structures that can house 1 million trees. In Nebraska the use of greenhouses is critical due to the cold climate and by utilizing these structures we can begin sowing our seedlings as early as February each year.

Greenhouse digital control center.

The environmental controls that can be installed within a greenhouse to manipulate the environment inside have come a long way and the possibilities are limitless. At our nursery we are fortunate to have a few greenhouses that have been outfitted with some pretty nice features and we will cover a few of them here.

Ceiling mounted propane heating unit.

Each greenhouse has a digitally controlled system for heating and cooling the large air mass inside. A series of strategically placed vents and fans are used to provide fresh air from the outside and to create adequate airflow within the house as well. The houses are also outfitted with large propane gas fueled heaters that are used to provide a consistent temperature inside throughout the year.

Automated shade cloths.

Another system we can use to help keep the houses cool during the intense summer heat is a series of automated shade clothes that open and close as needed to keep the seedlings happy. These shades run across the ceiling on a system of pulleys and they are automatically controlled by the greenhouses digital computer.

LED supplemental lighting unit.

Certain times of the year it is advantageous to supply supplemental light to our trees so they can get a head start during the short days of spring or in a similar fashion we can use these lights to keep the seedlings growing when the days become short in the fall. The lights are mounted on the ceiling and may be controlled with a timer to turn on and off as needed.

Large ventilation/exhaust fan.

These are just a few of the available environmental control options you can install within a greenhouse structure, other available greenhouse systems include CO2 supplementation, evaporative cooling walls, radiant heat flooring, fog machines for creating humid environments and much more.......the possibilities are truly limitless!