How to Prepare Greenhouses

Greenhouses require a good cleaning before seeds or plants are taken inside.

One part of greenhouse management is the cleaning process that should be done at the beginning of every season. When followed year-round, proper sanitation practices can save time. Removing diseased, dying and dead plant material from the greenhouse area reduces or prevents problems. If the greenhouse is not used in the summer, shutting the vents and doors allows the sun to heat up the greenhouse area and sterilize the environment through solar sterilization.

Things You'll Need

• Water hose
• Shop broom
• Weed mat barrier
• Scrub brush
• 1 bottle of chlorine bleach
• Bucket or tub
• Sponge

Instructions

1. 

   Keeping dead plant material in the greenhouse supports pests.

   Remove all dead plant material from inside the greenhouse and place in a compost pile or the trash.

2. 

   A weed mat barrier creates a clean walkway and prevents weeds.

   Open the greenhouse doors and vents. If the floor in the greenhouse is concrete, spray down the floor with a water and chlorine bleach solution of 1 part chlorine bleach mixed with 9 parts water. Scrub the floor with a shop broom. If the floor is gravel or dirt, lay down fresh weed-mat barrier.

3. 

   Scrub all the surfaces of the greenhouse benches.

   Remove all benches from the greenhouse if possible. If they cannot be moved, spray the legs of the benches with water. Scrub the top of the benches with the mixture of 1 part chlorine bleach and 9 parts water. Let air-dry.

4. 

   Containers need to be scrubbed and sterilized before placing in the greenhouse.

   Place all pots, gardening tools and flats in bucket or tub with the 1 part chlorine bleach to 9 parts water mixture. Let soak for 30 minutes.

5. 

   Even the largest greenhouses benefit from solar sterilization.

   Place the benches back inside the greenhouse and close the doors. Let the greenhouse stay closed up for at least one week to allow for solar sterilization of the greenhouse.

References

• University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension Fact Sheet: Greenhouse Management/Engineering: Cleaning and Disinfecting the Greenhouse
• National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service: Integrated Pest Management for Greenhouse Crops
• University of Illinois: Operations Policy