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Plastic greenhouses or growhouses are not as durable as glass greenhouses, and unlike glass greenhouses, are not really suitable for internal heat sources.
Nevertheless, plastic greenhouses are significantly cheaper, more portable, and easier to set up than traditional greenhouses. They also serve much the same purpose in terms of lengthening the growing season – allowing you to start growing earlier and harvest crops later.
This post provides a quick reference guide for what you can grow in a plastic greenhouse. You may also like to see my page on plastic greenhouses, growing tunnels, and cloches, and my YouTube video on what to grow in a polytunnel.
Idea list for what to grow in a plastic greenhouse
A plastic greenhouse is good for these jobs:
- Germinating seedlings
(all types from early spring – but follow the recommended instructions on the packet – some may be more successful on a sunny windowsill) - Growing on seedlings / hardening off
(all types – from early spring) - Growing heat loving plants to maturity / fruiting
(providing bigger, earlier, and more reliable crops)
The list below is what I use my plastic greenhouse for. Click on a plant name to see the full growing guide.
- Aubergines
- Broccoli (germinating seeds in early spring)
- Brussels Sprouts (germinating seeds in early spring)
- Cabbage (germinating seeds in early spring)
- Cauliflower (germinating seeds in early spring)
- Chillies
- Sweet Peppers
- Courgettes (before planting out)
- Cucumbers
- Inca berries
- Melons
- Squash (before planting out)
- Runner Beans (before planting out)
- Tomatoes
Plastic greenhouses can also be used as a middle step to acclimatise plants to outdoor conditions after germinating the seed indoors. See my guide on electric heated propagators.
If you have a large conservatory, greenhouse, or polytunnel, it is possible to grow-on heat loving plants to full maturity. These will extend the harvest period in late summer and autumn. See my guide on allotment polytunnels.
A cheaper alternative to these large structures are plastic tomato growhouses, which are commonly large enough to grow two or three plants to full maturity. These can also be used for chillies, aubergines, sweet peppers, and cucumbers.
