19 Vegetables to Grow in a Greenhouse

By Jennifer Poindexter

Having fresh vegetables on hand, year-round is an amazing benefit to owning a greenhouse.

Whether you have a beautiful walk-in greenhouse or a smaller pop-up greenhouse, you can still grow a variety of crops inside it.

If you’re wondering which vegetables are the easiest to grow in a greenhouse, you’ve come to the right place.

I’m providing a list of the vegetables which deserve your attention for greenhouse growing. They’re easy and taste delicious.

Take them all or pick the ones you’re most interested in. Either way, here are the easiest vegetables to grow inside a greenhouse.

1. Onions

Onions are a crop which can handle cooler temperatures. They make an excellent crop for growing in early spring, fall, or overwinter (in some planting zones) inside a greenhouse.

These vegetables are great for a variety of greenhouse set-ups. They can be grown in containers, raised beds, or in ground beds inside a walk-in greenhouse or high tunnel.

2. Microgreens

Microgreens are all the rage with gardeners today. Some people have even made entire businesses selling them to local restaurants.

If you aren’t aware, microgreens are basically seedlings of vegetables and herbs. They’re easily grown in shallow containers and are perfect for any style of greenhouse. They can even be grown indoors.

3. Leaf Lettuce

I use my greenhouse to grow leaf lettuce during spring, fall, and winter. Leaf lettuce is a great choice for greenhouses because of how quickly it grows.

Plus, it can be grown in containers and raised beds. This type of lettuce will typically be ready for harvest in 30 days and if you practice succession planting, you should have lettuce consistently.

4. Carrots

Carrots are another favorite of mine. I rarely ever grow carrots outside of my greenhouse because they’re so easy to produce in my greenhouse set-up.

In my case, I plant carrots in five-gallon buckets. With sunlight, water, and phosphate rich fertilizer, they produce a quality harvest in two to three months.

5. Spinach

My first greenhouse was a hoop cold frame. We were on a budget and decided to build an inexpensive greenhouse option that would allow us to produce cold hardy vegetables over the winter months.

Spinach was the first plant I ever grew in a greenhouse. Now, I love it even more because you can grow spinach in containers or raised beds. It’s a great option for most styles of greenhouses.

6. Tomatoes

One of the best crops I’ve produced in a greenhouse is tomatoes. They love the heat and seem to grow better under these conditions, in my opinion.

Tomatoes can be easily grown in typical garden beds within a high tunnel set-up. They’re also great for raised beds, or containers, in walk-in or pop-up style greenhouses.

7. Eggplant

Along with tomatoes, eggplant does well in greenhouses, too. These are heat loving plants, and greenhouses obviously raise the temperatures around them.

Not to mention, when planting eggplant inside a greenhouse, it’s easy to control the conditions surrounding them. You don’t have as many weather events or pests which impact the plants while growing under shelter.

8. Tomatillos

Do you love salsa Verde? We enjoy making Mexican cuisine around my house which is why we not only grow a lot of tomatoes, but we produce tomatillos, too!

These plants are slightly different from tomatoes because they produce fragile pockets first. These pockets eventually grow the tomatillos within them. When the pockets split, you know your produce is ready for harvest. They’re wonderful for a variety of gardening methods.

9. Peppers

If you want to produce an amazing pepper harvest, begin growing them in a greenhouse. My first year of growing tomatoes and peppers in a greenhouse was astonishing.

My pepper plants did better in the greenhouse than in my garden. The difference is the heat. If you’d like an abundance of peppers, try growing them in a container or raised bed inside your greenhouse.

10. Cabbage

Depending upon your planting zone, you might grow cabbage in the spring or fall. I usually grow it in the fall as I have fewer pest problems.

However, you can even grow it over winter, in some planting zones, if you have a greenhouse. This protects it from extreme cold and will prolong your growing season.

11. Broccoli

I’ll be truthful with you all. I love broccoli, but I struggle justifying growing it because it takes many plants to get enough of a harvest for long-term storage.

However, if you’d like to try your hand at growing this vegetable, for your enjoyment, consider raising it in a greenhouse. It will allow you to grow it in earlier spring or later fall.

12. Snow Peas

Snow peas are my kind of pea. If you’ve ever planted peas, you know they’re difficult to shell. The gardener puts in a great deal of work to get to their harvest.

This variety of pea is the exception. You can pick them and enjoy the shell along with the pea. You can plant them in the ground in your greenhouse, in a raised bed, or even a container.

13. Asparagus

Asparagus is a perennial plant. When planting it in your greenhouse, it’s best to have a bed for it to grow in year after year.

However, if you have a place for the plant to return each year, it’s a great investment. One asparagus plant can produce for up to 20 years!

14. Squash and Zucchini

It doesn’t take much to grow squash and zucchini. Growing it in a greenhouse is a wise choice because you have more control over the elements.

You can plant in a raised bed, in a bed in the ground, or a container. Be sure the plants receive water and nutrients, and you should have fewer problems getting them to produce in a greenhouse.

15. Okra

Okra is a plant which can grow to great heights. Keep this in consideration when choosing to grow it inside your greenhouse.

It can be grown in containers or raised beds. However, if you’re using a pop-up greenhouse, this plant might be overwhelming for such a small space.

16. Cucumbers

If you love pickles or fresh cucumbers on your salad, you should consider raising them inside your greenhouse. Cucumbers are easy plants to grow but be intentional about which varieties you grow based upon your greenhouse set-up.

The “bush” varieties usually have the term bush in their name which would be good for smaller greenhouses. If you have a larger greenhouse, you might be able to grow a vining variety which could grow up a trellis.

17. Kale

I grow kale regularly in my greenhouse. It’s another plant I grow all winter long because it’s easy and provides fresh greens right at my back door.

Kale is cold hardy and would be a great choice for cold frame greenhouses. It’s also a great crop for both beds and containers.

18. Turnips

Turnips are one of my favorite plants to grow. The reason being is you get a two-for-one product. You can allow the turnips to develop under the soil while harvesting the greens growing above.

This vegetable is a good choice for large containers and raised beds. You could potentially grow them over winter, depending upon your planting zone, in a cold frame greenhouse. If you practice succession planting, you could have a consistent harvest throughout the winter months.

19. Green Beans

I love green beans. We grow quite a few plants in our garden during the summer and fall months due to our planting zone.

However, you can plant green beans earlier and later if you have a greenhouse. The bush varieties might be a good fit for raised beds or containers. If you have an area for a trellis, you could grow running varieties as well.

This concludes our list of the easiest vegetables to grow in a greenhouse. Use this as a guide but also think about your set-up.

Obviously, smaller, and bush varieties of vegetables will do better in smaller greenhouses. If you have a larger walk-in greenhouse, you might have more options. Plant for your greenhouse area, and you should have a variety of vegetables producing around your home throughout the year.

More About Greenhouses

https://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/CR556/welcome.html

https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B910&title=Hobby%20Greenhouses

https://vric.ucdavis.edu/pdf/greenhouse_YearRoundGardening.pdf