Tomatoes like a sunny and rather cool location. Cucumbers prefer a tropical, warm, humid climate. The question arises as to whether both types of vegetables harmonize with each other in the same greenhouse? We explain how this gardening feat is achieved.
Can tomatoes and cucumbers be grown together in a greenhouse?
Tomatoes and cucumbers can be grown in the same greenhouse by creating two climate zones: the sunny side for tomatoes with loosened soil, compost and horn shavings and the shady side for cucumbers with a special manure heater and garden soil. A partition wall made of roof battens and greenhouse film effectively separates the areas.
Minimum requirements for a suitable greenhouse
For growing tomatoes and cucumbers under one roof to have any chance of success, the greenhouse should be designed like this:
- Floor area from 8 to 12 square meters
- Standing wall higher than 1.50 meters
- Width greater than 1.90 meters
- Roof covering made of hollow core panels
- at least two ventilation windows in the roof
- a door at least 80 cm wide so that a wheelbarrow can fit through
The windows should account for 10 percent or more of the total roof and wall area. Otherwise, when exposed to sunlight, the temperature will rise to 50 degrees Celsius and higher in summer, which will mean the end, at least for your tomato cultivation.
Division into two climate zones
Lay out the bed for the tomato plants on the sunny side of the greenhouse. To ensure that the deep-rooted plants thrive, loosen the soil two spades deep. Showering the soil with horsetail broth prevents fungal infections. This is followed by a generous portion of compost and horn shavings so that the heavy eaters have enough food. If the pH value is below 6, lime is also applied.
On the side facing away from the sun, create a manure heater in the ground for the cucumbers. The bed is dug two spade lengths deep. The pit is filled with a mixture of compost, manure and straw. Plan on 5 to 8 kilos per plant. Garden soil is spread over it. As the straw rots, the heat required for successful cucumber cultivation develops.
In order to effectively separate the two climate zones, the craftsman gardener is required to do a bit. Using roof battens, greenhouse film and a stapler, construct a partition wall that is hung on the struts of the greenhouse.
Tips & Tricks
The constant opening and closing of the ventilation windows saves you from having to use automatic window openers (€1.67 on Amazon). These little miracles of technology work without electricity. You set the desired opening and closing times and the window openers take care of everything else completely independently. The mechanism can also be installed later.
