Light & Daily Light Integral
- Target 10–12 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ minimum
- Tomatoes & peppers thrive at 15–18 mol
Pair long-day lighting with blackout strategies to manipulate flowering and keep productivity high through seasonal swings.
Strategic greenhouse calendar studio
Design a greenhouse calendar that orchestrates climate, crops, and crew workflows
Start with scenario playbooks, layer in monthly maintenance, then generate zone-aware sowing and harvest schedules. Export everything to your team's calendar so daily decisions line up with the ecosystem you are engineering.
Scenario playbooks for cool-season, fruiting, herb, and ornamental production
Monthly structural + climate routines to protect light and airflow
Zone-driven crop scheduling with .ics export for task automation
Strategic greenhouse fundamentals
Tune the ecosystem before mapping the calendar
The calendar only works when light, heat, and humidity cooperate. Use these benchmarks to keep crops inside their physiological comfort zone year-round.
Vapor-pressure deficit · DLI · Redundancy
Temperature Strategy
- Day 68–78 °F
- Night 10–15 °F cooler
Layer passive insulation with responsive heat. Use staged heaters for redundancy and run fans continuously to eliminate stratification.
Humidity & VPD
- Propagation: 0.4–0.8 kPa
- Vegetative: 0.8–1.2 kPa
- Fruiting: 1.2–1.6 kPa
Monitor vapor-pressure deficit to balance plant transpiration with disease pressure. Adjust with dehumidification, misting, or “damping down.”
System Interlock
- Ventilation 8–10 cfm/ft²
- Shade cloth 30–70% by crop
Every lever influences the rest. Plan moves in pairs—heat with venting, shade with supplemental light—to keep crops within ideal thresholds.
Microclimate mapping
Position crops where the greenhouse naturally supports them
Not every square metre offers the same environment. Match crop demands to the thermal and light gradients in your structure and document the zones you create.
Pro move
Label benches and beds with microclimate tags. When labour rotates, cue them to move sensitive pods—prop trays, citrus, or shade lovers—to the right zones quickly.
Cool edge (glazing & vents)
Zone tacticBest suited for: Spinach, claytonia, kale during winter
Exploit conductive cooling for hardy greens. Stage airflow to avoid leaf wetness and watch for condensation-driven disease.
Thermal spine (north wall)
Zone tacticBest suited for: Citrus, peppers, tomatoes that crave residual heat
Add thermal mass barrels or masonry to capture daytime energy. Track nighttime dips to decide when to deploy frost cloths.
High-light lane (south beds)
Zone tacticBest suited for: High-DLI crops—cukes, tomatoes, eggplants
Prioritise trellised crops and integrate reflective mulch to bounce light back into the canopy on short winter days.
Canopy shade shelves
Zone tacticBest suited for: Bolting-prone salads, herb cuttings, nursery trays
Use benches and intercrops to engineer shade. Maintain airflow to offset higher humidity pockets beneath dense foliage.
Scenario planner
Toggle a complete, scenario-driven calendar
Align your greenhouse priorities with a seasonal script. Each scenario highlights the environmental metrics to watch and the actions that keep crops on schedule.
Bridge the hungry gap with staggered sowings and living refrigeration.
Use the playbook below as a ready reference while you run daily checklists.
Target DLI
10–14 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹
Optimal canopy VPD
0.6–0.9 kPa
Night temperatures
35–45 °F for hardy crops
Late winter · Jan–Feb
- Direct seed spinach, radish, mache, and claytonia in protected beds.
- Start brassica and leek transplants indoors for later field moves.
- Deploy row covers over beds when light drops to conserve warmth.
Spring push · Mar–May
- Succession sow salads every 10–14 days; harvest overwintered rows.
- Vent daily to hold crop temps below 65 °F and prevent bolting.
- Transplant broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower outdoors as weather permits.
Heat management · Jun–Aug
- Switch to heat-tolerant lettuce cultivars and increase shade to 50–60%.
- Sow fall backbone crops—kale, Brussels sprouts, beets—by early August.
- Use evaporative cooling to keep VPD from exceeding 1.2 kPa on hot afternoons.
Autumn stocking · Sep–Oct
- Transplant fall brassicas, sow overwinter spinach and corn salad.
- Plant garlic and cover beds with insect netting to exclude moth pests.
- Leverage intercropping—radish between cabbages—to utilise space before cold.
Winter harvest · Nov–Dec
- Harvest outer leaves of kale and chard; treat greenhouse as a fresh pantry.
- Store carrots and beets in situ under frost blankets for sweet flavour.
- Write weekly climate notes to refine next year’s sowing dates.
Operational timeline
Keep structural and environmental tasks on a predictable loop
Pair your crop plan with preventative maintenance. These monthly routines protect light levels, keep systems reliable, and stop pest populations before they ignite.
January
Structural integrity & warm media- Clear snow loads, check glazing for stress fractures.
- Stage compost and potting mix inside to temper before sowing.
- Finalize crop plans and supply orders for spring turnovers.
February
Deep sanitation & system service- Disinfect benches, trays, and tools to erase overwintering pests.
- Service heaters, vents, thermostats, and back-up power.
- Audit pest-exclusion mesh and replace compromised panels.
March–April
Spring transition control- Heat nights, ventilate sunny afternoons to maintain 45–64 °F for starts.
- Flush and pressure-test drip, sub-irrigation, and misting lines.
- Amend beds with compost and balance nutrition before planting.
May–June
Shade deployment & humidity balance- Install exterior shade or whitewash as soon as canopy temps approach 86 °F.
- Damp down pathways on hot, dry days to temper VPD spikes.
- Hang sticky cards and log counts to catch pest pressure early.
July–August
Peak cooling & consistent irrigation- Run vents and fans continuously; verify pad-and-fan or fogger output.
- Check irrigation daily—uneven moisture triggers blossom end rot and split fruit.
- Keep greenhouse and perimeter weed-free to starve pests of hosts.
September
Light reclamation & bed resets- Remove or retract shade cloth to maximise autumn light.
- Clear spent crops, amend soil, and sow fall successions.
- Schedule heater tune-ups before the first cold snap.
October
Insulation & heat testing- Clean glazing inside and out; install bubble wrap where acceptable.
- Test heaters with calibrated min/max thermometers at canopy level.
- Complete a final deep clean before overwintering crops move inside.
November–December
Moisture vigilance & maintenance- Run circulation fans even when heat is idle to curb Botrytis.
- Winterize external water lines and evaporative pads to prevent freezes.
- Inspect structure after storms and log repairs promptly.
Interactive schedule builder
Generate a crop-specific, zone-aware calendar
Layer the scenario playbook with an exact sowing and harvest schedule. Select your USDA zone, choose crops, and download an iCal file for daily reminders.
1. Choose your USDA zone
We use historic frost data to anchor sowing and succession windows.
2. Filter the crop library
Select as many crops as you like. We will calculate staggered sowing for succession crops automatically.
Select your USDA zone and crops to generate a tailored greenhouse calendar.
Crop library
3. Review crop intelligence
Extension-backed scheduling, cultural tips, and risk notes tailored to your zone.
Pick at least one crop to unlock sowing windows, cultural tips, and pest guidance.
4. Review generated tasks
Generate your calendar to populate sowing, transplant, and harvest actions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate are the planting dates?
We anchor recommendations to NOAA/USDA frost datasets and the crop physiology outlined in our scenario research. Always reconcile with real-time sensor data—DLI, VPD, and soil conditions—to fine tune weekly decisions.
Can I save my calendar?
Yes. Export the generated actions as an .ics file for Google or Outlook calendars, print scenario checklists for analog boards, and revisit the tool whenever you adjust plantings or swap scenarios mid-season.
What if my plant isn't listed?
Use the closest crop analogue for timing, then layer custom notes in your exported calendar. We continuously expand the plant library—send requests and we will fold new physiology profiles into upcoming releases.
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