--- title: "Crops" description: "A greenhouse is designed around a crop, not the other way round. Reference pages for each commercial crop identity in the DutchGreenhouses crop model, with every figure traced to its Dutch source." canonical: "https://dutchgreenhouses.com/crops" locale: "en" updated: "2026-08-11" --- # Greenhouse crops > Part of: [Greenhouse Horticulture](/greenhouse-horticulture.md) · Provider: [DutchGreenhouses](/) Greenhouse crops are the plants and market classes grown commercially in protected cultivation, from long-cycle fruiting vegetables on high wire to short-cycle leafy greens and herbs in nutrient film. Each crop sets the temperature, light, water and labour rhythm the greenhouse around it has to deliver. ## Facts | Property | Value | |---|---| | Crop groups covered | 4 groups | | Crops covered | 13 crops | | Growing systems | High-wire substrate, suspended gutter, hydroponic pond and nutrient film categorical | | Organising principle | Commercial identity categorical | Reference # Crops. What a crop asks of a greenhouse, before anything is built. ## What a crop asks of a greenhouse A greenhouse is designed around a crop, not the other way round. The crop sets the temperature the structure has to hold, the light it has to admit, the water the irrigation has to deliver and the hours the climate system has to run. A buyer who starts from the building and chooses the crop afterwards inherits whatever envelope the building happens to give, and pays for the mismatch every season it operates. Commercial identity is finer than the crop. A grower does not sell tomato; the grower sells truss tomato, or cherry, or beef, and each is a different plant load, a different harvest rhythm and a different climate. The same holds inside cucumber, inside pepper and inside lettuce. These pages are organised the way the trade is organised: one page for each variety, under the crop it belongs to. The building follows from those differences. Light transmission, gutter height, screening strategy, heating capacity and irrigation design all move when the crop changes, and so does the order in which they have to be decided. A house specified for leafy greens is not a house specified for a long-cycle fruiting crop carrying a heavy plant load, and converting one into the other after it is standing is expensive where it is possible at all. DutchGreenhouses® designs the structure, climate, screening and irrigation together around the crop, its market and the local climate, so the envelope matches the plant rather than the plant being asked to accept the envelope. Get in touch to size a greenhouse for your crop. Fruiting vegetable ## Fruiting vegetables ### Tomato The crop the modern glasshouse was built around. ### Cucumber Fast, hungry, and unforgiving of a slow climate. ### Sweet pepper A long crop where colour is the product. ### Hot pepper Related to sweet pepper, and a different crop to build for. ### Eggplant A long crop with a heavy fruit and a demanding root zone. Soft fruit ## Soft fruit ### Strawberry Soft fruit grown at working height, on gutters that recirculate. Leafy green ## Leafy greens ### Lettuce A short cycle repeated all year, where the head is the unit sold. ### Spinach A fast leafy crop where the growing system is the first decision. ### Arugula A peppery leaf sold young, with two different plants behind one name. Herb ## Herbs ### Basil The highest-value fresh herb, and two crops rather than one. ### Coriander A fast herb that runs to seed the moment it is held too long. ### Parsley A herb that is cut and comes back, which changes how a house is planned. ### Mint Vigorous, perennial, and best given a channel of its own. From the knowledge base ## Reads you might find interesting ceacultivationbusiness-case ### Grow Like a Pro: Starting Smart, Growing Strong How Grow Like a Pro combines smart farming, CEA technology and local partnerships for eco-friendly, profitable, pesticide-free greenhouse pr Read article education ### The Case for a College Greenhouse Why a college greenhouse belongs in the curriculum: teaching science, craftsmanship, business logic and sustainability, and preparing studen Read article education ### The Case for a High School Greenhouse Why every high school greenhouse matters: how it makes STEM tangible, builds responsibility and teamwork, and helps students discover their Read article education ### Greenhouses in Education: The Case for Schools Greenhouses in education reconnect students to reality — the full case for why every school, high school, college and trade program should h Read article historyconstruction ### The Origins of Greenhouse Horticulture: My Backyard A tour through greenhouse horticulture history: from 19th-century Westland fruit walls to the “City of Glass” and today’s international high Read article company ### DutchGreenhouses Rebranded: A New Corporate Identity Announcing our new corporate identity — a visual style reflecting our dedication to advanced, high-quality greenhouse projects and The Futur Read article ## FAQ **Why is a greenhouse designed around a crop?** The crop sets the temperature the structure has to hold, the light it has to admit, the water the irrigation has to deliver and the hours the climate system has to run. A building chosen first leaves the crop to accept whatever envelope it happens to give. **What does commercial identity mean for a crop?** The class the market actually buys — truss tomato rather than tomato, butterhead rather than lettuce. Plant load, harvest rhythm and handling belong to the class, which is why each class has its own page and its own specification. **Can one greenhouse grow more than one crop?** Within a family that shares a climate envelope, a compartment split is the usual answer. Crops with different envelopes need their own compartments, and the layout decides whether one house can hold them without the climates fighting. ## Related [Greenhouse Horticulture](/greenhouse-horticulture.md) · [Climate](/climate.md) · [Hydroponics](/irrigation/hydroponics.md) · [Growlights](/growlights.md) · [Tomato](/crops/tomato.md) · [Cucumber](/crops/cucumber.md) · [Sweet pepper](/crops/sweet-pepper.md) · [Hot pepper](/crops/hot-pepper.md) · [Eggplant](/crops/eggplant.md) · [Strawberry](/crops/strawberry.md) · [Lettuce](/crops/lettuce.md) · [Spinach](/crops/spinach.md) · [Arugula](/crops/rocket.md) · [Basil](/crops/basil.md) · [Coriander](/crops/coriander.md) · [Parsley](/crops/parsley.md) · [Mint](/crops/mint.md) --- Canonical HTML version: https://dutchgreenhouses.com/crops