When I had a proper one I supplied the neighbours,my Dad and friends with various geraniums/pelargonums,and hanging basket plants,now I'm the only one in the street with an interest in gardening,and my Dad passed away aged 90,still loving his garden,so I know a greenhouse is overkill for just my needs.
The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
‘Previous owners had put a proper greenhouse in
but I removed it as I didn't think it worth keeping something that took up a
such a large proportion of the planting space when I could use that space for
plants!’
Mr Vine eye it’s such a shame
you did that. One of the best ‘planting space’ you can have is a Greenhouse. Mine
is used all year round.
At the start of spring my hanging
baskets are planted up with my plants grown from seed which shoot away hanging
in there ready to go out when the frosts have all passed. I have seed sown
seedlings filling the 10 x 13 Green house space I have. When there hardened off
and able to stay outside ready for planting in the borders the aluminium staging
is taken out and stored in the garage for the summer. In go the tomatoes,
cucumber, courgettes, sweep peppers and chillies in large pots which shoot off
to a much earlier start than one can achieve outdoors.
At the end of the summer
when the above are finished in go the cuttings from geraniums and other plants
I’ve taken cuttings from along with a lot of potted plants which over winter in
there.
I would advise anyone
where possible even the smallest of green houses will extend your growing
season and give plants such as tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, sweep peppers
and chillies that early start to give you a more bountiful crop.
Good luck with your cold frame but make sure you tie/weigh it down. I built one myself and used an automatic window opener (used in greenhouses) to automatically open when too hot. Passed on to a friend since I was kindly given a 10 x 13 greenhouse.
Have fun with your growing and may 2019 be a bountiful year for you.
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
I bit the bullet this year and got a mini-greenhouse for the first time and it's great! My goal was to grow lettuce for my family through the winter and so far so good. I succession planted four trays of baby lettuce, plus a tray of micro-greens that we're already nibbling on. I also have a pot of apricot cuttings that seem to be hanging in there. I have parsley, basil and rosemary in pots. To help maintain temperature I'm practicing thermal mass in the form of my children's recycled school supply bins - I just filled them with water, put the lids on and slid them under the wire racks where my grow trays are. I also rolled up some sheets of garden fabric and lined the lower interior edges with it. The weather here has been fluctuating wildly, but I've been able to maintain a pretty constant temp using these methods. I open up the transom, the door or both on better days to get a little air flow going. So far a success! I can't believe I waited so long to do this.
Hiya Dove - "Here" would be Texas (East Texas, to be precise).
As far as the weather, we've had two freezes in December all the way up to 65F last week (I went from a scarf and coat to shorts over the course of a couple of days). December is usually very mild and reliable. It's very early for a freeze here, much less two. Yesterday was around 55F - tomorrow night it's supposed to snow, so there's been a lot of unusual ups and downs.
Thank you for the responses everyone - I think I'll buy the smaller one from Wilko - it'll fit better in the space I've got and see how I get on with it.
I have had a "Gardman Extra Wide Grow house With Reinforced Cover" for about five years now it sat on our 1st floor SSE balcony for four years and made its way to the new allotment last year.
I never had any problems it has two metal rings at each side these I used to fix it to the wall and use to keep a bag of compost or a grow bag at the bottom depending on the time of year.
I've had great success with it from seedlings to growing tomatoes in it as others have mentioned heat and condensation are two things that can be a problem but if you can go to it each day I don't see they should be an issue.
Good luck and if you really get the bug maybe invest in a more expensive metal or wooden lean to one at a later date.
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
Poundland and B & M have started putting out their garden stuff. B & M has a plastic greenhouse with shelves for £24.99 and a tomato one but I didn't note the price of that one. They also have some John Innes compost, also suitable for seeds, (25l) for £2.99.
Posts
‘Previous owners had put a proper greenhouse in but I removed it as I didn't think it worth keeping something that took up a such a large proportion of the planting space when I could use that space for plants!’
Mr Vine eye it’s such a shame you did that. One of the best ‘planting space’ you can have is a Greenhouse. Mine is used all year round.
At the start of spring my hanging baskets are planted up with my plants grown from seed which shoot away hanging in there ready to go out when the frosts have all passed. I have seed sown seedlings filling the 10 x 13 Green house space I have. When there hardened off and able to stay outside ready for planting in the borders the aluminium staging is taken out and stored in the garage for the summer. In go the tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, sweep peppers and chillies in large pots which shoot off to a much earlier start than one can achieve outdoors.
At the end of the summer when the above are finished in go the cuttings from geraniums and other plants I’ve taken cuttings from along with a lot of potted plants which over winter in there.
I would advise anyone where possible even the smallest of green houses will extend your growing season and give plants such as tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, sweep peppers and chillies that early start to give you a more bountiful crop.
Good luck with your cold frame but make sure you tie/weigh it down. I built one myself and used an automatic window opener (used in greenhouses) to automatically open when too hot. Passed on to a friend since I was kindly given a 10 x 13 greenhouse.
Have fun with your growing and may 2019 be a bountiful year for you.
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-mini-greenhouse-large/p/0476577
I then bought this cover, it’s very strong.
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-pe-4-tier-greenhouse-cover-large/p/0476612
this is the tomato GH needs to be fixed to wall.
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-pvc-tomato-greenhouse-with-pvc-cover/p/0476576
this is the shelf unit inside
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-4-tier-greenhouse-with-staging/p/0476573
I couldn't do without these little GH’s they will eventually rust out but I’ve had a couple for years and no sign of breaking yet
I bit the bullet this year and got a mini-greenhouse for the first time and it's great! My goal was to grow lettuce for my family through the winter and so far so good. I succession planted four trays of baby lettuce, plus a tray of micro-greens that we're already nibbling on.
I also have a pot of apricot cuttings that seem to be hanging in there. I have parsley, basil and rosemary in pots.
To help maintain temperature I'm practicing thermal mass in the form of my children's recycled school supply bins - I just filled them with water, put the lids on and slid them under the wire racks where my grow trays are. I also rolled up some sheets of garden fabric and lined the lower interior edges with it. The weather here has been fluctuating wildly, but I've been able to maintain a pretty constant temp using these methods. I open up the transom, the door or both on better days to get a little air flow going. So far a success! I can't believe I waited so long to do this.
What is the range of fluctuation?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
As far as the weather, we've had two freezes in December all the way up to 65F last week (I went from a scarf and coat to shorts over the course of a couple of days). December is usually very mild and reliable. It's very early for a freeze here, much less two. Yesterday was around 55F - tomorrow night it's supposed to snow, so there's been a lot of unusual ups and downs.
I never had any problems it has two metal rings at each side these I used to fix it to the wall and use to keep a bag of compost or a grow bag at the bottom depending on the time of year.
I've had great success with it from seedlings to growing tomatoes in it as others have mentioned heat and condensation are two things that can be a problem but if you can go to it each day I don't see they should be an issue.
Good luck and if you really get the bug maybe invest in a more expensive metal or wooden lean to one at a later date.
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
Got some 15cm pots, 5 for a £1 from Poundland.