Heated greenhouse

Posts

• Pete.8 Posts: 11,340

  October 2020

  Hi Andy and welcome to the forum
  I have almost no experience of growing anything in my G/h over winter, but I do know that warmth alone is not enough to grow plants during the winter months here. You need a balance of warmth and good strong light if you want plants to actually grow in winter.
  The sun is so weak now and daylight hours are few - it's getting colder and wetter - plants are shutting down.
  I had some luck growing lambs lettuce a few years ago, but tbh it wasn't worth the effort.
  You may be still able to buy plantlets of some veg at garden centres and whilst they will grow very little over winter, they'll have a head-start in the spring.
  
  Maybe someone can come up with some more positive suggestions for you 🤞

  
  Billericay - Essex
  
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  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

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• amancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736

  October 2020

  Such a huge waste of energy keeping a presumably single glazed structure at 12C through the winter. If you're in the UK, I'd urge you to reconsider. 

  To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  October 2020

  I'd agree. It isn't worth it unless you literally have money to burn. 
  It isn't just the heat either - it's light, as already said.
  Better to wait until nearer spring when you can make a head start on planting, which would be more worthwhile.

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• strelitzia32 Posts: 758

  October 2020

  All the advice above is exactly right. But If you really, really want to do this, you can try winter density lettuce, astra rocket, and most cauli/drumhead cabbage. However you'll need to germinate in warmer conditions, and even though (for example) rocket is pretty hardy, you won't get much new growth out of any of them for the reasons others have already explained. You'll realistically be setting them up for early growth next year as @Pete.8 says.
  
  What's more, you also don't need heating to do that. I have a few trays of cos and ice lettuce, and some cauli in an unheated greenhouse. I started them off early September, and now they'll stay protected but cold until next year, for an earlier harvest. If you can pick up end-of-season sale plug plants for cheap, grab a few, put them in the greenhouse and see what happens. It'll be cheaper than heating...
  
  Save the energy, save the electricity bill, and grow with the seasons rather than against them.

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• KeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831

  October 2020

  Our unheated greenhouse is just as useful in Winter, as it is in Summer.  We don't grow anything as such, but it is full of succulents, cuttings and tender plants.  As we get quite a lot of sunny days in Winter, the temperature can get quite warm, and so some of the tender plants (such as Petunia's), actually grow over the Winter. 
  
  Most of the Winter veg that people grow is grown outdoors, and is accustomed to cold weather.  As the others suggest, perhaps save your money, and spend it on seeds/plug plants in Spring, using your (unheated) greenhouse to get them started early, and to protect them from early frosts.

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• andy-jamieson Posts: 2

  October 2020

  Thanks for the comments. I've been toying with the idea of installing suitable lighting in there as well to trial growing over winter. But I think s you say, I'll turn it off until next year and then start sowing ready for spring and frost free days and temperature increases. Thanks for the comments 👍🏻

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• Ferdinand2000 Posts: 537

  October 2020

  andy-jamieson said:

  Hi all, what are good vegetable variety's I can grow in a heated greenhouse over winter? I'm maintaining the temperature at around 12.c currently. Many thanks

  Out of interest, how much heat would that use in a normal winter?

  “Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
  

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