you have given me such an idea Jo. I have a cloche type greenhouse it's about 1mx1mx1m I used it for broad beans last year. I could make that up and use it inside the greenhouse. It would work I think
Also we cluster outdoor/perennials together near the house wall, beneath an over-hang if you've got one, & place eg a garden bench or table in front so that although the light's reduced somewhat, with fleece/bubble-wrap/plastic wound around the pot bases or around the whole group a few times, they're protected. Also leave a little of the surface soil around the stem exposed to permit moisture evaporation but limit water intake that then freezes & potentially damages roots. It's a compromise but each year our pot plants: hebes, roses, magnolia, jasmine, fruits, lavenders, rosemary, bay, strawbs, hydrangeas, Japanese acers, other variegated small cuttings survive. Do use unheated green-house which we stopped heating years ago because of mould problem. Brought cuttings of pelargoniums indoors & mature pelargoniums cut back,cheese plant, succulents, cacti, cyclamen, agave etc into unheated sun lounge. Hope this helps.
I'm planning on insulating my greenhouse with bubble wrap as we have got loads of it lying around (we moved to Brittany in April!!!) but I have no idea how you actually fix the bubble wrap to the glass. Any ideas and tips would be gratefully received.
nutcutlet. I face a similar problem with watering over winter, not knowing when or how much water to give plants.
Last year the plants were given a good bottom watering in October and it wasn't until about February/March time when they needed water. They were bottom watered again but as there's still chance of a frost I put less water in the trays and waited for it to be absorbed before taking a few plants out of their pots to see how far up the pot water had been absorbed, if it half covered the roots, I judged that to be enough, if not more water was added to the tray.
Sounds a bit pain staking but after nurturing plant through a cold winter didn't want them to die from over watering a few weeks before planting out, worked for me
Re attaching bubblewrap in a GH: you can get special clips from the garden centre that will hold the wrap to the frame by clipping into the channels in the aluminium glazing bars. Hard to explain - but you press the clip (a sort of button thing) through the wrap into the glazing channel. If you have a wooden GH then I guess you would use tacks of some description.
I re-use the bubblewrap each year, and the clips I've had for years.
Tinker Christmas Bell, I remember nylon sheets at a friends house; my hair stood on end with static as I touched them, but wouldn't they make wonderful plant insulation now?
All this info about over-wintering plants is very useful; I am in my first year with a greenhouse and am rather amazed at the amount of moisture in there and I haven't lit the paraffin stove yet, knowing that that is going to make it worse.
Artjak - a GH is no different from your own house - you don't ventilate it regularly at your peril! It's amazing how many people won't open a window in their house because they are "keeping the heat in" - and forget they are also keeping the build-up of moisture in as well - hence the likelihood of mould growth. Likewise in a GH - even when it is cold, it does need ventilating, even if it's only for a brief spell, to get a change of air inside.
I spent lot of money and time last year in trying to insulate our aluminium green house with bubblewrap. It's quite an old one, and the glazing bars don't take clips, so I painstakingly shaped it to the inside, like lining a dress, then fixed it in place with a combination of wire stretched across the green house and duck-tape. What a waste of time. Hardly any of my plants made it through the winter, I'd have been better off saving the money I spent on the bubble wrap and buying new plants in the spring! I did wonder if there might be any mileage in trying to stick the bubble wrap on the outside, but I guess the wind would tear it off. Half the trouble was that I couldn't get at plants to tend them. Anyone tried that?
For a few winters now we've bubble wrapped an aluminium GH using brown tape & a few pegs. Advice re ventilating is essential: just open the window & door during day time. Even doing that many years ago a heater still caused excessive/damaging moisture so I concluded our 6x6 GH too small, & not worth it. I've not lost any plants over-wintering outdoors & GH as I've described. INcidentally it would cost me a lot more to replace my plants than the price of online wrap & re-using plastic bags. We also bought, very cheaply, horticultural fleece which is amazingly effective draped over outdoor plants, weighted down with bricks/stones. All re-useable.
Posts
you have given me such an idea Jo. I have a cloche type greenhouse it's about 1mx1mx1m I used it for broad beans last year. I could make that up and use it inside the greenhouse. It would work I think
Also we cluster outdoor/perennials together near the house wall, beneath an over-hang if you've got one, & place eg a garden bench or table in front so that although the light's reduced somewhat, with fleece/bubble-wrap/plastic wound around the pot bases or around the whole group a few times, they're protected. Also leave a little of the surface soil around the stem exposed to permit moisture evaporation but limit water intake that then freezes & potentially damages roots. It's a compromise but each year our pot plants: hebes, roses, magnolia, jasmine, fruits, lavenders, rosemary, bay, strawbs, hydrangeas, Japanese acers, other variegated small cuttings survive. Do use unheated green-house which we stopped heating years ago because of mould problem. Brought cuttings of pelargoniums indoors & mature pelargoniums cut back,cheese plant, succulents, cacti, cyclamen, agave etc into unheated sun lounge. Hope this helps.
I'm planning on insulating my greenhouse with bubble wrap as we have got loads of it lying around (we moved to Brittany in April!!!) but I have no idea how you actually fix the bubble wrap to the glass. Any ideas and tips would be gratefully received.
nutcutlet. I face a similar problem with watering over winter, not knowing when or how much water to give plants.
Last year the plants were given a good bottom watering in October and it wasn't until about February/March time when they needed water. They were bottom watered again but as there's still chance of a frost I put less water in the trays and waited for it to be absorbed before taking a few plants out of their pots to see how far up the pot water had been absorbed, if it half covered the roots, I judged that to be enough, if not more water was added to the tray.
Sounds a bit pain staking but after nurturing plant through a cold winter didn't want them to die from over watering a few weeks before planting out, worked for me
Re attaching bubblewrap in a GH: you can get special clips from the garden centre that will hold the wrap to the frame by clipping into the channels in the aluminium glazing bars. Hard to explain - but you press the clip (a sort of button thing) through the wrap into the glazing channel. If you have a wooden GH then I guess you would use tacks of some description.
I re-use the bubblewrap each year, and the clips I've had for years.
Tinker Christmas Bell, I remember nylon sheets at a friends house; my hair stood on end with static as I touched them, but wouldn't they make wonderful plant insulation now?
All this info about over-wintering plants is very useful; I am in my first year with a greenhouse and am rather amazed at the amount of moisture in there and I haven't lit the paraffin stove yet, knowing that that is going to make it worse.
Artjak - a GH is no different from your own house - you don't ventilate it regularly at your peril! It's amazing how many people won't open a window in their house because they are "keeping the heat in" - and forget they are also keeping the build-up of moisture in as well - hence the likelihood of mould growth. Likewise in a GH - even when it is cold, it does need ventilating, even if it's only for a brief spell, to get a change of air inside.
Thank you Shrinking Violet.
I spent lot of money and time last year in trying to insulate our aluminium green house with bubblewrap. It's quite an old one, and the glazing bars don't take clips, so I painstakingly shaped it to the inside, like lining a dress, then fixed it in place with a combination of wire stretched across the green house and duck-tape. What a waste of time. Hardly any of my plants made it through the winter, I'd have been better off saving the money I spent on the bubble wrap and buying new plants in the spring! I did wonder if there might be any mileage in trying to stick the bubble wrap on the outside, but I guess the wind would tear it off. Half the trouble was that I couldn't get at plants to tend them. Anyone tried that?
For a few winters now we've bubble wrapped an aluminium GH using brown tape & a few pegs. Advice re ventilating is essential: just open the window & door during day time. Even doing that many years ago a heater still caused excessive/damaging moisture so I concluded our 6x6 GH too small, & not worth it. I've not lost any plants over-wintering outdoors & GH as I've described. INcidentally it would cost me a lot more to replace my plants than the price of online wrap & re-using plastic bags. We also bought, very cheaply, horticultural fleece which is amazingly effective draped over outdoor plants, weighted down with bricks/stones. All re-useable.