I am lucky to have a nice sized greenhouse/working conservatory but it is unheated. However the temperature was too warm to work in it today due to the lovely sunshine that we enjoyed here. Tonight is supposed to get down to 2 degrees with chance of a frost - we had our first frost last Tuesday morning.
I agree with you aym280 - some soils are too dense and sand/grit help with drainage and texture of a heavy soil. The John Innes I have used for my seed sowing does not have a number but is specifically for seed sowing. I will let you know the results of the seed sowing in a few weeks time - fingers crossed.
Hey Dovefromabove - that John Innes link is really helpful - thank you. I am using the Seed mix at the moment, but I can see from the article that it would be costly and impractical for me to have bags of each number as my seedlings grow on and need repotting. I think the seedlings will go into a general peat mixed with perlite for the next stage of their growth. aym280 yes we do have a greenhouse/working conservatory where I can leave my plants and seeds over the winter and I do get aphids - little black things and some white fly too and I have to admit to either manually squashing them or if there are too many I used an aphid spray.
No heating in our greenhouse - it is a lean to against the house and faces south so when the sun is shinning it is very, very hot - like today but below 5 degrees tonight. It was rebuilt last year and is much smarter and tidier now. All your efforts will be worth the wait - our old greenhouse was drafty and rotten. I can't remember the name of the aphid spray and I wouldn't use it outside as I like ladybirds, birds etc. but in the confines of the greenhouse I feel it is safer to use - the spray can be used on edible plants so I feel that it is relatively safe to use.
Aym280 , hello I have an unheated greenhouse , in the winter , not that we have had much of a winter this year I put bubble rap up as insulation and in the summer shading
all bought from B & Q . Rarely have problem with insects , before winter do give it a good clean out and use a sulphur candle , i have gravel beds and have cleaned them with jeyes fluid in the past
Have you thought about starting a thread on Greenhouses ?
Since our greenhouse/conservatory has been rebuilt we find it far easier to keep clean - new paving slabs on the floor help too - as the old cement between the slabs had cracked which encouraged ants and other creep crawlies to make homes between the slabs. The panes of glass have been cleaned too therefore letting in more light. So far so good. Instead of wooden staging being built along the inside of the greenhouse as before we bought some cheapish freestanding metal shelving, which can be taken apart and stored when not in use. Aym280 you will so enjoy your greenhouse when the builders have finished - I got a feeling of deja vu when reading your comment - only our GH wasn't finished until April last year so I ended up by buying a lot of plug plants since I had nowhere to start my seeds off earlier in the spring.
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I am lucky to have a nice sized greenhouse/working conservatory but it is unheated. However the temperature was too warm to work in it today due to the lovely sunshine that we enjoyed here. Tonight is supposed to get down to 2 degrees with chance of a frost - we had our first frost last Tuesday morning.
I agree with you aym280 - some soils are too dense and sand/grit help with drainage and texture of a heavy soil. The John Innes I have used for my seed sowing does not have a number but is specifically for seed sowing. I will let you know the results of the seed sowing in a few weeks time - fingers crossed.
As GD has said, the JI Seed Compost doesn't have a number.
Explanation of the different John Innes formulations here http://www.johninnes.info/about.htm
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hey Dovefromabove - that John Innes link is really helpful - thank you. I am using the Seed mix at the moment, but I can see from the article that it would be costly and impractical for me to have bags of each number as my seedlings grow on and need repotting. I think the seedlings will go into a general peat mixed with perlite for the next stage of their growth. aym280 yes we do have a greenhouse/working conservatory where I can leave my plants and seeds over the winter and I do get aphids - little black things and some white fly too and I have to admit to either manually squashing them or if there are too many I used an aphid spray.
Thank you for the info
No heating in our greenhouse - it is a lean to against the house and faces south so when the sun is shinning it is very, very hot - like today but below 5 degrees tonight. It was rebuilt last year and is much smarter and tidier now. All your efforts will be worth the wait - our old greenhouse was drafty and rotten. I can't remember the name of the aphid spray and I wouldn't use it outside as I like ladybirds, birds etc. but in the confines of the greenhouse I feel it is safer to use - the spray can be used on edible plants so I feel that it is relatively safe to use.
Aym280 , hello I have an unheated greenhouse , in the winter , not that we have had much of a winter this year I put bubble rap up as insulation and in the summer shading
all bought from B & Q . Rarely have problem with insects , before winter do give it a good clean out and use a sulphur candle , i have gravel beds and have cleaned them with jeyes fluid in the past
Have you thought about starting a thread on Greenhouses ?
Since our greenhouse/conservatory has been rebuilt we find it far easier to keep clean - new paving slabs on the floor help too - as the old cement between the slabs had cracked which encouraged ants and other creep crawlies to make homes between the slabs. The panes of glass have been cleaned too therefore letting in more light. So far so good. Instead of wooden staging being built along the inside of the greenhouse as before we bought some cheapish freestanding metal shelving, which can be taken apart and stored when not in use. Aym280 you will so enjoy your greenhouse when the builders have finished - I got a feeling of deja vu when reading your comment - only our GH wasn't finished until April last year so I ended up by buying a lot of plug plants since I had nowhere to start my seeds off earlier in the spring.
GWRS Thread on greenhouses? Good idea. Who will start?
Gardenviking , go for it