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When to move tomatoes/peppers/chillies/aubergines to the greenhouse?
New Allotmenteer
Posts: 33
in Fruit & veg
When will everyone be moving their tomatoes/chillies/peppers etc out to their heated/unheated greenhouses?
My windowsills are full and the plants are getting a bit big now. I have a very large and draughty polytunnel for their final planting after the frosts are over, and a 6x6 greenhouse that I am planning to move most things to beforehand. I have a couple of paraffin heaters if necessary for very chilly nights.
I'd like to move some plants out ASAP but my allotment is too far from the house to light the heaters every night. Advice as to when might be safe/sensible woud be much appreciated.
I live near Thame on the Oxfordshire/Bucks border.
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Frosts can occur for quite some time yet, as you say your allotment is far from the house, so not able to light heaters each night, a spare bedroom would be very handy, !!!, I don't have a fully heated glasshouse, do have a heated bench, and use spun fleece to cover plants at night both on and off the bench, which does a the trick for me, using polystyrene trays under the trays of plants is also a big help.
If you have heaters do it now. Allotmenteer. A long as there's plenty of light put them in the GH. It's getting to 90 degrees in the GH I work in. I only put the heaters on at night.
Tomatoes will tolerate cooler nights than the chillies or peppers, so if you need to make room, put the tomatoes in the greenhouse first.
I've got a similar problem with limited indoor sunny windowsill space, and have already put some tomato seedlings out in an unheated greenhouse.
No doubt somebody else will say it's too early, but so far mine have been ok.
An unheated greenhouse with doors closed overnight will give protection of about 5*C compared to outdoors.
Mine are in an unheated greenhouse already and are doing well. We had a very light frost this morning but by 11am it had gone and it was bright and sunny.
As others have said, be a bit carefully with your chillies.
I'm sure I remember reading somewhere of a method of raising the temperature of a greenhouse by a few degrees by 'storing heat' from the daytime sun in a tank of water in the middle of the greenhouse and this residual warmth kept the temperature up a bit overnight ... does anyone know any more?
It would seem to be ideal for a greenhouse on an allotment
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Sounds like a good idea - could even boil the kettle at night and put a little metal dish out in......
I've read about the water tank method as well, I think black containers were used as they absorb the heat better. I also saw a video on YouTube where a guy used terracotta pots stacked upside down and tealights to make a greenhouse heater, I haven't tried either method personally but was an interesting watch.
I have used the greenhouse in a greenhouse method to create a bit more shelter in my plastic greenhouse. I put a small 4 tier one inside my 6x4 for more tender plants last spring then took the cover off in the summer when it warmed up.
Maybe that would work in your large polytunnel creating a bit of a microclimate if it's draughty.
All good ideas IMO. Certainly, a large volume of water in the greenhouse will tend to stabilise the temperature, absorbing heat when it gets hot in there and releasing it when it gets cold. It also provides a reservoir of water at greenhouse temperature for watering.
Sorry for post hijack - So could i put my lil tomato plants into a grow bag in greenhouse yet?