GARDEN IDEAS
Greenhouse Gardening
The first step to greenhouse gardening is to acquire a greenhouse :-) My very first greenhouse was built from a cast-off frame and a roll of clear plastic. The frame is still standing!
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Greenhouse gardening can also be done in a conservatory or similar construction attached to your house. The effect is the same. If your budget will stretch to a new greenhouse, there are some fabulous designs online to look at.
This handy mini-version is available from Thompson and Morgan (UK)
Greenhouse gardening - the plants:
Let your imagination fly! Apart from starting off your veggies and other plants for planting out in the garden, you can experiment with lots of different plants if you have a greenhouse.
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Try a few exotic fruits, or use the space to grow melons or cucumbers if you live in a cold climate. Find out more about growing melons on this page... ....Growing Melons
Leave a space at the end of the season for winter salads and late peppers. It is possible to dig up a sweet pepper plant and replant in a greenhouse if the plant is healthy but the weather isn't! If the transplant goes well, the plant will keep on producing peppers until the winter months. This is a bit 'hit or miss' but worth a try.
Greenhouse gardening requires a little planning. If you use the greenhouse to start off your seeds and seedlings, remember most of these plants will eventually go out into the veggie patch, or the flower beds - so you'll have room to grow other things.
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I like to leave a couple of tomatoes in the greenhouse, a couple of cucumber plants, and maybe a pepper or two. These indoor plants normally start producing fruit much earlier than the plants outside. Find out more about tomatoes and peppers on these pages. ....Growing Tomatoes ....Growing Peppers
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Caring for your plants:
Plants need light, air, warmth and water...
It very rarely rains in the greenhouse :-) so watering is essential. If space allows, keep a tub of rainwater inside the greenhouse and fill up a watering can from this water. It will be warmer than direct tap water, and the roots don't get too much of a shock!
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Warmth and light are built in to a greenhouse - however, in high summer, your plants could get scalded from the sun's rays through the glass. A quick coat of whitewash applied to the glass will cure the problem.
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Keep the greenhouse well-ventilated. Too much humidity can encourage mildew and fungi. If you're using a home-made structure and there's no window to open, keep the door open during the hottest hours of the day. Remember to close it at night though.
slugs and bugs
The greenhouse is probably more vulnerable to slug attacks than the regular veggie patch.
However, it's much easier to keep a close eye on bug takeovers...Keep a constant vigil, and remove caterpillars as they appear; feed them to the hens if you have some. Egg - laying hens adore caterpillars!
Grow some flowers in your greenhouse to encourage the nice guys - bees, wasps, spiders, butterflies etc; They help keep the cycle moving and will keep aphids and other bugs under control. Spiders eat flies, and probably all sorts of aphids as well. I love to see spiders in the greenhouse. It feels kind of homely if there are spiders lurking in the corners!
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Greenhouses are an awesome addition to the garden, and an incredibly useful tool for any gardener.