Greenhouse Ideas, Tips & Guides

Imagine if you can have a fresh green salad in February or some juicy red tomatoes in November. Sounds like a dream doesn’t it? Maybe you’ve heard of it. Maybe you’ve seen it. Maybe… it’s cold frame gardening.

For many gardeners the cold weather signals that the time has come to pack up their tools until spring, however that does not have to be the case.

Hesitating between a polytunnel and a greenhouse? Both types of structures are used for growing a wide variety of crops and flowers. People usually wonder which one to choose as both constructions serve the same purpose.

As Autumn approaches, many gardeners are putting their tools and gloves away in preparation for the long wait until spring. However, greenhouse owners are continuing to diligently tend to their plants in expectation of the harvest still to come.

Red Anthuriums, with their heart-shaped, bold red spathes and dark green foliage, are the epitome of tropical charm. However, coaxing these plants to grow larger and more vibrant isn’t always straightforward. This guide lifts the curtain on some of the lesser-known, specialist techniques used by master gardeners on How to Grow a Big Anthurium Plant!

Here’s Everything About Growing Malanga, from care tips, pot size, growth needs, and much more, so you can relish the plant’s amazing tubers and foliage in your home!

The last of my root vegetables and Leeks are now consumed and a distant gastronomic memory. New baby salad leaves have been available but I do not take enough care to be able to binge on them until later in the season. Rhubarb once again is prolific and abundant so that I and the neighbours are enjoying the fruit of my labours literally.

Seed collecting can be addictive. You may quickly discover you are surrounded by drying stems and paper bags but all you need is enough seeds for your immediate needs.

Members of the Buttercup family are called Ranunculaceae. To grow the plants successfully beware the seeds tend to have a short period of viability and need planting straight away.

You need at least one roof ventilator and one side ventilator to get good air changes. The roof ventilator is the most important for allowing hot air to escape. Windows at both sides of the greenhouse can be beneficial. Louvered windows are very useful as they are easy to operate and I find hinged windows less stable in wind. Automatic ventilators are available that open the window using a plunger system. Obviously the door is a great ventilator and should be left open when temperatures reach 80 degrees or humidity is 100%. I have never needed an extractor fan but for a large greenhouse a slow moving fan can help some crops.

Grow with the flow and in early spring that flow is in the greenhouse

With my new found enthusiasm for Chrysanthemums I thought I would have a day reviewing my gardening performance, sorting out my Chrysanthemums in the greenhouse and planning actions to improve my show of next year.

Woodlice are generally seen as scavengers who eat rotting matter, they are not thought of as harmful to the garden. However, they do chew leaves and stems of tomatoes and cucumber in the greenhouse. They are not true insects but a species of crustacean.

Yesterday I visited the 2018 alpine event at Harlow Carr. I was very impressed and I am sure the other people who braved the elements were well satisfied.

Now part of this garden is down to crazy paving the Qualcast grass box is needed less and can be put to a different use.  It looks like a ‘unibarrow’  has got in on the act to make a feature planter for these pansies.

I originally wrote this last year but now in April I have checked my Chrysanthemum plants in the cold greenhouse and find I am infested! So it must be worth a rerun. Evil weevil grubs eat roots and tubers of your favourite plants. My tuberous begonias were attacked and destroyed by these pesky pests. It is the white grubs that cause the damage as they eat roots and tubers throughout vine weevil puberty to become small black beetles. The beetles will nibble the edges of leaves but it is the laying of eggs that ultimately cause the problem. The eggs become grubs and your Cyclamen, Primula and Camellias become grub for weevils. Pot grown plants are most susceptible to attack but this pest also affects other plants such as Fuchsias, Gloxinia and Strawberries.

Kiwi fruit known as the Chinese goodeberry grow on the woody vine Actinidia deliciosa and its hybrids. The vines should be grown on sturdy support structures as it crops more than the rather weak vines can support.This plant has a cold greenhouse for protection but they can be grown outdoors in a sheltered spot.

Biological controls work best when it is warm and activity is highest. The more pests the more there is for the control to eat and treat.

Dwarf Species include;

Credits Avocadoes Camknows CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 “avocadoes by Elsa4Sound CC BY-NC 2.0

January is a good month to take hardwood cuttings including .

I have had a disaster this year with my sweet peas sown last Autumn. They didn’t fare too well in the cold greenhouse. I gave them a long root run but probably didn’t give them consistent watering and TLC. So by spring they were thin specimens with lacy leaves eventhough I had pinched them out. Because they didn’t look too good I didn’t feed them up and cosset them but just plonked them in the ground. Well it serves me right and I have a very poor showing at the moment.

Eryngium giganteum better known now as ‘Miss Willmott’s ghost’ is my reminder to get ready for colder weather and Christmas. I have disconnected my hose pipes, lagged outside taps and cleaned up at least one water feature. For some reason one job I procrastinate over is protecting my pots, containers and ornaments from hard frosts. I know it is time to insulate or put them on to legs to provide some protection. At least they are already grouped together, sheltered from high wind and some of the worst weather.

Tomatoes are great fun to grow. They can also be very rewarding; to get a bigger crop follow these simple but effective tips.

It has been a good spring for auriculas in my garden and cold greenhouse. Now the plants need time to rejuvenate after flowering so I will have time to read the National Auricula and Primula and Society’s excellent new members handbook and some of the following epistles.

Gardening for over 50 years I have flirted with Chrysanthemums several times but never taken them seriously. Now I resolve to correct that by putting in the effort as I realise the significant rewards to be gained by a gardener who is maturing like good compost.

(image source)

We gardeners hopefully learn as we go along and this post is an update of a 6 year old report on indoor primulas.

Winter quarters on garage windowsill. Short of light but a warm sand based seed bed Early protection in the bagging area.

Useful supports in the greenhouse

It is Mid February and the milder weather encouraged me to focus on my greenhouse in preparation for the new year. For once I made a list of more than a dozen greenhouse related actions and as I progressed down the list more items were added. Without the list I would drift off to do other jobs with lower priority but higher instant gratification.

Read about the Different Types of Cilantro and Coriander that you can plant in pots to enhance the flavors of various dishes!

As temperatures rise in the last half of summer, social media mavens have been hitting TikTok for a peek at what’s trending in the great outdoors. Rated People, a brand that matches people needing handy help with tradespeople who can take care of business, tallied the page views for all things #gardentok and shared a list of what’s trending.

Zinnias are easy to grow. They are half-hardy annuals, so need to be sown in the protection of a greenhouse or a propagator on a bright house windowsill in mid to late spring. Once they’re large enough to handle, prick them out individually and grow on before transplanting outdoors when all risk of frost has passed.

Seeds that are sown in summer can either be planted out in winter as seasonal bedding (pansies), or stored over winter in a greenhouse, ready to plant out the following spring.  From annuals to biennials and perennials, sowing seeds is one of the cheapest ways to grow your favourite seasonal blooms and plants. Here are just a few examples of flower seeds to sow in summer.  Cornflowers — Cornflowers are attractive wildflowers that are easy to grow and even easier on the eye. They can be sown indoors over winter, ready to plant out in spring — or sown directly outdoors in early summer for a bout of blooms.