Zack Snipes
19.01.2024 - 19:50 / gardenerspath.com / Kristine Lofgren
When and How to Start Seeds in a Greenhouse
A greenhouse is one of the most versatile and useful gardening tools available, in my opinion.
These structures dramatically increase the length of the growing season and are indispensable for starting seeds.
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A greenhouse provides the perfect conditions for seed starting, including higher humidity, brighter light, and increased warmth than you would have otherwise.
Whether you are new to growing from seed or you’re an old hand who is starting out with a greenhouse, this guide has you covered with the following topics:
If you can’t wait to get started, let’s jump right in.
When to Start Seeds in a GreenhouseTechnically, you can start the propagation process in your greenhouse any time you want, provided you either live in a warm enough region or have supplemental heating.
What you need to keep in mind is how large the seedlings will become before you can put them in the ground.
More than once, I’ve gotten too excited and started seedlings way too early. They had outgrown their pots weeks before it was time to transplant out into the garden.
Find out the recommended start time for the species you wish to grow and go with that – this information is typically listed on your seed packet.
For example, hot peppers should be started about two months before you plan to put them out.
Of course, none of this applies if you are going to keep your plants in the greenhouse for the duration of the growing season.
If that’s the case, start them whenever you want, so long as it’s warm enough inside and there is enough light.
Choosing Containers and SoilMost seeds are better off
Zack Snipes
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AS SHE OFTEN DOES, naturalist and nature writer Nancy Lawson—perhaps known better to some of you as the Humane Gardener after the title of her first book—caught my attention the other day.
London pride (Saxifraga x urbium) is a low-growing evergreen perennial, a hybrid between Spanish Saxifraga umbrosa and Irish Saxifraga spathularis. Once a great garden favourite, London pride plant is hardy and looks good all year round, forming spreading clumps of leafy rosettes made up of spoon-shaped, fleshy, mid-green leaves. In summer masses of small, pink-flushed white flowers are borne on slender stems of around 30cm in height, lasting for up to three months. London Pride thrives in most soils and situations and is especially useful for shady sites. It’s an undemanding and versatile perennial that has fallen from fashion but is a worthwhile garden plant, being easy to grow, yet not invasive. Called London pride because it flourished on bombed sites in the city during the Second World War, it’s even the subject of a song by playwright and composer Noel Coward, whose song titled ‘London Pride’ was popular at the time.
Planting ginger is easy, but you have to do it properly and at the right time if you want to get a decent crop.
This year, when gardeners look at plant and seed catalogs, I think they will be inclined to go for the safe and familiar. After all, even optimists need a sense of security. It will probably be a banner year for roses of all kinds, with reds selling well. The ongoing vogue for cottage flowers will probably continue to be strong. In fact, the wildest thing many people will invest in come spring will be a few of the more bizarre coleus cultivars.
I have given up indoor seed starting completely on several occasions. The first time it happened I was a novice gardener. I had ordered seeds of just about every plant that I saw in the garden catalogs without thinking about such practical things as gallons of potting soil, hours of daily watering, and square feet of windowsill space. It also did not occur to me to determine whether or not I had room in my garden for even a fraction of my seedlings. My chaotic efforts eventually produced some wonderful plants, but the process was so exhausting that I said: “Never again.”
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Some people get their kicks from designer labels, others from rummaging through flea shops, or collecting obscure Japanese comics, vintage tractors, handbags, dolls, beer-mats, Star Wars merchandise or whatever else. Me, I get mine from ordering seeds.
The Blueberry is a native American fruit harvested from wild plants since the country was settled. About 1910 the late Dr. F. V. Coville of the United States Department of Agriculture began the domestication of the High-bush Blueberry. A breeding program based on selected wild types has produced through the years a number of varieties vastly superior to their wild ancestors. Considerable research on cultural problems has developed a body of knowledge on which a highly profitable and extensive commercial industry is growing rapidly.
Courtesy of White Flower Farm