Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Growing in Greenhouses & Polytunnels => Topic started by: coco on April 14, 2017, 17:11
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Think title says it all. I've been given a greenhouse, plastic poles and polythene cover, quite big and shed shaped if that makes sense.
I'm almost scared to put it up because I've never had or used a greenhouse before. I've grown stuff in pots on the back yard, herbs, tomatoes, French beans, sweetcorn and stuff.
Just wondering, is it too late to bother this year? What should a novice like me be planting?
Any advice please.
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Now is the time to put the green house up and get tomatoes going . Greenhouse toms fare much better than outside toms !
Well worth doing ! :)
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Don't forget cucumber and basil!
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Definitely worth it. I have loads of tom's, chillies etc growing away on my kitchen floor (waiting to go out), and my greenhouse hasn't even arrived yet! Oh, and apparently "it takes a skilled DIYer 3 to 4 day to erect".
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Think where it is going to go as it can be damaged by strong winds. I put bricks at the bottom of mine.
It would probably be easier to keep the plants in pots..
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When I and my late father erected a 12 x 8 greenhouse for my grandfather in 1973, we made a concrete foundation, cemented breeze blocks on top, then rawlbolted the frame to that. I'm still using it today.
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I just got my first polytunnel up so I'm in the same position - learning as I go along. I started a lot of seedlings in a friend's greenhouse which I have moved in - mostly herbs, perennial flowers and tomatoes. I've just sowed seeds for outdoor veg as well. Some of the tomatoes will stay inside and I have also bought samples of melons, cucumbers, aubergine, peppers & chillies in pots because I have left them too late to do from seed but I want to see how they go. People tell me that they don't do well outside unless very protected.
I can see it's going to be a lot of fun - especially the experimentation side. Good luck to both of us.
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Have you got somewhere you put it up next to a fence, and fix it to that? On gardening forums they are known generally as 'Blowaways' because that is what they tend to do.
However they are well worth using if you can fix them down well.
You can still start a few tomato seeds off on a windowledge indoors, with a view to moving them into the greenhouse in a few weeks time, likewise a couple of cucumbers .... or if that's a bit scary buy a few plants of each in the garden centre (also in a few weeks, as it is still too cold now)
You can sow flower seeds of hardy annual flowers, inside and pot them up as they grow, or move them out to the garden/plot.
Good luck - try anything you fancy, some things work, others don't. But if you don't try you'll never find out what works for you :D