Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Growing in Greenhouses & Polytunnels => Topic started by: fekq on November 11, 2012, 23:32
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I now have electricity and therefore heating in my greenhouse - so what can I grow that I couldn't before?
And is it worth getting an electric propagator?
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You can grow all sorts even without heating, but imho the best bit is that you can get veggies off to a flying start earlier.
Just be aware that
a) cabbages never need heat
b) whatever you grow early gets larger and needs housing until the weather is good enough to plant them out
c) plants without sufficient light grow long and thin and rarely recover
so after offering you my pearls of wisdom :lol: ::)
Electric propagators are great if you are wanting to germiate seeds that need a higher temperature than you have available anywhere in your house (or heated greenhouse) already. I manage to grow toms and chillis for example without one with no trouble, as do lots of others, so don't rush
Money spent on greenhouse insulation however is money very well spent
Hope that helps a bit
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I have heating in my greenhouse, but it won't get used in earnest until late March/early April time, (it's not cheap to run), that's when I need more space than I can find in the house. It will be set until then just to keep the frost off, for things like early brassicas and onions. I also use the space in there to chit my spuds.
All is well insulated in bubble wrap in the greenhouse, early seeds are started in the house and moved there later.
In over 40 years of growing, I've never owned, nor found the need for, an electric propagator.
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thank you - the "starting off seeds in the house" bit is an issue due to complaints from husband when they start taking over! which leaves me with 2 windowsills in the spare room where he doesn't see them!
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I get away with the spare room. Used to have more until no. 1 daughter returned home!
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I am in the same place as you i.e. OH giving out about the house being taken over. :(
I am having my greenhouse errected as we speak and I have electricity already run into it so that I can get a propogator up and running early in the new year (I hadn't planned on heating the greenhouse but we will see how that goes). I was also thinking of putting a heated bench down one side of the greenhouse (cables with sand on top).
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I've only had my greenhouse for 2 growing seasons and am still learning about what can and can't be achieved with it. I think the availability of light is as much an issue as heat because, although my garden is south-facing and quite level, Sheffield is a hilly place and at this time of year the sun barely makes it above the horizon for half the day, and the greenhouse also has an eaves-height hedge on the west side which doesn't help matters.
I'm lucky in that I don't have to "negotiate" the use of indoor windowsills for germinating and raising seeds, and like DD I manage quite well without a heated propagator (in fact I don't own any sort of propagator.)
Given the cost of any sort of greenhouse heating and the light issue I think I'll leave it unheated for the time being - it does extend the growing season by at least a month at each end (I'm still picking ripe Sweet Million tomatoes although I can't say the plants are exactly thriving!) ;)
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like DD I manage quite well without a heated propagator (in fact I don't own any sort of propagator.)
Neither do I, unless you count plastic bags and clingfilm!