Greenhouse - raising plants for winter use

While a greenhouse is not an economic necessity – because a freezer allows you to have good fresh vegetables all year round – the pleasure of having flowers for the house in the winter months can’t be overestimated. To raise plants well over the winter you need to establish a regular daily routine when greenhouse gardening. Failure to do so will lead to disappointments and the failure of seedlings and young plants because you need to monitor conditions in your greenhouse carefully for tender and fragile plants to succeed.

If the day is clear and warm, visit your greenhouse by midmorning to check the temperature. If it is higher than ideal, open a doors and/or vents to lower the temperature remember to avoid draughts though, so don’t cause cold air to whistle through the space. Check the temperature again in early afternoon, or earlier if the sun is bright. In late afternoon or evening, visit your greenhouse and close it up once there is no longer a danger of over-heating, this is the time to water your plants if they need it. Once you and your greenhouse settle down together, you can visit once in the morning and once in the evening and feel confident you’re keeping your plants in good condition.

Some suggestions to make good use of your greenhouse through the winter:

October

Sow lettuce for spring. Plant fruit trees. Bring in tender perennials for over wintering. Sow annuals and sweet peas for spring

November

Sow onions for transplanting. Box up rhubarb crowns, and chicory. Bring in pots of herbs to ensure a through the winter supply. Plant a grape vine! Bring bulbs into greenhouse as shoots appear.

December

Harvest chicory. Bring in bulbs for spring flowering. Clean greenhouse.