Greenhouse

Three nights this last week I have put bubblewrap round my small pear tree, which is flowering for the first time, planted in 2010 - so far it seems ok.

I had the seedlings in the passage by the house for the night, as it's a little warmer - I now have (goes to check!) two cucumbers out of three, and two SM tomatoes - and one which I don't think is a tomato...but I will let it grow for now, and evict it later if I am sure! Must put them back in the greenhouse soon.

Two of each is actually enough. Limited room under cover.

DH bought two Sweet Million tomato plants at a Plant Sale, so they are now in grow-bags shivering like the rest of us Oxon70 cucumber seedlings yet to push through the soil. Will update you when they think it's warm enough!

Wish I had, eGJ.
Murphy's law was acting, but the 6 are now 2, as four of them got 'damped off' - sprayed the others and so far they are ok.
But guess what, the new seeds haven't produced yet.

But I have two striped cucumber seedlings come up. I mean the cucumbers are supposed to be striped!
A new fancy. Last year I grew lemon apple cucumbers, interesting.

I bought (same as last year) some cheapie seeds from a cut price supermarket and sowed them in my polythene plant shelter - they are all coming up a treat. The only ones I couldn't get were dwarf dahlias so I bought a packet from a garden centre which cost me more than all the others put together and, a month on, there is no sign of them; not a flicker. First time I've had a failure with dahlia seeds. Hey ho.

Greenhouse now erected; Sweet Million seeds will be started tomorrow unless you've got a few seedlings to spare Oxon70?

I planted seeds from last year of the Sweet Million. Decided they weren't coming up, so sent for another pack.
Meanwhile I looked at the pot and thought well I will water it anyway...this at 7.30 am....at 8. 30 there were 2 seedlings! I now have 6. Duh.
The new pack just arrived.

posted a couple of weeks ago that we were planning to get a greenhouse; DH ordered it yesterday and it arrived (in boxes) today. Too cold to attempt erecting it today (3'C in Herefordshire!) will use all your suggestions when we've managed the building job. everyone

I've sent for some seeds of one I had a plant of last year - Sweet Million.
Loads of tiny sweet fruit. Says it can be grown in a sunny spot outside.
My daughter loved them and I liked them too even though I usually like my tomatoes big.
I grow mine under cover since I had a really bad year when they all got blight.

All mine are grown outside from seedlings.
'Sungold' have wonderful flavour .I love to eat them straight from the plant although they do keep well and go on producing for ages.No need to pinch out the tops.

Moneymaker is a good one Jess. Reliable and good flavour.

What about an outdoor tomato with a good flavour? For those of us without a greenhouse

we always grow some "tumbling tomatoes" in a hanging basket. They grow really well and not only look good the small tomatoes are really sweet

Over the years in greenhouse and now very small garden I've grown several varieties.
Can now only grow in Growbags against sunny garage
wall.
My outright favourite now is 'Sungold' which produces large crop of small,sweet tomatoes which stay orange in colour.Tried'Roma' last year-disappointing.
I get seedlings from swap stall at our local 'Sustainability' gp or from local nursery.
I had a window put in my garage so can bring on seedlings in pots until warmer weather.

Thanks for that, Zeph, I'll bear it in mind. eGJ I have grown potatoes in large pots, and in a plastic dustbin, as I wanted to try a few obscure varieties. To be honest, I thought it was an expensive exercise. It takes a lot of compost to keep topping up, and, in my case at least, the yields were not wonderful, but you might get better results. There are lots of interesting varieties in garden centres these days. When we had an allotment, we used to grow Arran Pilot and Pentland Javelin mostly and they were very reliable. It's quite exciting digging them up to see what you've got (but it doesn't take much to get me excited!)

I have a glass one but I was told that light levels are lower in polycarbonate which would slow growth but I don't know how big a problem this would be. Poly is cheaper.

Just moved house with a very small garden, but planning to get a greenhouse and grow potatoes, rhubarb & tomatoes in pots outside on the patio. Tumbling Tom has been recommended for the tomatoes I see; any suggestions for potatoes in pots? Anyone tried it? Only been here six months so unsure whether there are perennials in the one bed not srubbed-up! And tips on polycarbonate versus glass!

We didn't have room for a greenhouse in our last house, but I got very good results with a three-shelf polythene plant shelter. They're no substitute for a proper greenhouse but I raised six different varieties of flowers last year from seed, along with tomatoes, beans and peppers. Now we have moved, I am working on DH for a proper greenhouse. Does polycarbonate have any merits over traditional glass?

When I emptied the greenhouse I sprayed it with Jeyes, do I need to do it again - and spray the shelving I just put back, which has been outside? Had a bit of trouble with red spider last year.

Not really shysal with so many seeds to sow in such a short space of time I do have to work to some sort of schedule.
If the ground is too cold I have some narrow Black polythene sheets which I place to warm up the soil for about 2 weeks before the plants go in.
Early Potatoes do have to be covered most years (because they go in early april) but only on nights when frost is forecast.
I also have a quantity of clotches.
The outdoor Tomato I grow is "Bambino" which are very sweet tasting but if someone on the site has another variety I do like to try a few plants

ronald your sowing dates are very precise! Do you not make allowances for the weather conditions and soil temperature each year?

I have an upside down basket that you put one or two tomato plants in and water/feed from above. It had loads of cherry tomatoes on it over about four months last year, and this year I'm going to put one tomato and one sweet pepper plant in it. It hangs by my back door in the sunshine and looks decorative, too - got it from Wyevale garden centre.

If you are short of space, I recommend Tumbling Tom tomatoes (small, but bigger than cherry size), which are very hardy and can be planted out in a hanging basket or pot once there's no danger of frost. I bring on the seedlings on the bathroom windowsill. There's a yellow variety as well as the red.

I miss our big 12 x 8 greenhouse...(another of the drawbacks of "downsizing") no room for even a 6 x 4 now...sniff...

I use those Biker the're very good. Ronald your allotment looks great, we moved from Essex to Cheshire three years ago so I'm still finding out what will grow here and what won't!

Oxon70
we used to have greenhouses and we used to cover the inside with the BIG bubble wrap you can buy...you fasten it on with sort the clips..theya re sort of grean round plastic...they have a flat side which you put in the channel of the greenhouse then you turn them about a quarter of a turn..if you go to a garden center or a gardening website im sure they will show a picture...come back if your struggling....good luck...