Five Top Tips for Greenhouse Gardening Success in 2017

I’m sat looking at the window, watching the drizzle and hoping it’ll wash all that wood pigeon poo off my greenhouse. I know it’s wishful thinking! I’ll have to get out there myself with a soaped up sponge and clean the glass. And soon, at that, for the tomatoes and aubergine seedlings are already starting to rush away and will need to be potted on soon! I’m still to crack greenhouse gardening and make it a success.

To get in the mood, I’ve got some very handy hints from the GBC Group.

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A greenhouse can enhance your garden and enable you to grow beautiful flowers and delicious fruit and vegetables all year around. If you have a greenhouse but you’re not sure where to start, take a look at this handy guide to gardening in your greenhouse…

Tidy Greenhouse, Tidy Mind

A standard greenhouse for the home isn’t usually very large, so by keeping your greenhouse clean and tidy helps you create as much room as possible. You’ll need room on your potting bench to move compost and pots, and somewhere to put the pots when you’ve sown seeds in them. With more space on your potting bench, you’ll be able to put the pots together which builds a small micro-climate, helping to raise the temperature slightly during cold nights.

A lot can be grown in even the smallest of greenhouses

Know What to Grow

A great thing about greenhouse gardening is that it allows you to widen the range of what you can grow each season. A greenhouse is the perfect place to start seedlings in spring and store bulbs over winter and having a calendar or growing plan is a great way to make the most of each growing season. Vegetables such as vine-ripened tomatoes and cucumbers can be grown all year round in many greenhouses.

Watering your Plants

Plants grown in a greenhouse need more care and attention than plants grown outside. Where plants in a garden can rely on rain, plants in a greenhouse depend on you for every drop of water they receive. You should water your greenhouse plants at least once a day – early in the morning or late in the evening when temperatures are at their lowest.

Beautiful cedar greenhouses make a statement.

Tip Top Temperature

Every greenhouse needs a vent to allow hot, rising air to move our and cool air to move in, especially in the warmer months. Something many people overlook when purchasing a mini greenhouse is ventilation. Greenhouses with a sliding door designs allows infinitely variable ventilation, from an inch or two in the early Spring to wide open in mid-Summer. Companies such as GBC Group have an expert team on hand to discuss different ventilation options.

Try Something New

An exciting aspect of greenhouse gardening is how you can be experimental with what you grow. Trying to grow something that isn’t the norm is exciting and can keep things interesting for you. Why not try tropical plants or exotic fruit and vegetables such as chilli, aubergines, or peppers?