11:14 - 17 January 2011
Whether you are new to greenhouse gardening or are an experienced underglass grower, there is a certain amount of additional kit that can turn your greenhouse from a glazed space into a real growing powerhouse. It doesn’t need to be high tech or complicated but it can make all the difference to your growing experience.
Growing Space
If you have an empty greenhouse to furnish or are simply looking to extend the growing area of your glass house you can choose between aluminium or cedar greenhouse staging to suit the material of your glasshouse.
For the best results choose slatted staging as it allows better ventilation around your plants and helps prevent fungal diseases especially botrytis and damping off. However if you have a need for gravel or sand trays for propagation these are also available. It doesn’t matter what size your greenhouse is, you can create staging to suit your needs by building it from different modules or opting for a bespoke service. This is offered by quality manufacturers such as Growhouse, click here for more information: http://www.growhouse-greenhouses.co.uk/staging
Don’t forget about the upper space in your greenhouse, this can be furnished with high level staging attached to your greenhouse frame. This then provides additional plant space for growing or even storage space for pots and modules.
Potting Tidy
If you have a potting area or a potting bench in your greenhouse it can be difficult sometimes to keep it clean and tidy. Invest in a handy potting tray that is the perfect place to pot up seedlings, pot on cuttings or simply potter in the greenhouse. It will catch all the spilt compost, all the dropped seeds and a lot of the debris that is produced from greenhouse gardening and then all you need to do is to empty it out and start again. Here’s a useful version that would make an excellent gift for a gardener. http://www.growhouse-greenhouses.co.uk/garden-work-tray
Self-Watering Trays
Most gardeners struggle with keeping their plants well watered especially when the weather is warm or they are away for a few days. Invest in some self-watering trays that provide moisture into the compost inside your plant pots from a reservoir below. Remember that the larger the reservoir the longer the water will last, but also that two or three tomato plants will drink litres of water in a day when the weather is hot and they are growing rapidly. Also, self-watering trays can make the compost too wet for seedlings and young plants, so you need to regulate your use early in the season.
Keeping Cool
As the weather warms up the gardener’s attention turns from keeping their plants above freezing, to stopping them from burning up. The greenhouse can become an oven in a very short time. One of the most important aspects of greenhouse gardening is getting the ventilation right. Even when it is cold your plants need good airflow around them to keep them healthy, but when the sun comes out, it is essential to temper the heat and keep it balanced. Good ventilation is essential. Manual vents are adequate but if you are not able to attend to the needs of your plants at least twice a day then you need to invest in automatic vents. Ideally two at the apex of your greenhouse with equivalent sized low level vents to create a steady and calm airflow. The cool air needs to be drawn in at the bottom and be released at the top for the very best results.
Water Works
Make the most of all precious resources and utilise the water that falls on your glasshouse roof as rain. It’s really simple to collect it from the greenhouse gutters into waterbutts stationed around the greenhouse. Rainwater is much better for your plants than tap water, but can pick up fungal spores on its way into the waterbutt so it is better used to water mature plants in the garden rather than seeds and seedlings. Nevertheless a garden store of water can be especially valuable for watering pots and containers and plants growing in your greenhouse border.
