What to grow in my greenhouse and when?

[KatieElizabeth]

Hello !

I have got my first allotment and it came with a greenhouse.

My question is what's best to grow in there?
And also - when's best to start planting things in there?

Sorry if this is a silly question 🙈 I'm a new gardener !

Thank you in advance

Katie

[Chestnut]

Hello Katie, and welcome to the vine!

Is your greenhouse in sun, or partly shaded? And what do you like eating?

I've only had a greenhouse for a year myself, but grew tomatoes and chillies in there last year, along with a pot each of basil and oregano.

This year I thought I would try cucumbers a bit later in the year, and am starting off various seeds/seedlings in the GH for planting out on my allotment once the ground warms up a bit. So far (last weekend) I've sown some leeks and broad beans in pots.

In terms of when to plant stuff, I have found the 'growing guides' on this site very helpful. I've also used the RHS website and, of course, the instructions on the seed packet! i tend to wait a few weeks after the earliest suggested planting dates, as climate here in Lancashire is not as warm as Somerset...

There's also a 'what i did today ' thread here, which is useful to see what everyone else has been doing when :-)

Enjoy your new plot, and do post some photos when you get a chance :-)

[Two_Sheds]

Get thee to your library or Amaz0n and order Titchmarsh's and Hessayon's GH books
There are others, but those are a good start

[Cadalot]

Get thee to your library or Amaz0n and order Titchmarsh's and Hessayon's GH books There are others, but those are a good start

There comes a point where one can have too many books, he says looking at 15 different gardening books on the shelf!

[the big lebowski]

it will be my 1st year growing in a green house up the veggie patch this year if all goes to plan ,im going to try and grow chillis,toms,cucumbers ,mellons and then some lettace and spring onions if i have space ,i already have some chillis started and so they will get priority

[ESBkevin]

Hello and welcome. The only silly question is the one you don't ask!

Green houses have two principle functions, 1 to extend the growing season. 2, To nurture sensitive plants and protect them from the ravages of the english climate.

So we might grow to maturity things like peppers, chillies, egg plants/aubergines, in our short summers and some leafy salad crops out of season like lettuce.

This time of year you can start some seeds off but they might need extra protection like a plastic 'tent' or covered seed tray. Onion seeds can be started now and other things as the weather and season evolves.

As others have said decide what you like to eat, find out when it's ideally planted and work it out on a sheet of paper to give you sowing dates and planting out dates etc.

Ask more questions when you have an idea of what you will do.

[treepixie]

I had Greenhouse for the first time last year, I grew tomatoes, chillies, cucumbers and basil

[ESBkevin]

One other comment here, although we grow Toms, Cucs, chillies etc in the little greenhouse we produce more plants than space inside. The surplus gets planted outside up the plot and for all that provides very good produce. Year before last the Toms outside ripened before the glasshouse crop of the same seed. Also that year the outside chillies were better and more abundent than the indoor crop! So if you have garden/allotment space chuck the spares in the soil anyway.

[MarkPelican]

I've just sown some spinach for leaves. Another good thing at the moment is to get some living salad from one of the supermarkets and break it up into clumps and put them into large pots. You'll get earlier lettuces.

[ancee]

This year in mine I've got a grape vine a fig tree. 4 blueberry twigs which will hopefully turn into bushes. These are all in the permanent border I've put in. Then on the shelves I'm putting salad trays and herbs in pots and on the bottom shelves tomatoes in either pots or grow bags I havent decided which yet. Welcome BTW

[ancee]

Get thee to your library or Amaz0n and order Titchmarsh's and Hessayon's GH books
There are others, but those are a good start

Hello Two Sheds. I haven't been on here for a while

[fishpond]

There comes a point where one can have too many books, he says looking at 15 different gardening books on the shelf!

You only have 15 gardening books?