First time undercover !

[jayjay giant]

Hi there, i could do with a bit of help. I have been growing veg for a few years now and i am thinking of getting some cover to start things off early and also to try and grow some cucumbers and tomatoes with better results than previous years.
I started off with bits in grow bags and then moved on to pots and containers. After that i cleared all the flower borders and this winter most of the lawn has been converted to raised beds.
I have seen a smallish plastic/nylon greenhouse/cold frame in Argos for only £49.99,( item 18, page 89 ) it is height 187cm, width 121cm, depth 185cm. It has a zipped door and a removable shelf running down the full length of each side.
I am a great believer in you get what you pay for and as i only want to give it a go before i commit to a full blown set up i wondered if this was any good ? It does fit the space i have perfectly and is well within budget.

Has anyone had any experience of these units
Am i better with cold frames ?

Any advice welcomed, thanks,
Jayjay

[King Carrot]

I use a couple of temporary plastic greenhouses over the summer, even then I tie the frames to concrete blocks and weigh down the skirts with more blocks - I suppose it depends on what kind of wind you'd expect where you live - mine just about survived 30 - 40 mph gusts last year and will need patching up for this year but I paid about £100 on ebay for the 3 of them (prices are a lot higher this year - more demand I suppose) and between them they cover about 250 sq foot of growing space.

good luck,

KC

[Sanjo]

The problem with a cold frame is that you would be working out in the open. A greenhouse allows you to "potter" which is very therapeutic (if that's how it's spelt!!). I have just bought two very large cloches with the rip-stop covers and they do seem pretty strong although only time will tell. I do expect them to get brittle after a time. The Argos book says tubular steel frame (just like my cloches) so it should be fairly strong. As King Carrot says, make sure you anchor it well,and provided you are not accustomed to gale force winds it should do the job. I personally, would not just rely on pegs through the plastic but would also anchor using rope and strong pegs OVER the top of the cover but then I'm a worry wart!!! If it is within budget and fine for size then I'd say give it a try. It should last at least a couple of seasons if you take care of the cover. It will, at the very least give you the practical pitfalls and benefits of a greenhouse that size. As most grapes here will tell you, go for the biggest that you can afford or fit in the space as whatever you do eventually get will not be big enough. Hope that helps a bit.

[suzie spud]

HI Jayjay:
I tried the little Argos houses and had a great start especially getting seedlings going. A creature of habit I did still start them on the windowsill inside but they made good headway in the plastic house until the wind sent them flying (we live by the sea so gales are standard).. I would agree to tie them down securely, better to be sure than face the heartbreak of all your seedlings upturned on the ground. My tomatoes did well too but it takes some getting used to the balance between watering and ventilation. I'd say keep the 'door' open during the day as it is easy, especially when lots of bigger plants like toms in there, to develop mould and fungus problems and blight. I have now progressed to a full blown polutunnel (16 x 12 feet) last year and found the same challenges i.e. moisture balance just on a bigger scale. This is my first year really working the tunnel as I had 6 month old last summer (who is hopefully up for a slug patrol job this year) so it remains to be seen how it goes. Good luck and enjoy!

[cheerfulness]

My parents had two of the greenhouses from Argos but, despite anchoring with sand bags and concrete blocks, one blew over and then took off into nextdoors. They didn't use again until early summer and sadly lost the seedlings.

Having said that, they live at the top of a hill and I live down the hill from them and had little problems. I anchored mine to the back of the house in a sheltered corner.