New to the site - Greenhouse Question - Can I grow all year round?

[johnyelland1234]

Hi all,

I would like to take up the hobby of growing my own veg at home.

I bought a small sheeted greenhouse from Homebase which has shelves etc built in and some seeds:



Strawberries
Tomatoes
Onion
Chillis
Carrots
I also have mushroom spores coming that won't require a greenhouse yet.


Thing is, none of the seeds i've bought can be sown yet (according to the packet) except strawberries which can be sown next month.

The question I have is can I grow these seeds in this greenhouse, regardless of the month/season? Do I just plant them and stick to the temperatures on the packet and ignore the months?

Thanks
John

[rustylady]

Short answer is no - stick to the advice on the packs. It isn't just about temperature, it also has a lot to do with available daylight. Whereabouts are you?

Do you have any garden available so that you could grow things in the ground?

[veggiechicken]

Hello John and Welcome to the Forum. Could you tell us where you live please - add your location to your profile. Plants need warmth and light to thrive through the winter and some parts of the UK are better for this than others!

[johnyelland1234]

I live in Norfolk, it's usually pretty sunny here most days.

No problem getting a little heater to go in there, I saw one at homebase that runs for 14 days on a single tank of paraffin, wow.

Oh and I do have a little bit of garden available, but I may be told off if I start digging!

[zazen999]

Sorry John

But that's not a greenhouse, that's a blowaway. Mine was fixed down using the supplied ties, guy ropes, paving slabs over the bottom rungs and the ropes were tied around heavy wood on a raised bed. And I have attached a picture earlier this year after some heavy winds. The wood was pulled up and over and - well, we are now using the frame sections for our own small frame on the plot.

Strawberries - are hardy so sow into a tray and prick out next spring into pots
Tomatoes - no chance at this time of year. Feb indoors, or March-April in a greenhouse next year.
Onion - depends on variety, sow into a tray or pots and these can overwinter for next spring's crops.
Chillis - no point, sow these indoors after 22nd Dec for next year
Carrots - potentially, depending on the variety - you might get some small carrots this year. But if the packet says no then probably best to wait.

I'd not recommend putting anything on those shelves - any time the wind gets up, the sides act like a kite and whatever is on the shelves ends up on the floor. Hence me having leeks growing in between my potatoes this summer after the tray of seed heads went flying.

And I'd not recommend a heater in there - you'd be wasting your money. Honest. Either that or the plastic will melt.

Use it as a large cold frame and keep stuff on the floor. And bear the telling off and get some veg beds dug. Go get some salad leaves, mizuna, garlic, overwintering onions and get those planted.

[johnyelland1234]

Wow, I thought it might not be great in the wind but yours really did take off!

We'll be moving it to a place in the garden which should hopefully protect it from wind.

So i'm good to plant strawberries, onions and carrots?

It all seems very complicated, but i'm sure it'll come to me in time. When I get my own house, i'll be looking into a proper greenhouse.

Thanks for your answers all.

[veggiechicken]

If you don't want to be told off for digging up the garden you can grow in pots and containers. There are some Grapes on here who do that very successfully. I'm sure one of then will be along soon

[Potstubsdustbins]

That might be me then.

If you live in rented property it may be best not to dig up the garden. However I have yet to find a plant that cannot be grown in a container of one sort or another.

This would give the added bonus of being able to take things with you if you move home.

Colin aka Potty.

[veggiechicken]

If you don't want to be told off for digging up the garden you can grow in pots and containers. There are some Grapes on here who do that very successfully. I'm sure one of then will be along soon

That might be me then.
Colin aka Potty.

You must have heard me! I wanted to say Potty's on the job but it didn't sound very polite

[johnyelland1234]

I was in B&Q today (it's really expensive now), and I saw a multi tier wooden growing thing that stands off the ground. Might be worth a look

[Potstubsdustbins]

Jonny, if you intend to grow in containers, save your money for compost, its the biggest expense in the first year.

The containers can be almost anything, I use plastic dustbins, secondhand plastic water tanks (the type you find in your loft.). Knocked up wooden boxes, Morrisons black flower buckets as well as proprietary pots of all sorts.

Colin

[Sarahmackins1974]

Sorry John

But that's not a greenhouse, that's a blowaway. Mine was fixed down using the supplied ties, guy ropes, paving slabs over the bottom rungs and the ropes were tied around heavy wood on a raised bed. And I have attached a picture earlier this year after some heavy winds. The wood was pulled up and over and - well, we are now using the frame sections for our own small frame on the plot.

Strawberries - are hardy so sow into a tray and prick out next spring into pots
Tomatoes - no chance at this time of year. Feb indoors, or March-April in a greenhouse next year.
Onion - depends on variety, sow into a tray or pots and these can overwinter for next spring's crops.
Chillis - no point, sow these indoors after 22nd Dec for next year
Carrots - potentially, depending on the variety - you might get some small carrots this year. But if the packet says no then probably best to wait.

I'd not recommend putting anything on those shelves - any time the wind gets up, the sides act like a kite and whatever is on the shelves ends up on the floor. Hence me having leeks growing in between my potatoes this summer after the tray of seed heads went flying.

And I'd not recommend a heater in there - you'd be wasting your money. Honest. Either that or the plastic will melt.

Use it as a large cold frame and keep stuff on the floor. And bear the telling off and get some veg beds dug. Go get some salad leaves, mizuna, garlic, overwintering onions and get those planted.

Glad I looked at this thread was thinking of buying similar structure but seeing this reply post it has convinced me not to waste my money as being a 1st floor roof terrace type garden wind was something I hadn't considered doing so much destruction to this type of garden growing area think I'd better stick to containers and pots on the floor area, thanks

[Two_Sheds]

I saw a multi tier wooden growing thing that stands off the ground. Might be worth a look

No, save your money.
Even in a proper good glass greenhouse you can't grow veggies all year round. Mine is used for starting seedlings a bit early in spring, and for the warmth lovers like chillies & tomatoes (summer).

A blowaway is nothing more than a coldframe, in essence. A coldframe is used to protect against wind & some degree of cold: they're used to "harden off" plants that have come out of the greenhouse but aren't yet tough enough to plant outside.

If you want to be successful at growing food, and not have endless problems and disappointments, then choose plants that suit your conditions: don't try to manipulate your conditions to grow unsuitable plants, and don't think that you can plant outside the seasons: we're coming into winter quickly now with falling daylight and temps.

What to sow now

Keep an eye on the What I Did Today thread to see what people are planting at the moment.