Should I get a greenhouse?!

[rst]

Hello all ..
So next year I have a choice of getting lots of Raised beds or a greenhouse , My garden is north facing ,
i would really like to grow tomatoes , courgettes , lettuce basically everything !
But which for me would be best and would suit my garden?! A raised bed of a greenhouse !

[Two_Sheds]

A greenhouse is no good unless it's in the sunshine.

Tomatoes especially need a lot of sunshine. Courgettes & lettuce don't need a greenhouse at all.

[roitelet]

A greenhouse is a lot of work especially if it is small. Temperature control is difficult and you can't leave it as you will have to water a lot. Have you thought of cloches or a cold frame? I am resisting a greenhouse, I have had them in the past, and make do with the cloches and am constructing a large cold frame this year. Seems to work well

[Mikey]

I picked up a greenhouse FOC, thanks to the beady eyes of a family friend. A lot of glass later about £100 and my free 10 x 6 aluminium greenhouse looks like new.

Sometimes it doesn't have to be one or the other, freecycle and adtrader are good locations to find cheap secondhand options of what you are after, also check neighbourhood skips people chuck out all sorts of timber suitable for making raised planters.

A greenhouse is very useful for starting off plants early, but windowsills indoors can work just aswell if you haven't got one, there are outdoor varieties of what you are looking for try and find a south facing wall and grow them up it in grow bags or large pots, this should bring the fruit on. I've never managed yet to produce a good yield from an outdoor tomato that isn't located near a heat releasing energy source like a wall.

You learn more from your mistakes than your successes, and its makes you a far more determined and appreciative gardener.

[Bigmallly]

? Raised beds with polycarb lids, best of both worlds....just a though as I use one of my beds with a polycarb lid to bring seedlings on....