starting veg in cold greenhouse

[lottieanne]

I have been reading abour planting garlic onion and peas into modules in a cold greenhouse to plant out later. As I have only just aquired my piece of land I may do this to give my plants a head start and give me time to clear the plot and add some manure etc to it.

Is there anything that you need to do to the plants after they have been planted? do they need covering with fleece? do they need regular watering?

Probably stupid questions to ask but this is my first year thinking about growing all year round. I have had my greenhouse up and running for 2 years now but only used it to grow in seeds and then toms and shillis through the summer. During hte winter it sits empty. As this is at my house and my plot is a few miles away I thought using it to start these plants off would be better than planting them directly into the ground at the plot.

Any hints and tips gratefully received.

Anne

[nomis]

I too am thinking about this. In another 4 weeks time the tomato plants and peppers taking up most of the green house will be done with, freeing up lots of space

In fact, that will leave me with about 6 empty grow bags

What plants will grow well in soil that used to have tomatoes / peppers in?

It would be great to recycle all that compost

[rustylady]

Garlic definitely doesn't need covering. In fact it's best (apparently) if it gets a cold start. You could start that off in modules and plant out as soon as you have space and it is showing signs of growing (maybe better to wait a few weeks though as I understand garlic doesn't go in until October). Onion sets (japanese overwintering) can go into modules now, and again get planted out as soon as you have room.

[rustylady]

What plants will grow well in soil that used to have tomatoes / peppers in?

It would be great to recycle all that compost

Nothing will grow really well in used compost unless you refresh it with fertiliser. I put my used compost on the garden as a top-dressing.

[nomis]

Nothing will grow really well in used compost unless you refresh it with fertiliser. I put my used compost on the garden as a top-dressing.

I thought this was part of the square foot gardening theory - that some types plants can reuse soil that was used by a different type, as they each utilise different minerals etc...?

[oldie]

In the book Mel says when you should mix in a trowel of fresh compost into the square that you are reusing but you are right that you can follow one crop with another that will use different nutrients to the previous one.

[nomis]

I've penty of compost so shall do both, put new compost in and then plant something with a very different apatite to toms 8)

[rustylady]

I thought this was part of the square foot gardening theory - that some types plants can reuse soil that was used by a different type, as they each utilise different minerals etc...?

Yes, but you need to know exactly which minerals - hence I would always refresh with a general purpose fertiliser.

[Patchninja]

Also, SFG isn't in a growbag. It's in open ground. Not the same enviromnemt. It just happens to have a frame around it.