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Looking out over my garden wall, just to see what ravages winter and early spring storms has left me, I saw my first casualties, a few broken panes of glass in the small glasshouse there.
Now my garden is only tiny compared to some, about 20 feet by 30 feet, and sits at the back of my terraced property deep in the heart of Nottinghamshire UK, my very own little plot of paradise, as I call it. However it still had room for a 6 foot by 6 foot aluminium greenhouse with horticultural glass. Anyone looking at taking up gardening should seriously consider finding room for one, as the advantages far out way its initial cost. Of course the glass replacements each spring can be a menace, and can also be a little costly for good quality horticultural glass, although some may always be repairable with a little patience and a roll of Ultra Violet Stabilized, transparent scotch tape from the local DIY store.
A small inexpensive greenhouse, or even the plastic sheet covered grow-houses, can be very cost effective over the long term, and open up more possibilities for today’s amateur grower.
Why Have A Greenhouse Anyway?
There are several advantages to owning a greenhouse, and here are 7 of the most beneficial, at least in my opinion as an enthusiastic amateur gardener.
Half hardy and Tender, pot and container grown perennial plants, small flowering shrubs, and some ornamental fruit trees, which sat outside all summer, can be grouped together for winter protection against the ravages of the harsh weather. Gentle heat can easily be provided, if the temperatures drops too low with the aid of specialised and efficient, greenhouse heaters, but generally speaking this may not be needed as your greenhouse will always hold a certain amount of residual heat, especially if you double line the inside with the bubble wrap sheeting available from any reputable garden centre or local DIY store. To over winter Geraniums and its various varieties, I find it best to lay the pots on their side, and stand upright again as soon as new growth is seen in early spring, unless heat is provided.
A greenhouse is the ideal environment to grow a few winter lettuces if you choose the cos or hardier varieties. For these winter and early spring delights I use a 2 part very course sand, to one part compost mixture as a growing medium, good drainage is very important. Very little feeding or aftercare is needed, and as always never use icy cold water straight from the tap, warm up overnight in your kitchen, closet, garage or shed. I’ve found that the best plant-pots for winter growing are the terracotta ones, as they tend to protect the delicate root systems better. As a good alternative to the sand, vermiculite or perlite are wonderful insulators and are both inert natural volcanic substances and widely used by both amateur and professional growers, the cost of which has come down, to now be very affordable. You may wish to use old bits of polystyrene in the bottom of your pots as an economical alternative to the traditional broken crocks for drainage, and besides it uses up another throw away item and is freely available inside appliance cartons or from friends, relatives, neighbours, shops, skips and dumpsters.
Growing your own spring flowering pot plants and bulbs for a colourful display can save you plenty. Primula’s, viola’s, African violet’s, crocus’s, snowdrops miniature daffodil’s and narcissi, plus the beautifully scented Hyacinth’s are just a few of the typical examples of what can be grown in readiness for a wonderful windowsill full of spring colour. They need very little winter attention, as they are all quite hardy, but in the greenhouse will flower so much earlier than the ones left in your garden. Who can resist the fresh aroma from Hyacinths full in bloom, as you enter a room? Always remember to group bulbs in odd numbers, as this somehow looks more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, 1 and 3 being the best for larger bulbs, 5 and 7 for medium, 9,11 and 13 for the very small ones such as crocus’s, shallow bulb bowls are readily available for this purpose. Bulb and plant varieties availability will vary from country to country, but the principles are the same.
Sowing and growing your own bedding plants from seed, to fill your garden with colour later on, is another great money saver, which a greenhouse can give you. Always buy your seeds from a quality seed merchant, garden centre or from a well-known seed catalogue, if in doubt ask a local gardener for advice, or even subscribe to a popular gardening magazine for your locality, who incidentally may also give you packets of seed free, as a promotion from time to time. This really is one area of gardening where, quality does matter, and if it means paying that little extra, then its well worth it, as poor quality seed means, low germination rates, which then means fewer plants for your garden, or to resell those extras to friends and neighbours. The same applies to sowing and potting composts. Poor quality and often-cheap composts can cause the dreaded damping off of your seedlings in their early stages.
All vines love being grown in greenhouses, whether they are the eating varieties or for wine making. Although the plants are indeed themselves quite hardy, it’s the setting of the fruit and ripening stages that can benefit from being in this type of humid environment that a greenhouse gives them.
Probably the all time favourite for owning a greenhouse in a temperate climate zone has to be, the growing of tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet peppers for those delicious summer salad dishes. These three items alone make owning a greenhouse a sheer joy and of course the benefits of having fresh home grown produce for the table at a fraction of the market cost makes the choice in favour of owning one almost irresistible to most amateur gardeners today.
Now last but not least is my own personal and favourite reason for owning a greenhouse. For me there is nothing better, on a balmy summers day, than to sit in my greenhouse after watering my plants and enjoying a lovely refreshing glass of iced lemon tea, and watching the birds, bees and butterflies outside in the garden going about their daily business, all this tranquillity is my little bit of heaven on earth, my very own garden paradise.
Until we meet again "Over The Garden Wall" it's back to my potting shed for me. An Amateur Gardeners work is never done, no matter what time of year it is.
John Elliott aka Oaky Wood together with Luella May co-founded http://thecorner4women.com John has been an avid Amateur Gardener for over 25 years and is now also "Motivating & Empowering Women, in the Home, for Business, Health & Leisure" through his informative articles
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