The other day I got the urge. You know the one: a spare hour, sun shining, greenhouse warmer than it’s felt for months… ‘Tomatoes!’ I thought. I could sow some tomatoes in the propagator, and get really ahead of things this year. I will have ripe, luscious tomatoes in July, June even! A little voice […]
One of the great things about owning a greenhouse is extending the season at both ends. It’s a bit like playing God in the garden; you can actually move the seasons a bit and start to enjoy them for just a bit longer. This is especially glorious early in the year; when impatient gardeners like […]
This winter has been like the winters of old with snow and chilling winds. The last few days of January have been horrible in Hertfordshire, damp, raw and shrouded by grey sky from dawn until dusk. A friend of mine said it was like living under a Tupperware bowl, I’ve never done it but sure […]
The Marvel of Peru, the Four o clock or Tea time plant, Mirabilis jalapa was a great favourite in Victorian times but seldom known now. Which is a shame as it is one of the prettiest and most reliable performers you could try, and once got going almost bomb-proof. You see although you may occasionally […]
Just when you have learnt to spell these, they move them to Delosperma, Dorotheanthus, Carpobrotus or Lampranthus. But does it matter as these are still Mesembryanthemaceae, or are they now called Azoiceae? Anyway this huge group includes many succulent genus including the almost cacti-like Lithops, Living Stones, and the really weird finger like Dactylopsis digitata. […]
At long last winter has relaxed its icy grip, for a few days at least! Temperatures plunged to -10C in this part of Hertfordshire and have been much lower in other parts of Britain, on what is the coldest December on record. I hope that your greenhouse heater didn’t break down at a critical time. […]
One of the most important considerations when growing plants is the quality of the medium that you grow them in and that is just as relevant in a greenhouse as outside in the garden. In the greenhouse our plants are either nurtured in pots of compost and/ or grown on in border soil. Generally the […]
It’s safe to say it hasn’t been a vintage year for tomatoes and I think mine have fared worse than most. A late start, a dull, cool summer, and a decision to leave my bubblewrap up as shading (it seemed like a masterstroke at the time) have left me with an abundance of ripening tomatoes, […]
I normally have such rotten luck with basil – rotting, wilting, keeling over at who knows what – that this year I spread the risk. Rather than rely on the famously stroppy sweet basil for all my basil needs, I tried out a few others. Expecting the usual death and destruction, I sowed about 30 […]
