Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello All

Just to introduce myself. I've had a small veg plot in the garden for (too many!) years, growing onions,garlic and leeks every year and potatoes, peas, beans, in an informal rotation. I've always had outdoor tomatoes against a South facing white wall. I've tended to stop them at 2 or 3 trusses and, depending on the summer, get lots of green or red fruit. This year I grew Roma which did well, though I've got the last of them in brown paper gently going red. The thing that's prompted me to join is that I've just invested in a greenhouse, 8 x6, which I'm looking forward to using. Any ideas about anything I could sow now? It's about half full of pelagonium cuttings and plants, but some space I'm keen to use. I don't want the cost of heating, but am willing to keep it frost free.

Regards

Ian

Welcome Ian, in mine I have some salad leaves, chard, mustard, quick growing winter salad stuff really, and some early strawberry plants in strawberry tubs, they are pretty hardy. Some sweet peas in pots to put out early next year.

A warm welcome from me too, Ian.

Hi Ian

Welcome to the forum. I grow a lot over the winter under cover (polytunnel) and I tend to do my last sowing about 8 September. It's getting late days now, but you could try sowing winter lettuce, salad leaves such as rocket, mizuna and mibuna, pak choi might perform for you if you get them sown soon.

For a useful list of suggestions have a look at THIS from Canolfan Defnydd Tir Amgen. Don't worry, my link will take you to the English version of their site

I know I have gone from your small greenhouse, to a polytunnel to field growing in two leaps. But many of the suggested crops can be grown in smaller places, even containers and pots.

Regards

Alan

Hi Ian. Welcome from me also.

Hi Ian. A warm welcome from me too.

I usually have a couple of buckets of carrots on the go in the greenhouse over winter. I sow them about now and although they germinate well, they do stop growing a bit. As soon as the days start to get lighter, they romp away and produce some nice early carrots. Fleece over the buckets protects the tender foliage from frosts.

Cheers.

Welcome to the forum, Ian. It's good to know another northerner is joining in.

About growing things in your new greenhouse. We, too, have a 6x8 greenhouse (and have had for more than 30 years) and I have tried a number of things over winter but always find it's the lack of light rather than low temperatures which either slow things down or don't let them grow at all, although the greenhouse is only slightly shaded from the west but open to the east and south.

I keep mainly herbs in there over winter, either to protect them from hard frost (like parsley and a large pot of bay) or try to keep them going for longer than outside (chives, basil, savory, mint, tarragon etc). And then, I always provide a bit of colour and scent by growing violas, polyanthus and, later, spring bulbs.

I do like Elaine's idea, though, of growing some carrots in tubs. I might try that this year and I also wondered about using up this year's leftover seeds to grow "mini-greens" like brassicas and beet, but perhaps the light will not be enough!!

Thanks for the welcomes and the suggestions. I'll try lettuce, carrots and sweetpeas I think. Herbs sound a good idea as well. I've got various herbs in the garden so I'll divide a few and put some in the greenhouse. I can use them over winter then revert to outside ones in summer. Not raining today, quite sunny in fact, so I'm off to put some electricity in the greenhouse. RCDs, waterproof cable, sockets etc cost a bit but better safe than sorry.

Regards

Ian