🪴The Greenhouse Corner 🪴

[TheRealHousewife]

Hello Fellow Gardeners

Im in the process of getting a much longed for greenhouse to grow home produce and flowers. As a complete novice (apart from some veg crops grown in the garden) I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread to share knowledge, ideas & successes with like minded gardeners.

I've started seedlings off for cauliflower, cucumber, red peppers, chilli, zinnia,
cosmos, delphinium, lupin, dahlia, tomato, lettuce, carrots & brussel sprouts.
I get ridiculously excited when they start to sprout and I'll admit I treat them
like my babies. Currently they are lounging on various windowsills around my
home. I’ve already had a mishap when I dropped a seedling tray that had 4 (yet to sprout) seed varieties in. I scooped it all up and put it back in the tray, fingers crossed they take 😬

Im also going to plant spuds and I’m going to try my hand at courgettes but
waiting on seeds.

Anyone want to join me? What are you growing? Any advice for a total novice?

Good morning @longtompot That is very impressive! I bet it looks glorious filled up with your growing plants 🪴

Pleased to say it’s lovely here today, sunny and a bit warmer, birds singing. When I’ve done some house chores I’m off out to play 😬

Same genus, different species. So like raspberry and blackberry (Rubus idaeus and Rubus fruticosus) or Chinese lantern and Cape gooseberry (Physalis alkekengi and Physalis peruviana)

@TheRealHousewife Humidity - depends on temperature and hence on the speed at which water evaporates. In winter, too high humidity encourages mould, so you need ventilation. In summer, too dry an atmosphere allows red spider mite to flourish, so you need to keep thing moist.

@Ulysses always worth giving seedlings a watering after transplanting even if the soil is moist. Just the one will do, they perk up quickly, and then you can water as normal.

Thanks @MereDintofPandiculation. I've been watering my seedlings from below, should I be changing it to the top of the soil?

@MereDintofPandiculation Thank you. On looking at one of my recently planted up trays of salad leaf seed I saw what I thought was a fur coat on one of the seeds that wasn’t entirely covered in soil. So I suspect I’v over watered. The clear lid was also full of condensation so I’ve removed it for now to help the soil dry out. Silly me used a tray without holes that I’d bought for when I plant on in pots. You are so knowledgeable and I’m hoping to absorb everything you share 😬👍🙏

@TheRealHousewife you usually will get condensation on the lid of a propagator, I
use absence of condensation as a signal to check for water. So don’t worry about it unless the soil is sodden.

Silly me used a tray without holes that I’d bought for when I plant on in pots I f you have a lift-out tray with drainage holes inside a waterproof one, it’s a lot easier to see if you’ve overwatered. Outer container should be damp rather than dry, but if it has standing water, the soil is too wet. Ok to have standing water just after watering, but it should all have been sucked up into the soil after 30mins

@Ulysses I usually water from on top. I don’t know whether the advice is to water from below. You have to be very gentle watering from above. If watering from below works, there’s no need to change.

Thank you @MereDintofPandiculation 😊

Good Morning

@MereDintofPandiculation I have one lift out tray with holes inside a waterproof one and I placed paper towel in the bottom tray to wick away excess. I had my tray without holes on the heat mat yesterday. The rocket has shot up 😬. The couple of seedlings with fur coats have been removed.

It never ceases to surprise me how fast the seedlings grow once pricked out into pots 😮. Literally in hours they have noticeably grown. This morning I went to check my plants in the living room to find a right mess. My dog has nibbled the seedlings from a tray I had on the floor in front of the patio doors, leaving a trail of compost! Note to self to make sure the door is closed!

Morning , good news about the rocket, less so about your dog treating himself to your seedlings!

My dill is doing a bit better and seem to be tilting towards the sun though I don't think all of the seedling look to have survived the move. I am patiently waiting to see signs of greenery from the seeds that I am planted earlier this week even though germination is more like 10-14 days. I've still have my sweet peas in the root trainers and need to get them potted out soon

Good Morning @Ulysses Im the same as you in that I am forever watching my just planted seeds for signs of sprouting even though I know germination won’t happen straight away. Well done on your dill. That’s a crop I’ve not tried yet.

I wished the weather would improve! Dull, cloudy and a bit chilly again. Middle of UK.

Not sure if this helps but my Alton cedar greenhouse was from eBay. It was in a very elderly lady’s garden and she needed it to be removed due to a change of her circumstances. We had to hire a van to collect it and was a few hours effort to both dismantle and reassemble but the actual greenhouse was a couple of hundred pounds (as opposed to several thousand new). There are lots around like this if you can face the labour and it could minimise the saving up.

I’ve just checked Gumtree and there’s a metal one being sold near me for £80! Am quite tempted but would need to sort out the garden first. Maybe next year though.

That’s a right bargain @Ulysses do it! Your garden will catch up 😬.

Ive been pricking out seedlings today which is so satisfying! It’s as if they instantly get larger! Back breaking but enjoyable.

What’s everyone else doing today? Any photos of produce? 😬

I've got so many things to do in the garden first, but maybe this time next year...

In seed news my trailing lobelia is beginning to germinate. I wish I used a bigger container as it looks very dense. No signs yet from the Nicotiana and other lobelia I did at the same time.

I've misread the instructions for echinacea and I was supposed to top with compost, which I've now done but I've not much hope for them. Lesson learnt. I've got a packet of Stock to put out too.

I'm in Scotland so average temps are still fairly low and not much to show yet. This week coming is a bit warmer, but then it's back to 15 degrees on average. My garden seems to be a bit of a later bloomer, even in comparison to those around me.

Hope it's ok to jump onto this thread.
I bought several tomato and chilli plants to grow with the kids. The tomatoes are quite tall now and some are actually growing tomatoes already.
I put them out in the day and bring them in at night. They will eventually be put in a plastic greenhouse that we bought. Is it too early for them and the small chilli plants to live outside permanently ? We are in the south east, Berkshire area so reasonably warm for Uk.

Thank you!

Good Morning @Ulysses Could a heat mat help? They hardly use any electric and are really effective. I popped one under my Rocket seeds and they germinated in 2 days 😮. I’ve never grown lobelia from seed but will have a go as I have a packet. Actually I’ve got about 3 tins full of packets of seeds 😬. I need to check the dates but usually they have a couple of years on. I’ve received a lot of free seeds from mags or the multi seed packs for 99p.

Hello and of course you can join us @amouj It’s great you’re getting the children involved in growing food. They’ll learn stuff that stay with them and they might also get the growing bug too!

Im no expert, honestly. My greenhouse isn’t here yet but not long now. Everyday is a learning day for me. I think chilli plants need to be warm so overnight outside might be too cool. Some people I know have their toms out already but in sheltered, sunny spots and haven’t reported any problems. If you’re confident the risk of frost has gone you should be ok. Saying that, about 30 years ago we had a cold snap in June and we had heavy snow fall 😮 I’m in the middle of the country but it was nation wide I think.

Thank you so much x

@amouj 👍😊

Thanks @TheRealHousewife I have been googling heat mats! My windowsill seems to be doing a good job for germination purposes but I am hoping to start with seeds earlier next year so will perhaps invest then. How are you using yours?

I've been watched You Tube videos and each one had different ways of planting lobelia seeds and I was panicking that I had gotten it wrong from the start but now I think I am okay. I have sewed them a bit too thickly but hopefully I can thin them out and then plant them in small clumps.

I can spy a bit of greenery in my nicotiana now too. Thrilling stuff

Good Morning @Ulysses I agree when the green starts to show it is exciting 😬. I potted on some cauliflower seedlings (amongst others) Saturday in those little compostable pots. Put in grit trays. We had sun on our patio doors so put the trays there to benefit from the heat. After which I started doing some household jobs (could have swore I closed the door to the living room) In the moment I thought I hadn’t seen my dog a while and saw the door ajar I KNEW exactly where he was. It was like compost Armageddon. Compost everywhere. No sign of 7 seedlings and only found 1/2 pot 😮 … and he still wanted his
supper!

I love Lobelia mixed in here and there. I bought plug plants several weeks ago and they are just getting going. I think they are ‘clumpy’ plants and when bought there is always many stems. I think yours will be fine.

Quite a while ago I planted chilli and red pepper seeds. They were slow to take as I didn’t have a heat mat then but are growing now. I think they are so behind I’ll have to over winter for crops next year. In the mean time I bought one chilli plant & one red pepper plant for £2.00 last week. Potted them on into bigger pots. This weekend they bloomed flowers. So exciting.

Flipping raining here again but the garden will like it!

We've finally got a bit of heat and sunshine today so I am hoping for a bit of growth spurt after all the rain!

My little seedlings are beginning to flourish and even the echinacea seems to be sprouting. I'm hoping to get back into the garden later this afternoon and get a few jobs ticked off that I've been held back on because it's been raining so much.

That is good news about your chilli and peppers. What will happen over winter with the ones you are growing from seed? I'm such a novice!

Hi @Ulysses It was lovely to have a bit of sun today although it was quite windy. It’s raining now. Good news on your echinacea! 👍

The chilli and pepper seedlings will carry on maturing this year then lie dormant (I think) over winter. I’m new to this green house malarkey too 😊. I put my seedlings out today in a sunny sheltered area, including 2 nimrod cucumber variety, planted at the same time. One seedling multiple pairs of leafs and quite robust, the other has 1 large pair of leaves and a much smaller pair. On bringing them in late this afternoon the smaller seedling looks a bit rough, so clearly it was the wrong thing to do. Every day is a learning day 😬

I hope your cucumber revives itself.

I planted out some of my sunflowers and gave a few away to my 3 year old neighbour (with her parents permission and some instructions of course!). It's nice to pass on the plants.

I need to prick out parsley seedling that I've been growing and I'll move the dill to the greenhouse. That will free up some space for more windowsill seeds. I'm thinking of Zinnias. I've tried growing them before without success.

Morning @Ulysses Im just about to go and make a cuppa and the sick cucumber seedling will be the first thing I check 😬. I’ve also got some sunflower seeds but the bed I’m putting them in isn’t ready yet … do you think I have missed the boat? Did you know they are the national flowers 🌻 of Ukraine 🇺🇦

I’ve grown some zinnia seedlings from seed. I don’t know if I grew them too fast but they look ‘leggy’ with a long stem and not many leaves at all. I’m persevering. I’ve never heard of Zinnia until this year. Is there another name for them do you know?

Right I’m off to pop the kettle on. Have fun!

The chilli and pepper seedlings will carry on maturing this year then lie dormant (I think) over winter. If you’re lucky you can get them to overwinter indoors in a bright place, but it’s really too cold and to dark for them, so usually people regrow from seed each year.