If I buy a small greenhouse now, what vege can I grow?

[ThePassageOfTime]

My first year growing vege and I'd like to experiment with a greenhouse, to supplement my 100+ incubating outdoor pots 😂

What could I best use it for?

If I invest, how much longer will my growing season be?

And how early can I get started next year?

I have more enthusiasm than skill 😂

SE England, west facing garden

When you say greenhouse, do you mean a aluminium frame with glass (generally 6' x 8'), or do you mean a small plastic covered set of shelves?

IME the smaller ones aren't really worth messing around with. They are too small so there is no heat stability. It makes the hotter part of the day even hotter and then very quickly loses that heat due to their volume and construction.

If you are getting a glass and aluminium greenhouse, then these are much more useful. I use mine (in Scotland) all year around.

Right now you could keep tomatoes, cucumbers, chili, sweet peppers etc. Everything apart from the cucumber is a bit late to sow, but you could buy small plants and they'd do well.

I've found that in the winter I can grow hardy salad and over-winter more tender plants. I can also get things like broad beans started much earlier, similarly annuals like cosmos or ammi.

I managed to grow strawberries, carrots and radishes throughout the winter with mine. I also have a west facing garden

Ironically I never intended to continue growing strawberries, I overwintered 3 plants and they just had a mind of their own, now I have 12 plants and more strawberries than I can use, they keep flowering!

Oooo that is exciting to know they can be used year round.

I was thinking the covered shelves but maybe 🤔 I should invest in something more substantial for heat stability

Asda have some tomato, cucumber and courgette plants for 85p.

A planter with salad leaves, another with lettuce.

Some dwarf French beans are quick to germinate and I grow three successional crops over the summer.