Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

New Greenhouse! Please hit me with your tips - anything (other than tomatoes) I realyl should be growing

27 replies

WishIWasHibernating · 09/01/2026 12:14

Approx 10 x 8 with good sun in the Midlands. On a concrete base. I know I will grow toms and cucumbers, and will aim to start some annuals off (sweetpeas/cosmos etc). But I'm really keen for any good tips on both using the greenhouse and on other things I might not have considered growing. Thank you in advance!

OP posts:
Falalalalaaaalalalalaaaa · 09/01/2026 12:16

I start off courgettes in a glasshouse then plant out in a sunny spot - they are SO productive and very easy to grow. Last year I had more than I could eat from four plants

Chilli peppers love the heat.

Erin1975 · 09/01/2026 12:22

Another vote for chillis. Really easy to grow in pots and always produce a good crop.

WishIWasHibernating · 09/01/2026 12:24

Fab. Thank you. Yes to courgettes - I have learn to be sensible after the year I planted 13 courgette plants - and they all fruited....

Will definitely do chillis. We eat a lot and they never ripen outside in the garden.

What else? Anything quirky? I've been reading about a Chilean guava!

OP posts:
bumphousebump · 09/01/2026 12:33

I grow little mini cucumbers, so nice straight off the vine. And cherry tomatoes.

user665178392470 · 09/01/2026 12:36

I’ve grown melons, similar requirements to cucumbers.
Peppers and chilli’s.
Aubergines
cuca-melons - tiny little round melon/cucumbers, fab in a G and T
A type of squash, can’t remember its name, that likes the heat, you let the fruit dry out and then the skeleton inside is like a bath luffa.
Cape gooseberries, hard to get there before the kids had eaten them all!
Winter lettuce, varied results.

Order a few seed catalogues, you’ll get some inspiration there. but really most useful for toms, cucumbers and starting off tender veg patch stuff!
Most essential is a comfy chair, good tea flask and a radio!

WallyWasEre · 09/01/2026 12:37

If you want something unusual, Spaghetti Squash is in the courgette family, and ours didn’t ripen outdoors before the end of the growing season, so a greenhouse would probably help them turn out better. They make a lovely dinner if you can get them to grow! You boil them up in a big saucepan then cut them open to reveal ‘spaghetti’ strands of veg.

WishIWasHibernating · 09/01/2026 12:40

Great ideas! We grew cucamelons outside last year and they were extremely prolific! And homegrown cucumbers taste SO different to supermarket ones

OP posts:
Igneococcus · 09/01/2026 12:43

WishIWasHibernating · 09/01/2026 12:24

Fab. Thank you. Yes to courgettes - I have learn to be sensible after the year I planted 13 courgette plants - and they all fruited....

Will definitely do chillis. We eat a lot and they never ripen outside in the garden.

What else? Anything quirky? I've been reading about a Chilean guava!

I love Chilean guavas and so did everyone I have given some to try. At least one person has got her own plants now.
We grow them in large pots outside (West coast Scotland) and only bring them inside when there is a heavy frost forecast. I can tell if there is a frost forecast when I come into the kitchen and the guavas are there. They don't need to take up space in a greenhouse.
I'd grow things you can't easily buy, like Turkish peppers (sivri biber) or shishito (Japanese version of padron peppers).

WishIWasHibernating · 09/01/2026 12:45

OOh - thanks @Igneococcus . The way that is written is sounds as though your guavas are autonomous and bring themselves in to cosy up by the radiator when it gets cold. I do hope that's true.

I like the idea of the peppers too.

OP posts:
Igneococcus · 09/01/2026 12:48

WishIWasHibernating · 09/01/2026 12:45

OOh - thanks @Igneococcus . The way that is written is sounds as though your guavas are autonomous and bring themselves in to cosy up by the radiator when it gets cold. I do hope that's true.

I like the idea of the peppers too.

Haha, I bet dp wishes that were true too. No, dp keeps an eye on the weather and brings them in if required.
They really are very nice and they ripen at a time when there isn't any other fruit outside.

Meadowfinch · 09/01/2026 12:51

I bought a house with a very elderly greenhouse.

I grow chillis (two plants produce enough dried chillies for a year), cucumbers and peppers in the greenhouse

I start off tomatoes, lettuce, rocket, french beans, radishes, courgettes and beetroot early and then move them outside later.

At the end of the year, I move herbs in pots into the greenhouse to make them last a bit longer.

olderbutwiser · 09/01/2026 12:54

Can you get power into the greenhouse? Heated propagators and lights transform your growing opportunities early in the year.

I use mine for tomatoes (sun gold, shimmer and burlesque if I can find burlesque seeds this year) plus one mini-cucumber plant, plus a couple of named chilis. I've given up on weird stuff, tomatoes are what I want and eat. I plant basil in the tomato pots too.

But over winter it's all about propagation and overwintering - I have bedding plants including bidens and heliotrope that have been going for years. My dahlias live there overwinter, and geraniums, and some of my salvias. My sweet peas are starting there now and my chilis have germinated (they really want a very long season).

Kdubs1981 · 09/01/2026 12:57

Cucumbers?

HeadyLamarr · 09/01/2026 13:04

@user665178392470 - that is a loofah. A Loofah is a type of gourd/squash that you dry out. Most people assume they are a sort of sponge, but they are just vegetables.

@WishIWasHibernating - lots of basil and chillies, maybe tomatillo if you like Mexican food. I used mine to start the outdoor veg earlier. Things like pak choi kept growing into October, so just extended the growing season that way.

I have celeriac in there at the moment and it's so nice to pop out and pick something for dinner in January.

By far the best thing I did was getting a watering system installed!

Agapornis · 09/01/2026 13:19

Chilean guava is hardy to -10C, does it get that cold outside? (Edit: sorry cross posted)
How about a citrus? You could grow the chillies as perennials. The James Wong Homegrown Revolution books lists quite a few more interesting things to grow. I think you could keep physalis as a perennial, possibly tomatillo (miltomate) too.

WishIWasHibernating · 09/01/2026 14:00

Fabulous. I might be able to add heating next year. I think I'm just over exciting in the depths of winter and need some plans to start day dreaming about!

OP posts:
ProfessorBinturong · 09/01/2026 18:06

Aubergines are very prone to aphids.

How big is the greenhouse? Achocha grow brilliantly in them, but need a lot of room. Physalis are easy and not too big.

bumphousebump · 10/01/2026 07:41

Just bought some tomatillo seeds on the back of this thread….

Igneococcus · 10/01/2026 08:37

ProfessorBinturong · 09/01/2026 18:06

Aubergines are very prone to aphids.

How big is the greenhouse? Achocha grow brilliantly in them, but need a lot of room. Physalis are easy and not too big.

And spider mites, our allotment neighbour lost all his aubergine plants to spider mites last year.
Achocha are great, you just need to make sure that they don't shade everything else when they climb tall.

Shedmistress · 10/01/2026 08:39

For tomatillo just remember that you need at least 2 plants to pollinate each other. Plant them about 3-4 ft apart but no further apart otherwise you lose the cross pollination effect. They can grow up to a metre wide so do be aware of that.

The main thing is that you have water and enough of it to last all summer. So set up a guttering and water butt system as soon as you can.

For concrete floors, whatever you grow needs really good deep beds otherwise there isn't enough soil to sustain if grown in too small pots. I recommend getting hold of some pallet collars and have them 2 deep and fill with topsoil as compost alone isn't dense enough IMHO. For my little 6x8 greenhouse I bought a few of the small ones from B&Q to fit round the door and used the normal pallet sized ones bought off ebay for my main growing space. In fact I brought many of them to France with me. They were a game changer in greenhouse growing.

As for growing, yes to the excitement of growing all the things but don't waste space on stuff you won't eat, or stuff that grows perfectly well outside. Achocha, cucamelons and squashes for example should be fine outside in the midlands of the UK but take up loads of space in a greenhouse. Peppers take absolutely aeons to ripen and you get one or two meals from them whilst chillis ripen over a much longer period and you get loads more meals out of them.

Use the frame itself to grow vine tomatoes up twine, and in between them grow either bush tomatoes, dwarf ones or pop your chillis in there.

Fill any gaps with basil and grow more than one variety and then chop it back when it gets bushy and freeze your chopped back stuff and discover the wonders of basil tea.

If you are going to grow cucumbers or melons, again use the frame to grow them up and keep them together for pollination purposes, try growing smaller cucumbers and keep picking them to keep them producing. Cukes are ready from a few inches long, you don't have to wait to pick and eat them. Prepare yourself for the melons to ripen overnight and then be eaten from the inside by insects, so the moment you can smell them, harvest them. Or you will lose them. And grow smaller ones not huge watermelons designed for the southern USA states.

For now I'd suggest planting some early potatoes in large pots of rich compost for a harvest in 12 weeks. I'd sow a few pots of carrots in sandy light compost in a deep pot, and I'd get a growbag and pop it on a tray, make some crosses [probably about 30 in a grid] and sow a pinch of lettuce and spring onions and beetroot in each cross. When I'd got the deep beds all in, and the lettuce and beets and onions were germinated and growing I'd transplant each bunch into the main growing beds which will otherwise be plant free until the tomatoes go in, and it would give me some harvests before then. Any remaining by May/June can be replanted again outside by that point.

And lastly, when you put your tender plants in, don't forget that even if it is hot in there in the day, you can still get very cold nights so make sure you stick to the weather apps and if a frost is predicted, get in there last afternoon and cover your plants with fleece or netting. Even after hardening off.

hohahagogo · 10/01/2026 08:41

What do you eat a lot of and are expensive? My dad has a new big greenhouse and I’ve got him growing me Japanese aubergines, various peppers, heritage tomatoes, melon (rare variety), and few others things I got from an allotment owning friend. Keep him busy and out of mums hair

sbplanet · 12/01/2026 12:18

Not just what are expensive to buy, try what you like to eat that needs extra warmth - I think just about every veg we grow tastes better than shop bought. Mostly because of when they are harvested, ie when ripe not when ready to travel to market, and variety chosen ie on taste not on harvesting time or ease.
Love growing aubergines but they do like a lot of heat and more humidity than other greenhouse stuff. Start by growing smaller fruited plants, they often ripen quicker.
We grew physalis last(?) year, bought the small plant from a garden centre (or B&Q often have a reasonable selection). They were easy to grow but quite vigorous and a bit meh fruitwise. But you've got to try these things! :D

VenusClapTrap · 12/01/2026 16:49

My best greenhouse tip is to pay a window cleaner to do a thorough inside and out clean once a year. It’s a splurge, but I’m a procrastinator who will put off jobs I don’t like indefinitely, so this little treat makes sure it happens, and forces me to tidy up and weed like a panicked ninja the day before the booking. Then when it’s all sparkling it makes me happy and enthusiastic about my greenhouse all over again. Worth every penny!

Greekurn · 13/01/2026 17:02

When is the best time do get the greenhouse cleaned VenusClapTrap have just moved and have a small greenhouse

kiwiane · 13/01/2026 17:09

I got mine in the spring and it was slow at first growing things on - the mini tomatoes took over one side with a couple of mini munch cucumbers. I let them grow over under the roof.
The shelving was constantly changing with seeds that I was growing on and then I bought some planters to grow lettuce and other leaves indoors later in the summer.
Id like to grow chillis this year and more flowers to plant out for cutting.
I hope you enjoy yours as much as I’ve done.