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Choosing A Greenhouse

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:24:51 +0100

Types of Greenhouse

There are many different sizes and shapes of greenhouse available at prices to match all budgets, from polythene polytunnels to cinder block and timber constructions. The main choice is between a lean-to greenhouse or an apex greenhouse.

A lean-to greenhouse, as its name suggests, is built leaning against another structure - usually your house. This is excellent if you have limited space, but it also cuts down the amount of light entering the greenhouse and the space available for growing. An apex greenhouse is freestanding and has an apex roof whch lets in light from both sides and permits growing on both sides. One advantage of a lean-to greenhouse is that the house on which it is built acts a heat sink preventing large temperature fluctuations between day and night, but if your property does not have a wall in a suitable orientation, there is nowhere suitable to build a lean-to greenhouse.

The larger the greenhouse, the less it will cost per square foot of growing space, so it is best to buy the largest greenhouse you can afford. You will have no difficulty in filling it! Greenhouses are available in sizes from as small as 4 x 6 feet, to 12 x 24 feet, and commercial greenhouses which can be much much larger are also available for tens of thousands of pounds. It is almost always advantageous to select a wide greenhouse rather than a long narrow greenhouse of equivalent square footage since this gives you a larger usable area for planting. Browse our range of Greenhouses and Cold Frames http://letsgrowyourown.co.uk

Growing Herbs in Pots

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:01:27 +0100

Herbs can also be grown indoors in pots or containers. They can also be grown in window boxes or hanging baskets. Growing herbs in pots is not anymore difficult then growing herbs in an outdoor garden. Indoor herb gardens need the same growing requirements that garden herbs need.

All plants need three main things in order to grow successfully; sunlight, soil and water. Herbs are no exception. Sunlight is key to growing any type of plant including herbs whether they are grown indoors or in a garden. You should place herbs grown in a kitchen or other room in a south or west facing window to get the best kind of sunlight. Different types of herbs have different light requirements but, for the most part, all need a sunny location. Some home herb growers supplement the light source with “grow lamps” or fluorescent lamps. Herbs also need a well drained, not too rich soil to grow in. Add two parts of sterilized potting soil with one part coarse sand or perlite for herbs that are grown in containers. You will also need about an inch of gravel at the bottom of each pot to ensure that the plant has good drainage. Herb grown in pots indoors can also be supplemented with one teaspoon of lime per 5-inch pot to ensure that the soil is sweet enough for the herbs. Herbs grown in pots also need water. Misting the plants and moistening the pebbles will help to keep the herbs within humid conditions. Since they are being grown in containers they do need to have more water then herbs that are grown in a garden but, you should avoid getting the roots of the herbs drenched or soggy.

An advantage to growing herbs in a container is that you have the freedom to move them about as you please. Annual herbs can spend all of their time indoors but, perennial herbs do better if they were to be placed outside during the summer. Although all herbs should be brought inside before the first frost in order to avoid the loss of foliage. This rule is over looked when it comes to mint, chives, and tarragon. These types of herbs will go into a rest period then form firmer and fresher growth after it is introduced to a light frost.

All herbs can be grown in containers but some herbs do better then others. Mint is an herb that needs to be contained or it will take over the garden. Over all it is fairly easy to maintain an indoor herb garden. It keeps the herbs handy and within reach anytime you need them for cooking. With these tips listed above, you will be able to care for your herbs and ensure a healthy plant. You should also include periodic light feeding and yearly repotting for optimum health of the herbs. You will also have to remember to replant annuals each year and move perennials outdoors when needed. Plus, use your herbs as much as you want as well as harvest them occasionally. It is no secret that pruning plants encourages new growth. This rule also applies to herbs. So use them in your recipes, store them and give them away to friends.
Lets Grow Your Own

Outdoor tomatoes

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:43:16 +0100

When to sow: May

You can grow tomatoes from seed but why not follow many experienced gardeners and buy seedlings. You want a dark-green plant about 15cm-high; keep it on the windowledge until late May/early June, putting it in a bigger pot when it looks top heavy. It's ready to go outside when the first flowers are opening. Plant out in a pot, soil or, better, a grow bag; a sunny wall is the best position. Plants need to be tied to a cane for support. Water when the weather is dry, cut off yellowing leaves and pinch out the little side shoots at 45 degrees between the stem and the main horizontal branches. When four clusters of fruit, or trusses, have formed, cut off the tip of the plant two leaves above the top truss. Suitable varieties include gardener's delight, Ailsa Craig, Alicante and moneymaker.

Grow your own courgettes

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:31:18 +0100

Courgettes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow and will rarely disappoint. Give them decent soil and plenty of water and each plant will produce up to 20 fruits. Yes you did read that right – botanically speaking courgettes are actually immature fruit, or to be precise, the swollen ovary of the female courgette flower.

The plants come in two different types – either grown as compact bushes (which is the most usual), or there are climbing, trailing varieties. And talking of varieties, there's a few to choose from, including Black Beauty, with its smooth deep-green skin, to Green Bush, an early-cropper which provides masses of small, tender fruits, and One Ball, a round, yellow courgette that is perfect for stuffing. If you pick them regularly, all varieties will keep you in courgettes for most of the summer.

Courgettes like a sunny garden. Seeds can be sown directly in the ground from mid-May to mid-June. Sow two together, spacing each pair 90cm apart. Some of the trailing varieties will need an even more generous spacing of 1.2-1.5m. Once they're large enough to handle, remove the weaker of the two seedlings.

If you're worried about frost or slugs, sow seeds under cover. Push them 2.5cm deep into pots filled with good quality seed compost. Make sure they are on their sides (to reduce the risk of rot) and keep them moist but not soaked. Then give them two weeks "to harden off" before planting them out, then continue as above.

Keep plants well watered, particularly when the fruits begin to form, or when it's hot – they can suck up as much as 10 litres of water per week. A layer of compost, bark or polythene placed around the plants will help keep in that moisture and keep down the weeds.

Then just remove the male flowers and brush them against the open female ones, which have a slight bump behind the flower. You will harvest your first courgettes less than two months after planting. Smaller fruits have the best flavour, so aim for no more than 10cm.

Gardening Express

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:53:34 +0100

Gardening Express was established in the late 1990's by Chris Bonnett, whilst still a teenager, after he decided it would be a fantastic idea to combine his passion of the great outdoors and plants with the Internet. Following past experience of plants purchased from other mail order companies, it was quickly decided that there was room for much improvement in the market; they never seemed to grow and we knew we could do much better, and so, Gardening Express was born.

Whilst studying for a degree at Writtle College, world-renowned in the world of horticulture, Chris painstakingly built up the business, until a full blown sucess had been created from the foundation years of hard work. In 2005, shortly after Chris graduated, the website was relauched, a large premises acquired, and ongoingly a nursery built and expanding number of staff recruited to keep pace with demand. Gradually through the continued dedication to quality, service and value for money, the business has become a force to be reckoned with in mail order Gardening, and is now one of the largest independent online Garden Centres in the UK.

http://bit.ly/bDTjL7

Sales of vegetable seeds now outsell those of flowers, as amateur gardeners embrace the ...

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:37:16 +0100

According to a leading retailer, sales of seeds for tomatoes, courgettes, beans and other vegetables now outstrip seeds for flowers by a considerable margin, after the recession and the allotment revival encouraged an increasing number of people to take up their trowels.

B&Q said that sales of vegetable seeds had jumped nearly three-fold in recent weeks, compared with the same period last year, which was itself a record year with sales of plant seeds increasing by 30 per cent.

Out of the tens of thousands of packets of seeds the company sells, 78 per cent are now for plants. Just 22 per cent are for flowers. A decade ago, 70 per cent of all the seeds it sold were flower seeds.

So far this year, sales of greenhouses, potting sheds, garden spades and forks have all jumped by at least 40 per cent on last year, as an increasingly dedicated army of gardeners start tending their crops.

Steve Guy, B&Q's horticultural trading manager said; “After such a harsh winter the recent sunshine has seen customers spring into action in the garden. Last year saw people give growing their own a go, and this spring we’re seeing that last year’s novices are now this year’s enthusiasts.

"Last year people may have grown a couple of tomato plants, whereas this year they’re planning a larger crop to give food throughout the summer.”

According to Verdict, the retail research company, DIY – once the preeminent weekend activity for millions of consumers – is on the wane with sales falling 3.1 per cent last year to hit £8.7 billion. Though gardening has some way to go to match this spend, it is increasing fast, with sales growing 10 per cent last year to £4 billion.

Though allotments had already come back into fashion before the start of the recession – thanks in part to a surge in food prices during 2007 – the financial crisis encouraged many fair-weather gardeners to take growing their own vegetables more seriously.

Joseph Robinson at Verdict said: "The recession has had a long-lasting implication on the consumer psyche. Consumers' frivolous spending habits have been replaced by a more measured and cautious attitude, with gardening one of the beneficiaries of this heightened austerity."

Some local authorities, especially London boroughs, have waiting lists of up to 40 years for allotments.

B&Q said the bestselling seeds are the classic kitchen garden favourites: onion, carrot, peas, beans, tomatoes and lettuce.

Kids Gardening

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:14:47 +0100

Teaching kids about gardening is a great way to instill respect for the earth and also sneak in a little biology lesson. Whether you have a yard, or patio, you can still grow fresh foods. The smallest spaces can be used for potted herbs and tomatoes. For your patio, buy herb seedlings each spring and fill 1-2 pots with lavender, basil, parsley, thyme and cilantro. Great for homecooking! And they smell great.

Easy to grow vegetable ideas

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:31:48 +0100

I have based this list based on my own hard experience. These should suit the lazy gardener who has little time to carefully tend their crops every day. I like to grow in a largely organic way. The only chemicals that I ever use are a few slug pellets.
1. Spinach beet
This is a great crop that is very easy to grow. The slugs and caterpillars will have a gentle nibble at it but largely leave it alone. You can plant it directly into the soil and thin out the seedlings when they come up. You just take off leaves when you need them.
2. Radish
These were the first veg that I ever grew as a kid. They had a big advantage that they came up quite quickly. They have a nice spicy tang and are best off eaten on their own.
3. Lettuce
Lettuce can be easily grown and can be planted across the season. My personal favourite is the Tom Thumb as these can be picked very soon after sowing. Their size makes them very suitable as a single portion. The main problem with lettuce is that slugs and snails love lettuces and can destroy your whole crop. Slug pellets are some of the few chemicals that I would use on a garden. I understand that there is a biological control called nematodes, but I’m not sure where you can get hold of them from. (Beer is another technique you can use - see below)
4. Cress
This is a great one for kids. The seeds can be grown indoors on a few sheets of tissue (best is unbleached) or in a little compost. It’s not the easiest vegetable to eat but they can be spread on top of a salad or go nicely as an addition to a salad.
5. Cherry tomatoes
These are very easy to grow. They be grown from seed though I find that it is very easy to pick up seedlings from a village fete or from a vegetable shop or garden centre in late spring. They work best if you have a greenhouse, but I have grown them up against a sunny south facing wall. They can be grown in a grow bag, but you have to make sure that they get lots of water. You can buy irrigation hose pipe which will drip water at a constant rate.
6. Nasturtiums
“What?” I hear you say - Nasturtiums are a flower. Well yes, but you can also eat the leaves and flowers as part of a salad. The leaves have a fiery tangy taste, a bit like rocket. They are easy to grow from seed and have very pretty flowers. They are quite good at trailing from a hanging baskets. They seem to grow very easily and quite late in the season, but they can be prone to be eaten by caterpillars.
7. Potatoes
Potatoes can be easily grown from either seed potatoes or the old potatoes that have started to chit (sprout shoots). They can be grown in a trench and as the potatoes come up it is necessary to keep them watered and to cover the sides of the plant with soil. They can also be grown in barrels or a particularly common practice is to grow them in old car tyres that can then be raised up with soil as the potatoes grow.
8. Courgettes
Courgettes can be quite tricky to grow but with a greenhouse they can produce good results. They do not take well to no being regularly watered and can be prone to the same virus that effects cucumber plants. The secret seems to be grow the courgettes from seed yourself rather than buying them as seedlings from the garden centre. They can also be prone to aborting the courgettes that then tend to rot.
9. Carrot
Carrots can be grown to good effect and they can generate good “beginners luck” in the first year. They are prone to carrot fly which can cause problems, particularly in the second year. I have found that baby carrots can be very effective - particularly if you mix them around other types of vegetable.

Grow Herbs on a Windowsill

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:58:21 +0100

You can bring your herb garden indoors for the winter, by planting a windowsill garden. Many herb plants grow quite easily in containers and require only minimal care. You'll be snipping fresh herbs in your kitchen throughout the winter.

Make sure you have a sunny windowsill where your herbs will survive. A south or southeast window would be perfect if it gets at least 5 hours of sun per day and is away from drafts.
Purchase some of your favorite small herb plants from your local nursery.
Get a container that is at least 6-12 inches deep. You can plant multiple herbs in a wide or long container or use at least a 6" pot for individual plants.
Use a soilless potting mix to avoid soil born diseases. Be sure the mix is light and will be well draining.
Put a 2-3 inch layer of potting mix into the bottom of your container.
Position your herb plants in the container.
Finish filling in with the potting mix, firming gently around the plants. Leave about an inch at the top of the container for watering.
Water sparingly. Herbs don't like to sit in wet soil.
Feed once a month with a fertiliser labeled for use on edibles.
Allow the plants some time to acclimatise. Once you see new growth, you can start using your herbs.

Tips:

Choose herbs that don't grow too wide or tall. Chives, basil, lavender, parsley, mint and thyme are good choices.
Fluorescent lights can be used if you don't have a sunny window. They will need to be placed close to the plants (18") and kept on for about 10 hours/day.
Snip and use your plants often to encourage them to grow full and bushy.
Never trim more than 1/3 of the plants foliage.

What You Need:

Herb Plants
Pots or containers
Soilless Potting Mix
Fertiliser

Grow Your Own Tomatoes.

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:27:13 +0100

Tomatoes come in many different colours, shapes and sizes, including large beef steak types, oblong plum varieties, small cherry types and even purple, yellow, orange and sometimes striped types. What’s more, there are varieties that can be grown as standard cordons, some as bush plants and others in hanging baskets.

There are indoor and outdoor varieties to choose from, depending on your specific requirements, and ones which can be grown in small areas, for those short on space. Most tomatoes are grown in grow bags, however they can also be raised in large pots or grown straight in the ground in warmer areas.

Sowing Tomato Seeds

Sow seeds in seed trays or small 5cm pots and prick each seedling out into a 9cm pot when they have formed at least two ‘true’ leaves.

If you grow tomatoes in a heated greenhouse, you can sow the seeds from mid-January to early February. However if you don’t have a heated greenhouse, sow them in late February to mid-March on a windowsill or in an unheated greenhouse. It is not advisable to sow tomato seeds outside in the UK; once the soil temperature has reached a level suitable for them to germinate and thrive (roughly 18°C), plants that have been raised indoors will already have flowered and be producing fruit.

Care and Maintenance of Tomatoes

Transfer young plants (approximately 15cm tall) to 23cm pots or grow-bags, or plant them outside in warmer areas, 45-60cm apart when the flowers of the first truss are beginning to open (harden them off first by slowly acclimatising them to outside conditions).

Tie the central stem to a vertical support (such as a cane) if you are growing a cordon variety. Bush or hanging basket varieties do not need support. Remove side shoots on standard varieties and water the plants regularly to keep the soil moist. You may need to feed the plants with a general fertiliser if they are grown in pots or grow bags.

Tomato Growing Tips

Once the plants have reached the top of the greenhouse or have seven trusses indoors or four trusses outdoors, remove the growing point of the main stem to allow the plant to concentrate its energy on producing fruits.

Keep the soil or compost evenly moist to avoid the fruits splitting. Irregular watering can also lead to blossom end rot, where the bottom of the fruit turns brown and becomes sunken, rendering it inedible.

Harvesting Tomatoes

The longer you leave the fruit on the vine, the tastier it becomes. It also develops more lycopene if left to ripen on the vine. Lycopene is thought to help prevent prostate and breast cancers. You can either pick each fruit off the truss, or snip the whole truss off the plant and remove each fruit later on.

At the end of the growing season pick the remaining green fruits and store them in a drawer or paper bag with an apple or banana skin, which contain ethylene and will help speed up the ripening process.