Greenhouse growing
The great thing about a greenhouse is that it expands the range of plants you can grow successfully.
A greenhouse is also a great place to start off many hardy vegetables, which means that you’ll get an earlier harvest.
To keep the temperature in your greenhouse down in summer, remember to take the following steps:
Cover the glass with liquid shading to provide shade inside
Open the vents and door to ventilate and get air circulating
Water regularly
Tomatoes
You can get tomatoes in a huge range of colours and shapes.
In a greenhouse you want to grow cordon types that are trained into an upright plant, rather than bush types that sprawl on the ground.
Sow individual tomato seeds into 7.5cm (3in) pots in mid-March, and transplant to 30cm (12in) pots in May.
When transplanting, put in a bamboo cane and train the plant to it as it grows.
Pinch out all the sideshoots that appear between leaf and stem when 2.5cm (1in) long, and once five or six trusses of fruit have begun to set, pinch out the main stem so that they develop fully.
Tomatoes thrive on a regular feed of tomato food, which is high in potassium. (Read more about nutrients in Module 5.)
CucumbersCucumbers
In recent years F1 hybrid varieties have become available making growing cucumbers much easier. These varieties produce only female flowers. Fruits that are fertilised by male flowers are bitter tasting.
Sow individual seeds into 7.5cm (3in) pots in mid-March, then transplant the seedlings in May into a 30cm (12in) pot.
You’ll need to erect something for them to climb up, for example, bamboo canes at an angle, or wires attached to the greenhouse roof.
Nip out the main growing shoot after five or six leaves have appeared and train the shoots to the support.
Water well and feed every two weeks with high potash or organic feed.
Peppers
You can grow several different types of pepper in the greenhouse, including chilli peppers and sweet peppers.
Peppers need a minimum temperature of 12°C (54°F) to grow properly. So while they can be grown outside, you’re more likely to succeed if you grow them undercover.
Pepper seeds should be sown indoors in April. It’s easiest to sow the seed directly into 7.5cm (3in) pots, and then transplant into 20cm (8in) pots.
Water regularly. As sweet peppers ripen they change colour from green to red, yellow, orange or dark purple, and become sweeter.
Let hot chilli peppers ripen fully before harvesting. Mature fruits are red.
AuberginesAubergines
Aubergines, also known as egg plants, are related to peppers and tomatoes.
They need a lot of warmth, so sow individual seeds into 7.5cm (3in) pots in March. To help them to germinate, soak the seeds in warm water for a day.
Transplant into a 20cm (8in) pot when 10cm (4in) tall, and pinch out the growing tip to create a bushier plant. Put in canes to support the growing plants.
Aubergines are usually dark purple, but some ornamental varieties are white or scarlet.
