Greenhouse Blues

Hubby bought himself a 4' x 6' greenhouse about 5 weeks ago and we were both really excited as we thought we would be able to grow all sorts of things.. However it hasn't quite worked out like that.We have tried growing tomato plants & melons .. disastrous Anyway it ended up being full of shop bought geraniums which seems a bit daft really so I have thrown those out onto the patio and we now have a few lupin seedlings,a couple of sensitivity plant seedlings and some cactus in the greenhouse.Oh and a little citrus tree I bought for �£4.99.. well a citrus twig really.
A couple of questions
1.Can anyone suggest something interesting to grow (and easy) and 2. I have sown some cactus seeds but no sign of germination 3 weeks on.I followed the directions on the back of the seed packet but since then have seen so many conflicting instructions that I don't know wether I have killed them or not.It is a bit depressing nursing a seed tray of cactus compost.
What do other people grow in their greenhouses well I suppose its not so much a greenhouse but what an estate agent would call a "compact bijou residence" but it is all we have room for.
Can you inspire me before it becomes a glorified garden store for empty plant pots?
Ghollum

 

This time of year, my greenhouse is empty - but come autumn, then it rapidly fills up with overwintering tropicals, and then in spring, topped up with germinating seeds.

So sorry can't help with greenhouse growing in the summer.

 

Don't loose heart Ghollum, yes it's frustrating when seeds don't germinate but once you have some success, before you know it you will have a greenhouse full of plants.

Important thing is to constantly analyze where things went wrong and learn from that, and move on.

I assume you really wanted to grow tomatoes, and they are probably as easy as anything, so can you tell us what went wrong, what compost you used, how do you water, did they germinate?

 

Gollum - its not too late to try again with tomatoes and cucumbers this year. We were at the local garden centre at the weekend, and they had loads of plants still for sale. I know its more satisfying growing from seed, but try again next year. In the meantime, try again with a plant or two from your local GC. My greenhouse is stuffed full in the summer - toms, cucumbers, pepper, the childrens' carnivourous ones and small plantlets.... It is the time for school and church fayres, so if your GC haven't got any veg plants, try the fayres.... and DON'T give up!!! (I don't tell on all my disasters... ) and I can guarantee the greenest of fingers here had to learn at some point....
As for cactuses, try germinating them in the airing cupboard - thats where I do all my germinating!!!!

 

I hate to admit it but it was actually bought tomato plants we killed.They were lovely sturdy specimens when we bought them.We dug out a border filled it with multi compost and planted the tomato plants into it.I sunk some plastic pop bottles cut in half into the compost so the water would get down to the roots without rotting the stems and hey Presto, within a week all the leaves were shrivelling and
going a very sickly yellowish colour.We stopped watering in case we had overwatered but even this didn't help.They looked so bad they had to go.The melon plant just keeled over one day.That was in a big black pot and it just looked as though the stem had broken.We have net shading up inside and whitewash on the outside where it gets the full force of the sun.The door is left part open on hot days with some of the net shading across it to stop any wandering critters getting in.I just would like to have something different in there that I can look at and say.. Well it survived me!! Still I have one chilli pepper plant that looks as though it may stay the course.My problem is that I go into a garden centre and leave my brain at the door.I know that because we have such a small greenhouse we need to be choosey but that all goes out of the window when I am surrounded by plants.I love everything and want everything and that is when it all goes wrong.Still as you say start again next year at least reading the seed catalogues will be cosy when the nights start getting dark.
Ghollum

 

Ghollum, I can't see that anybody above has suggested you start again next year, far from it, you should get cracking now.

At least you could practice for next year, for instance as suggested above you could probably still pick up some tomato plants now, let them get used to your g/h first and your watering, then you could repot into the final size pot and place in a dish and then water into the dish only and wait until it has dried up before adding more water (more on feeding later). This way you won't over water. Also tomatoes hate inconsistency with watering.

Golden rule is never give a plant 2 shocks at the same time. Adjusting to your garden and watering is one shock compared with nursery conditions, and transferring from pot to ground is shock no.2.

You could even start from seed now as well, they may not ripen by winter but useful for green chutney (the best) and you would get the practice.

Can I suggest Sempervivums, I bought 3 different types last week, each had offsets growing, so from just 3 plants I now have 31 all potted up.

Also can I suggest something like Pelargoniums, find something you like as suggested above, if you buy them now by September you could take cuttings and have a lot more by next spring. All the above is IMHO.

Hope we have given you enough encouragement, and good luck.

 

I only started my toms from seed two weeks ago. If you want some Gardners Delight let me know. I am assuming that your not far from the M6

[ 24. June 2006, 10:02 PM: Message edited by: Beefy ]

 

I f you want to try some seeds, then Hollyhocks, Foxgloves, Delphiniums, and lots of others can be started for flowering next year.
As DAG says, all good practice!

[ 23. June 2006, 01:51 PM: Message edited by: Liz ]

 

Try setting some Lungo pepper seed in nowish in small pots and water well... these are really fast growers and iv just set me second lot and they are coming on tops... Bit of tomerite every other water and they should be coming in no time... dont forget plenty of ventilation in the green house too.. cos too warm is just as bad as not warm enough!

 

Try the cloloured leaf lettuce in pots, they grow quickly and are easy providing they don't get too hot and you can stagger the sowing for continous supply.

 

Certainly do not give up Ghollum. I have had an 8ft x 6ft greenhouse for about 6 years now and have tried all sorts of plants. Each year I manage to raise around 1500 bedding plants, and when they go out experiment with various others.
Tomatoes are usually quite easy, and I fill 12 inch pots with the contents of a couple of growbags, which seems to work well. Have also successfully tried peppers, chilli's, aubergine, courgette, cucumber, and even sweetcorn.
So don't get discouraged. We all have many failures, that is part of gardening. Sometimes frustrating, but good fun. You have plenty of time left yet this year, for some varieties.
Happy growing, and good luck.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions.I am planning a plant hunting trip tomorrow.Some good news though the canna lilies I had given up on have suddenly decided to poke some shoots out and the sensitivity plants are growing well.I have four now that have their real leaves growing.I think we have been over enthusiastic with the watering to be honest as most of the compost in the greenhouse has started to go green and feels slimy on the top,so I have learned a good lesson there.My citrus twig has started sending out new growth and looks rather impressive.Cactus seeds - well nothing yet but it's no good being a gardener if you can't be patient.Thanks for all the encouragement Will let you know how we get on
Ghollum