Pop up greenhouse and vegetables

Evening everyone,

I'm a beginner gardener and started last year growing some veg (tomatoes and french beans). This year I am experimenting with a few different seeds both flower and veg and due to lack of windowsill space I decided to buy one of those pop up greenhouses. I have a few things germinating on my windowsill and just wondered if I will be able to move my lettuce and spinach (recently germinated) into the greenhouse as they are more cold tolerable, or will they need to be hardened off first? Any advice or tips appreciated.

thanks

 

Welcome to the forum,
Yes, it is best to reduce the shock to small plants before you release them to the wilder world.
However, I would caution against placing them in direct sunlight in such a structure because it will get very warm in the strong sun we are likely to get this week.
Can you provide net covers for them, ie partial shade ?, and plant them out late in the day after sun starts to set. Water in well, protect from slugs .Lettuce and spinach are frost hardy down to -5 Deg C.
Do not be surprised if your spinach transplants react to the move by running to seed directly; they are best planted after midsummer, July onwards.Just depends how the season progresses-if it were easy anybody could do it !

 

What I gather on here is that pop up greenhouse bad but an actual greenhouse is very good, so what is the difference? I have been looking at a pop up greenhouse from Lidls, the first run sold out, but hoping more will come available. This I will have to put on a south facing driveway and anchored down with pots. This is as close to a greenhouse I can get (god I would love one though.)

 

Be warned, although a pop up might seem a good idea, a strong wind can completely ruin them. I have twice put them up for an elderly friend who wanted it on the patio (a Lidl one, then an Aldi one). The plastic covers have long flaps you are meant to fix down through metal edged holes. But if the wind gets under and causes the edges to flap around, it all soon breaks. I would suggest them being on earth so you can pile it up all the way round over the flaps.

 

I've currently got a pop up greenhouse until my new one arrives in May. I've tied mine to the fence. I have noticed they do seem to have an unhealthy amount of moisture inside them though so try and leave the front door open for an hour or so. It might just be where mine is sited (east facing) so you may not have that issue with south facing.

 

Thanks for everyone’s advice. My lettuce and spinach will be going into containers and not the ground as I don’t have much space in the garden but noted that should still harden off. I have since filled my pop up greenhouse with sowings of zinnia, cosmos and marigolds etc and placed them on the top shelf. I get full sun from about 11-5 in the garden so hoping they shouldn’t take too long to germinate. I have put a heavy rock on the bottom of the greenhouse to stop it rocking and also feathered it to the wall, seems pretty sturdy so hoping it will last, if we expect high winds I may place it in the garage but will see how we go.

 

Greenhouse | in Maidstone, Kent | Gumtree
https://www.gumtree.com/p/greenhouse/greenhouse-free-green-house/1495112793

 

Any one considering a coldframe less likely to get destroyed by strong winds.

My neighbour put out one of those large storage boxes the other week for the dustman.
I'm now using it to harden off some seedlings ,just turn it upside down and put your seed trays on the lid, then put the box back on at night.

 

The pop up greenhouse type of things really are a risk anywhere a breeze might get a bit on the strong side. The poles are usually metal, they are fine, the plastic covers are rather flimsy, the stitching can deteriorate quickly, but the real problem are the connecting plastic parts, they snap very easily. I have had them as gifts, my daughter bought one and all failed in a matter of weeks. I do use them, I have two, but they are inside the greenhouse for extra frost protection at this time of year, I would not be without one, but not for use outside, perfect in an unheated greenhouse.