The Winter Greenhouse

No Petal I don't insulate the greenhouse - couldn't work out how to do it and stop the insulation falling on the plants and not cut out the light. and waterproof it ain't - inherited it when I moved here. 8' by 6' aluminium one. When I win the lottery it will be replaced - with one with adjustable shading and insulation - but it does OK for overwintering, and early starts. Being south facing its tooo hot for use after late May even with automatic vents.

 

Try using bubble wrap doubled up,stick it together with silicone dabs and also to hold it in position.

 

We fit part of our Greenhouse out with polystyrene and bubble wrap to keep some of our tender plants warm-ish then we put up barriers so that the chickens can also be kept warm and dry for the coldest months. So along with the minimal insulation and a little warmth generated by the hens I hope to be able to keep most things alive and greenhouse is in use most of the year.

 

You need some cacti Fran, and perhaps a bit of shading. :D
I dont insulate mine its too much trouble

 

Thanks Paladin - bubble wrap I'd thought of, but how to fix it - silicon, excelent idea. I may give it a whirl this coming winter.

Mmmm, cacti I think I'll pass on that one :D

[ 18. September 2005, 11:05 PM: Message edited by: Fran ]

 

Fran
You can get bubble wrap where the bubble is trapped between two layers of plastic, rather than just sitting on one. And it comes in two sizes, the usual small bubble and large 50P piece sized bubbles. For fixing in metal greenhouses you can get plastic widgets that pierce the bubble and fix with a 90 degree twist into the slots in the vertical frame pieces. In the wooden leanto I use drawing pins. With care the bubble will last four or five winters.
Nik

 

Thanks Nik - I shall take a look, may save a bit of electricity :D

 

It may help to insulate, depends on size of greenhouse, if it's very large, the cost of bubble may be more expensive then the extra heating ...again, depends where you live.
More later...

Ladybird

 

Since you have electric, why not make one side of greenhouse into a propagator, full lenghth with heat cables and thermostat... make the box about 12" on side to 18" in centre to accommodate also more tender plants later,cover with heavy duty bubble...you find your electric bill hardly increased.

Ladybird

 

Thanks - useful for the early starters, but unfortunatly my Florida plants on the pation will not fit into a propogator. :D

Ruellia, 4-o-clock plant,lantana, sesban, cassia etc. They are my winter garden in the green house. Now if I can just find a spot where the sesban will survive in the garden - imagin a scarlet laburnum, and thats the sesban

 

Fran, I used to grow 4 o clock plant, and I just saved the tubers like dahalias, as for lantana, I dry it off untill all the leaves fall off, and cut it back hard.
The sesbania sounds interesting, do you ever get any seeds? :rolleyes:
Cassias seem to grow like mad and flower too late, but maybe I've had the wrong kind.

 

I have Cassias, 3 types from seed in April, just coming into flower, Bicapsularis, Alata, Candleabra, can't wait to see them...later I cut them all back to about 12" and hope to get them in flower much earlier next year. Had Corymbosa for some years and flowers from May non stop till frost, the other 3 are new this year.

Ladybird

 

I have Lantana camara,will be heavily cut back before going to greenhous, also 3 cols. of Mirabilis, I take the seed pods now and grow them again ...they are very fast, from seed in Feb. to flower June onwards....till frost, if we get one. I had the original deep pink in my front border, and always come back.

Ladybird

 

Pete and Laburnum thanks for the help.

I have no idea what variety the cassia is - but it has not flowered yet. Pretty round grey green leaves, and survivise albeit cut back close to the house in a pot.

Sesbania - I grew this from seed from Florida - grew too large for the greenhouse, so I planted it in a sheltered spot one spring and it flowered - magic. I collected the seed, but sadly the mother plant did not survive the next winter, and I only got two new plants, one of which succumbed to a bad attack of whitefly. I got one left - but it has yet to flower. Should I manage to get it to flower next year Pete I'll send you some seed. Its lovely.

Lantana is in flower in container - but I have not been able to get it to survive in the border. Lost the white one I had to the same whitefly plague but I love my orangy pink varieties.

4 o clock plant - thanks Pete I shall treat it as a dahlia and see how it does.

 

Pity about the sesbania Fran but "hang in there" as they say.
I used to have a massive whitefly problem but I have hardly seen any for about 3 yrs now, just the odd one or two in the winter. I wounder if the preditors that you can buy in the summer months are overwintering in the mild winters and controlling them naturally.