Greenhouses are a great asset, especially in the colder months, when it comes to protecting those tender plants from frost and growing crops like salad and herbs in the winter. Even the smallest greenhouse can help growers extend their growing season and produce good vegetable crops.
Gardeners’ World notes that an unheated greenhouse can help keep overnight temperatures 5°C warmer than it is outside, which is useful for plants staying dry as opposed to them being damp. Cold and wet weather is especially harmful for tender plants over winter.
Light, heat, and ventilation
If using a greenhouse, it is important to make sure that plants can access plenty of light, due to the low levels of natural light over the colder months. Remove any material and debris that block light and also clean the glass of the greenhouse so that plants can get the maximum light possible.
You might also want to insulate your greenhouse, for the benefit of plants, when the weather turns cold. Checking the structure of your greenhouse and sealing cracks and replacing broken panes can be helpful. The RHS highlights the pros and cons of different methods you can adopt to efficiently heat a greenhouse, drawing attention to the need to consider factors such as costs, and ensuring there is sufficient ventilation and access to light.
Plenty to grow
If you are wondering what vegetables to grow in your greenhouses in autumn and winter, hardy lettuces, rocket, pak choi, and spinach are great to start off with. You can also grow herbs like chives, parsley, and mint in your greenhouse in winter.
How CoirProducts.co.uk can help
You can sow your salads and herbs with CoirProducts.co.uk range of natural, biodegradable, and peat-free products. CoirProducts.co.uk coir pots and seedling trays (cavity trays) are perfect peat-free and plastic-free alternatives to growing. Coir allows roots to permeate through the pot, which means there is no transplanting shock when relocating your plants later on. In addition, CoirProducts.co.uk growbags can also be easily used for autumn salads. You can either cut out 3-4 squares to plant separately or cut off the top cover to create a shallow bed.
Our CoirProducts.co.uk coir potting mix is a versatile growing medium that is easy to use, and comes in a variety of sizes of blocks, bricks, and discs to suit your needs. They are also lightweight, which make them easy to carry from place to place, and give a large volume of coir when expanded (by adding water). Ideal for sowing, CoirProducts.co.uk coircoins come complete with a biodegradable cover, which is unique in the market. CoirProducts.co.uk coircoins also come in four distinct sizes.
A touch of colour
If you want to add a touch of colour to your greenhouse, summer bedding plants like fuchsias and marguerites can be overwintered in a greenhouse. You can also get a head start with spring bulbs. Plant tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths, among others, in CoirProducts.co.uk coir pots in autumn, and bring them into your greenhouse later as the weather turns colder to help early blooms. You can take the pots inside when buds appear.
A few final tips…
Consider how much water the plants need over the cooler weather. Coir products help retain water and moisture well, benefitting plant growth, as well as allowing for excellent drainage. Remember to clear up old crops (you can add them to your compost), to make more space for new crops.
In a world grappling with food insecurity and environmental degradation, sustainable gardening practices continue to play an important role. With an array of eco-friendly gardening
There’s a saying, ‘April showers bring May flowers’. Flowers and plants are beginning to blossom, and we can’t wait to embrace all the colours and
