The Garden Community for Garden Lovers

The new greenhouse.

samba

By samba

12 comments


I have finally done it! yes I treat myself to a greenhouse. A little cheap one from B&Q which took ages to build but it is looking good. I have always wanted one and I have made the leap this year and got one. I’m so excited. What I’d like to know really is how I can maximise its use. Has anyone got any hints and must have tips about greenhouses. I have a red bell pepper, sweet banana peppers and two cantelope melons to go in. There is a thermomenter in there (for my own interests, that was the first thing I put in). It is a polycarbonate glazed greenhouse because we have three children so I didn’t want anything that could get damaged easily. We also bought a parosine heater because here in the north of England it is cold mostly, even in winter. Which is another good reason for me wanting the greenhouse. I’d love to hear lots of hints and tips. I want to get good at this.

you can see in the picture the four sweet pea pots. I did those because I saw someones blog last year and I loved their idea, so i had a go. I hope they turn out ok.

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget the hints if you have any, I’d love to read them and hopefully use them.

More blog posts by samba

Previous post: 25 year old grape vine not well.

Next post: Toilet roll tubes!



Comments

 

If you have only got the usual roof window I would buy an automatic opener. They are fantastic - as the greenhouse warms up the window opens and as it cools down it closes.They need no electricity - they work by means of wax that melts in the sun and moves a lever. Or something like that anyway. They save a lot of heartache through the house getting too hot before you've realised.And they are not expensive teither.

16 Mar, 2011

 

thats just what i was going to say,its really hard to keep going in and out to check the temp of the greenhouse these windows are brilliant and a must,B&Q sell them,you might need a bit of shelving,check out the price of grow houses as well as normal shelving they work brilliantly and sometimes are cheaper.

16 Mar, 2011

 

If you plan to grow lots in the summer months, i would thoroughly recommend an automatic watering system of some kind. They can be as cheap or as expensive as you like but they are a god-send! Good luck with your adventure!

16 Mar, 2011

 

The automatic vent is a must and has been said are not that expensive, I think greenhouse staging is expensive so I built my own in my first house and do use grow houses in no2 house, easily removed when the plants are in the garden and I want floorspace for my Tomatoes and Cucumbers during summer...
Enjoy your greenhouse Samba, .......

16 Mar, 2011

 

You've got a nice greenhouse there...I hope you get a lot of useful tips from members (I haven't got a greenhouse). I wasn't sure what you meant about the sweet peas...can you give me additional information (I couldn't see the sweet peas in your photo either)....maybe I need some new glasses...lol

Good luck with your new greenhouse.

16 Mar, 2011

 

Hallo samba. I have got a green house exactly like that apart that mine is still in it´s packaging, it will have to wait another couple of weeks until I put it up...until the end of the month when I´m having 2 weeks holiday. I bought mine from the internet, it cost me 150 € including p&p...roughly the same ammount in british pounds. I hope that you enjoy your green house. When I put mine up I will also add some photos so that we can compare them.

16 Mar, 2011

 

Thanks everyone, I will definately have to invest in one of those automatic opening windows. I had seen them at B&Q website but hadn't really took much notice. Although it makes a lot of sense because if it gets too warm it could get missed if we are out and then everything will cook I suppose. I was thinking about some shelving for the corner because its only a small greenhouse and as quite rightly said I have some plants which will need floor to roof space so I don't want too much shelving. As for watering, I was hoping to use the recycling tubs that the council no longer use for planting into, one per plant. that way I can use the lids as a way of keeping the water topped up from the roots all the time. I had asked some people on a community website to donate their old tubs and so far one of my kind neighbours has given me one. I have two of my own so I'm nearly there with those. If that proves to be not enough to keep my plants hydrated then I will definately be looking at some other form of watering automatically, as I do work full time so its difficult to get out there sometimes. My sweet pea are in the plant pots, I just put them in there because it did get a bit cold last night and the night before. They are only small at the moment so that why you can't see them well, don't worry about the glasses, no its not your eyesight. I saw someone else had grown sweetpea in tubs and used canes to grow them up last year, like a wigwam. The pictures the person posted where beautiful (sorry I can't remember who it was). If anyone has any other ideas, please do tell. Thanks..

16 Mar, 2011

 

Rogi, ours was the same price ish because it was on offer. You might need to take two weeks to build it though, its a bit of a pain/fiddly. You might need help too, for parts of it. The polycarbonate windows go in ok but the trim you use to hold them in isn't easy to secure. We did use the black tool you get to do it with but many of the reviewers on the B&Q website stated they didn't as they couldn't work it out, they ended up with sore fingers, and to be honest I have no idea were they found the strength to use their fingers because it was hard enough with the tool. It took about 3 hours the first day, and another 2 and a bit the second day to complete it and secure it onto its pitch. Id recommend definately taking your time with it, it could get mighty annoying if it is rushed in anyway. When we'd read all the reviews we dicided to still buy it and have a go, and to be honest it wasn't as hard work as we though it would be from what people said. Also it seems to be very good value for money and sturdy when finished. As for future value for money? We will have to wait to find out.

16 Mar, 2011

 

Hi! I got some cheep three tear shelves from greenfingers.com only £9. It was easy to construct too! means you can store more plants.

16 Mar, 2011

 

Your glasshouse is lovely. I don't know any hints but I can suggest you cover your plants with bubble wrap when it's cold.
Good luck ! I hope you have lots of success :)

16 Mar, 2011

 

Hi Samba, I thought you might like to know that the same B&Q greenhouse is currently being looked at, in its flat pack form, in my sitting room..... 8pm Wednesday. We bought the green version. We got it reduced by £35.00 as the packaging was a bit suspect as it was last years stock. We got a further £20.00 as it was Wednesday!!! £180.00 for the green version was great. The site is ready and my husband has been back to B&Q just to have a look at the parts when built. He hopes to reinforce it here and there, but is very pleased with the pack. I intend to start off with the seeds grown from my own plants, then vegetables over the summer....peppers etc. Then winter my plants I have had to keep in my outer hall from September. I plan to buy a heater for that. I will contact you if we have any problems.

16 Mar, 2011

 

Linda, hi, it seems a good purchase. When its constructed that is. My husband was on about putting some silicone on some of the gaps and windows but I really think it is quite sturdy myself. We will see because we get some cracking gale force winds as we live ontop of a hill. We might find its solid but in someone elses property at some point. lol. We bought a parosine heater at the same time and havent yet tried it but the reviews on it are good and it lasts for 7 days before it needs refueling. I still have my first lot of plants on the window sill in the kitchen but plan to move them out soon. Good luck with the greenhouse and keep us posted.

16 Mar, 2011

Add a comment

Recent posts by samba

Members who like this blog

  • Gardening with friends since
    22 Oct, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    10 Aug, 2010