Greenhouse &
propagation
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Most gardeners grow tomatoes, but you can
also enjoy peppers, aubergines, chillies, melons, cucumbers and strawberries.
They are easy to raise from seed sown from early February onwards and can be
grown in growing bags, in a greenhouse bed or in 25cm (10in) pots.
Shaped growing bags, with
squared-off ends are best, since they sit more firmly on the ground and hold
more compost, allowing for better root development. Follow the directions on
the bag and plant up to three tomatoes, peppers or cucumbers per
bag.
Before planting a growing bag,
soak the compost it contains and allow to stand in the greenhouse for a day or
two, to warm up. Cut three small slits in the side of the bag, each about 10cm
(4in) long to assist drainage and cut flaps in the top for planting.
Feeding
Feeding with
mineral nutrients is essential. Give a feed, every ten days, of general purpose
liquid fertiliser until the first blossoms develop. Thereafter, give a regular
feed of a high potassium tomato fertiliser. (Though developed for tomatoes,
this will promote heavier flowering and cropping in all plants).
Tomatoes and
cucumbers
Tomatoes and cucumbers will need support. A simple way is to
fix wire lengthwise, along the top of the building, and to attach a length of
strong garden twine to this for each plant. Twist the plant stems around the
string, or, tie them in using plant rings or thinner string.
Tomatoes fruit best if the side
shoots are pinched out, allowing only a single main stem to develop. Peppers,
chillies and aubergines are naturally bushy, and should be allowed to develop
as they will. Dead or dying leaves should be removed.
Cucumbers can be grown in a
similar manner to tomatoes, but they prefer slightly cooler conditions and
partial shade. Try an all female variety that does not need pollination. Use a
three-plant grow-bag and water with general purpose liquid fertilisers
throughout the season. Take special care neither to over water cucumber plants
nor to let them dry out.
Pick cucumbers as the ribs on
the fruit start to smooth out, cutting cleanly through the stalk.
All greenhouse crops are liable to a number of pests and diseases
including whitefly and red spider mite. There are sprays that will give partial
control and biological controls which keep pest populations in check. Sticky
yellow strips are also useful in combating white fly, if suspended close to the
plants, and regular damping down with water, in summer, will help to discourage
red spider mite.
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