Get your greenhouse up to date

with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes

Feeding fuchsias and lilies with high-potassium tomato fertiliser so they will flower well outside

Wet the floor to lower temperatures

Using your mini greenhouse

Shading paint keeps the greenhouse cool Greenhouse up to date

After a delayed start, Ruth sorts her plants under glass

PERFECT storm of a week’s holiday, a pulled back muscle and almost comically

Aunseasonal spring weather means we have been playing ‘running to catch up’ in the greenhouse.

Mature plants that should have been moved out were still undercover and seedlings needing hardening off were also still waiting. I could almost hear them tapping their feet and tutting impatiently with every day that passed.

We have caught up a little, and the lemon tree and tender perennials have been moved out, with the seedlings relocated to the coldframe and mini greenhouse. Our tomatoes have been divided, with some staying under glass and the rest going against a sunny wall.

Plants in the greenhouse need as much, if not more, care as those outside. They experience higher temperatures and will dry out faster, and while they won’t be as vulnerable to as many pests, they won’t be immune.

Regulating the inside temperature is a key factor. Boost air flow and damp down the floor to keep things cool. Small pots of water placed among the plants boost humidity and help keep pests at bay, too (see page 9 for more pest controls).

Don’t forget shading, using wash-off shading paint, netting or fleece hooked up inside. Anything that lets in light while also diluting the hottest rays will keep plants unstressed and flourishing.

Beating blossom end rot

n Every year AG readers ask how they can prevent their tomatoes from developing misshapen fruits with hard, blackened ends. n Blossom end rot is a condition caused by a lack of calcium. While it is rare for soil and composts to lack the mineral, it can’t be carried to all parts of the plants efficiently if they don’t receive enough water. n So while stems and leaves benefit, the fruits are left without. This is more likely in plants with confined roots, such as those in growbags and pots.

Blossom end rot can’t be reversed, but it can be prevented with watering

n Make sure compost stays moist, even if you need to water twice daily during hot spells. Also, don’t overfeed. n Mulching after watering will help, as will planting in deeper pots of compost.

Eileen Foulkes’ brilliant idea to keep mini greenhouse flaps out of the way

AG reader pegs a problem!

THE greenhouse isn’t the only structure that needs thinning out –our mini greenhouse is also bursting at the seams with large seedlings.

They have been in the mini greenhouse with the front raised for the past couple of weeks so are properly hardened off and ready to go out.

I prefer using the mini greenhouse to the coldframe for seedlings, especially ones with soft leaves such as Nicotiana sylvestris and hollyhocks, as raising them off the ground keeps them safer from slugs and snails.

My main issue with the structure this year has been the front flap, which you can roll Nicotianas to plant ready out up and tie to keep it out of the way. But this isn’t totally satisfactory as the central tying ribbon means it droops down at either side.

So huge thanks to reader Eileen Foulkes from Manchester, who has passed on some brilliant advice. She writes: ‘I make use of my mini greenhouse, as does Ruth, but I soon got fed up with rolling up the front panel and tying it with ribbon. Large pegs do the job quickly. ’ I am going to follow Eileen’s example, and will raid the peg bag!

What are your mini greenhouse tips you’d like to share? Send them to ruth.hayes@futurenet.com.