34 New Stour & Avon, December 17, 2021
Home & Garden
Gardening... The winter gloom seems to creep up gradually, until suddenly we realise how short the days have become and how low the Sun rises overhead. Over the next couple of months, the Sun won’t get any higher in the sky than it does at 7am on Midsummer’s Day, so no surprise that many plants retreat below ground until the conditions become more favourable. Maximising the reduced available light is important, especially if you, like me, grow plants in the greenhouse over winter. Glass can become very grubby during the summer and if you have been growing tomatoes then it is likely the glass will be coated by their green sap. Cleaning this off makes a huge transformation to light levels, making the difference between a cloudy and a sunny day.
...with botanist Dr Dave Aplin
ALL THE WHILE: A vertical farm in the UAE
Bring me sunshine!
Washing glass need not be a burden, I use a soft-headed kitchen broom dipped into water with a dash of washing-up liquid. The broom is then carefully manoeuvred over the panes. Once done, and before the
solution dries, spray the glass with clean water from a hosepipe to reveal a sparkling finish. Do this on both sides of the glass to maximise light penetration. Maximising the available light is easy but increasing the day length will make languishing plants flourish. Staggeringly, the difference in day length between midwinter’s and midsummer’s day is almost nine hours, so it is no wonder deciduous leaves are shed in autumn. Some years ago, supplementing light in a greenhouse would have been expensive. Recent advances in technology, however, have reduced running costs allowing this luxury to be
obtainable for keen amateur gardeners and exhibition vegetable growers wanting to get ahead of the game. T5 fluorescent grow lights are the least expensive and are especially good for propagation and plant growth. LED lights are more costly but super cheap to run. They can be used in places with no natural daylight. When I worked in the United Arab Emirates, I was invited to view a setup known as a vertical farm. This comprised a large, windowless warehouse on a dusty industrial estate in Dubai. This space was full of young potted herbs at various stages of growth destined for restaurants in the Emirates. Plants grew on multiple levels under LEDs. While our intentions are less grand, our rewards will be greatly enhanced simply by applying soapy water and a little elbow grease to greenhouse glass. n soilvalues.com
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