Garden Centre

Monday, January 12, 2009

January in the greenhouse

I wish I’d had my greenhouse long enough to actually be doing anything in it, but all I can do, at present, is go and gaze at my pea seedlings (22 at this morning’s count). The rain is unbelievable – 2009’s weather is setting out to be as horrible as 2008: heavy frost for days on end, followed by torrents of rain and mudslides everywhere. Ugh.

Anyway, if I’d had my greenhouse a bit earlier than November, I’d have been taking any container-growing peaches and nectarines out from the conservatory to the greenhouse. This is because while keeping rain off these fruit trees prevents the spread of spores of peach leaf curl disease and protects from frost, letting them get the maximum light now also toughens new growth and encourages good bud development

I am also be getting my hyacinths and crocus out of the plunge box and into the greenhouse as soon as the leaves show above the surface, after brushing the loose compost from the posts with a soft brush. As soon as they hit the high light levels of an unheated greenhouse they really go into insane flower production. My plunge box is simply a big wooden box in the shed, filled with compost, into which I sink the early bulb pots so they are completely covered. Old fashioned gardeners used to do this with a pit dug under a beech tree (dry and soft soil). It’s a much better idea that the cupboard under the stairs because that is usually too hot and dry.

Labels: autumn crocus, hyacinths, january greenhouse, nectarines, peaches, peas

The All Seasons Gardener at 8:06 AM

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