Plant Gardens 101

Cooler evenings and shorter days—everything points to summer’s end. It’s time to move plants indoors. Here are a few things to consider before you do.

Realistically assess your indoor space. Whether you plan to begin spring seedlings or grow winter crops, remember to allow room for these activities. Most plants you move in grow larger over the winter, not smaller, so factor this in.
Examine your candidates. To justify the valuable space they’ll occupy, these plants should be of value to you. Are they healthy? Are they likely to stay within bounds for several months? Are they difficult to replace? Of course, winter-blooming plants make a special claim to indoor space.

Check for signs of insects. Some are difficult to detect with the unaided eye, but plants themselves often signal when something is wrong. Are the plant’s leaves unusually pale, puckered or spotted? Aphids–probably the biggest problem in greenhouse settings– are large enough to see, but very clever about locating themselves. Check under leaves, particularly young ones, and at the tips of growing stems; often these tiny insects are colored to match their host plant. (more…)

I’ve left the greenhouse to it’s own devices for the last few days as I’ve been working away. Normally I leave the key with a neighbour, who diligently waters everything in my absence, but most of the established plants are at the end of their cropping period so they didn’t need much attention really. Now it’s time to tidy up.

It’s not something I’m that good at and already the glasshouse has several areas stacked with gardening equipment, pots, trays and all kinds of useful things. I hate to throw things away and so anything that might be useful is ‘stored’ for future use. This means that there’s less growing space and it’s something I need to address.

October is very much a tidy up month in the greenhouse. There’s a fair bit of algae growing on the aluminium frame that needs cleaning up and I must remove all the dead plants that are starting to go mouldy. It’s essential to do it as soon as possible to prevent the spread and overwintering of fungal spores. Another important thing to remember at this time of year is to keep the greenhouse well ventilated. Fresh airflow prevents the build up of fungal diseases and keeps the greenhouse air clean. (more…)