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Greenhouse in Autumn/Winter

Does your greenhouse become redundant once the summer has gone or just used to keep some of the more vulnerable plants from the cold?

Does anyone utilise theirs for any other purposes?

Comments

  • wssla00
    wssla00 Posts: 1,875 Forumite
    Mine is totally packed! I overwinter calendulas, hollyhocks, foxgloves, sweet peas, normal peas, I have a pot of carrots in there, some Kale, some potatoes, some florence fennel, I also will overwinter my chilli pepper in there too. I will also have some winter salads and my herbs in there too. In feb I will start off a few early seedlings including some parsnips, some spinach, my difficult chillies, some tomatoes and a few more flowers. Indeed it's used almost as much as in the summer. I do love the greenhouse :)
    Feb GC: £200 Spent: £190.79
  • Ellie2758
    Ellie2758 Posts: 2,849 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Is a cold frame as good as a greenhouse as regards keeping cuttings etc warm enough? I am very new to all this and I dont have time to sort out a greenhouse before winter but I have seen some cold frames and was wondering if they would be ok for overwintering cuttings from, for example, fuchsias. I am hoping to get some clematis cuttings and some hydrangea cuttings sorted out soon as well. The cold frame I have seen is 1ft 4inches high - would that be high enough for the clematis to last over the winter until i can plant them outside next year?

    thanks in advance
    Ellie :cool:

    "man is born free but everywhere he is in chains"
    J-J Rousseau
  • amcluesent
    amcluesent Posts: 9,425 Forumite
    Coldframes are really only for getting ahead in the spring and hardening off. You'd need some heat in a greenhouse to at least keep in frost free to protect half hardy plants right through.
  • Ellie2758
    Ellie2758 Posts: 2,849 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thank you, i thought it was probably too good to be true. I will just have to keep them indoors I guess.
    Ellie :cool:

    "man is born free but everywhere he is in chains"
    J-J Rousseau
  • Once all the hot weather is well over and done with (for obvious reasons) some folk use them to overwinter a couple of chickens. They eat the weeds, fertilise the ground, and it keeps them warm and dry. You need to put something around the bottom so they can't see outside as they're not the smartest creatures and might not get the concept of glass as barrier if there's greener stuff outside, and leave the vent open to let the pong out.
  • Sally_A
    Sally_A Posts: 2,266 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I've done late sowings of dwarf french beans with success, about 6 to a flower bucket if I recall, sowed end Sept, early Oct. I also overwinter tender pots such as french lavender and other herbs.

    It's also an ideal place to put your clothes horse for drying and avoids unnecessary use of the tumble drier, and those multi peg knicker/socks driers can hang from the ceiling. Only possible if your greenhouse is close to the house I guess though :)
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