Jan 2011 Greenhouse Calendar

In the midst of winter it’s tempting to leave your greenhouse to its own devices, but it’s important to make sure that all is well on a regular basis. Even in the unlikely event that you have left it totally empty for the winter, it’s always a good idea to check on it anyway. The protected greenhouse environment is the perfect shelter for all manner of creatures from insects to rodents and if you are unfortunate enough to find a family of mice munching their way through your greenhouse accessories they can cause a huge amount of damage. Rodents are also rather fond of electrical cables, which is especially relevant if you are using electrically powered propagators and heaters to protect precious plants from the cold. Plus this can be a fire risk, so vigilance is important.

[] Keeping the greenhouse clean and ready for the season ahead should be the major task in January. Hopefully you have done the important work already, but if you haven’t it’s time to get to grips with it urgently. Choose a dedicated greenhouse cleaner to wash down all surfaces, the glass and all pots and seed sowing equipment. Throw out any damaged pots and garden debris that is still lingering and sort out your tools and equipment. If you’ve got things you won’t use any more then pass them on to new gardeners, a school gardening club or a charity shop, so that they can be put to good use.

[] Throw out all unused compost. Add it to the compost heap, top dress your asparagus bed or simply spread it over the fruit or vegetable garden where it will help to improve the soil. Unless you are sowing seeds now, in which case you need to buy some fresh compost pronto, make a note to buy some fresh season seed sowing compost next month.

[] Make space in the greenhouse for your sowing and growing projects. Reorganise the shelving and staging so that it is convenient to use and makes the best use of the available space.

[] Ventilation is a critical consideration for the greenhouse all year round. Repair or replace any automatic ventilation that is no longer working. As soon as the weather improves it will assist in keeping the greenhouse temperature more balanced when the sun comes out. If you don’t have an automatic system then look at installing one, it is a brilliant and simple way to keep the air moving through the greenhouse in warmer weather and quickly closes down when the temperature drops.

[] Check on cuttings of perennials and pot up any that are becoming root bound. As space becomes more limited these can be moved into a protected coldframe to harden up before planting out.

[] Bring into the greenhouse pots and tubs of spring flowering bulbs to gently force them into earlier growth. Choose ones where the bulbs are already showing strong growth and if you have several pots of the same type of bulb leave some outside so that you get a succession of flowers. Keep a close check on greenhouse bulbs and protect them from damage by slugs and snails using your choice of control.

[] Sow onion seeds singly or in clumps of two or three into individual modules using a quality seed compost.

[] Sow early pea seeds into deep modules of good quality seed compost. Don’t sow the whole packet, just a dozen or so, these will produce early pea sprouts that can be eaten, or grow them on for an early crop. Plan to sow about a dozen seeds every two weeks to create a succession of shoots and also pea pods, depending on the size of your greenhouse and garden.

[] Sow sweet pea seeds into small pots of quality seed compost. Cover over with fleece to keep the worst of the cold off.

[] Buy your seed potatoes as early as possible and start them chitting in a frost free greenhouse.

To know more about greenhouses and growing plants in your greenhouse visit http://www.growhouse-greenhouses.co.uk/greenhouses.php