The (almost) finished greenhouse. Only glass and doors are needed.

Photo: Louise Jensen

Since we put up the greenhouse in mid May I have been very much out of my comfort zone. Is it now I should know everything about the greenhouse life? Do we even know how to keep the plants alive? In our home it is me who give the plants a long and sudden death by letting the plant die of thirst since I forget to water them. And when I remember about their need for water, I accidently drown them instead. There is nothing else to do other than learn from the experience and jump into the greenhouse life with both feet and hopefully, develop from greenhouse novices to greenhouse cultivators.

We have given much thought to the purpose of the greenhouse and what crops we would like to grow. We have a conservatory and a terrace with roof. So the need for a greenhouse to spend our time in was not that great. The greenhouse would mainly be used for growing our own crops.

Glass and door put in

The greenhouse was assembled and now it was time to get started. Some days prior to this I was given some pre germinated pepper and cherry tomatoes in toilet roles, which I transplanted to some small pots so they have space to grow. These were put in the greenhouse, and since then they have been transplanted once again.

We had talked about growing cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers in the greenhouse this year. Therefore, I drove to the nearest garden centre and bought two of each plant and some growbags. My mom and I transplanted them to the growbags by following the instructions from Frederik from Udkansk.

In addition, we were also given chilis by our friendly neighbour, who was way ahead of us in the greenhouse season. Chilis and peppers were already transplanted and therefore, ready to be placed in growbags right away.

Help with the growth

We quickly agreed on which things were essentials for the plants’ conditions of growth. Window openers, shade nets, and plant hangers were the first things to invest in. The window openers to ensure a good ventilation in order to avoid high humidity and thereby, increase the risk of plant diseases. Shade nets to avoid the plant being scorched by the sun and at last the plant hangers that give the plants something to climb on.

Once we had furnished the greenhouse with plants and miscellaneous accessories, we now had the biggest challenge with the greenhouse life to date – patience! My husband and I went out to the greenhouse every day to ventilate and we tried to nip the tomatoes the best we could. In the beginning we thought it took a very long time before our first cucumber appeared. The plants grew in size but no crops were showing. Suddenly, we saw the cucumber peeping out and now we are swimming in cucumbers. The tomatoes took a long time but they too are beginning to appear. Now they just need to ripen :)

In a previous article, I have mentioned that we have chosen to cultivate in capillary boxes. We irrigate about once a week and fertilize at the same time. For this we use liquid fertilizer which is poured in the capillary boxes. This works fine for us and we are well provided with crops. Looking back we should probably have fertilized from the start, and not have waited a couple of weeks. If that was the case we may have had the tomatoes sooner.

Next year’s project

In August we will be on vacation and therefore, we have allied us with some family, who will come and water once a week. For next year we would like to get some raised beds in the greenhouse and most likely get an automatic irrigating system so watering will be just as easy as watering in the capillary boxes.

That is all I have for now. Take care and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Many wishes

Louise, Greenhouseforum