Re: What have you done in the greenhouse/polytunnel today?

by Chilli-head on 5th April 2011, 1:48 pm

Skived off work eartly yesterday, and got the tomatoes planted out into their final positions ! It took less than a week from potting on from 3" to 5" pots to get roots out the bottom. They look great this year, I hope they are happy with their compost - they are all in homemade stuff this year (6:1:1 garden compost:perlite:vermiculite, with a handful of seaweed meal for good measure).

The greenhouse is already looking crowded this year - the conservatory window ledge may have to be requisitioned too Exclamation

by Compostwoman on 5th April 2011, 5:53 pm

Chilli-head wrote:Skived off work eartly yesterday, and got the tomatoes planted out into their final positions ! It took less than a week from potting on from 3" to 5" pots to get roots out the bottom. They look great this year, I hope they are happy with their compost - they are all in homemade stuff this year (6:1:1 garden compost:perlite:vermiculite, with a handful of seaweed meal for good measure).

The greenhouse is already looking crowded this year - the conservatory window ledge may have to be requisitioned too

by Dandelion on 5th April 2011, 8:42 pm

Are the perlite and vermiculite for drainage?

by Compostwoman on 5th April 2011, 8:45 pm

Dandelion wrote:Are the perlite and vermiculite for drainage?

I would suspect yes, but we will have to wait until C-H returns.

My home made compost is pretty free draining already, so maybe not?

by Chilli-head on 6th April 2011, 10:21 am

Perlite and vermiculite are good for lightening up the mix; they hold air, water and nutrients. Stops the compost slumping when wet, and lets you get away with less frequent watering.

If you want the full spin, here are Sinclair's fact sheets for vermiculite and perlite.

I'm fairly convinced they help, although I know (hushed whisper) they aren't very eco Embarassed

by polgara on 6th April 2011, 10:35 am

Planted more seeds in the greenhouse to start off.

Still trying to get the sweetpeas to start.

by Lottie on 9th April 2011, 12:15 pm

I've potted on some toms and chillis, I'm gonna leave me celery to get a wee bit bigger, bless 'em. I also spent far to long watching some teeny tiny baby spiders all gather together then run apart then gather together when blown on... Embarassed

they're hanging about (literally) on the watering can, so I shall have to use the other one, I'm too soft, hoenstly.. Rolling Eyes

by Chilli-head on 3rd February 2012, 10:57 am

Seems like time to start preparing for the new season; I'm not planning to start sowing until later in the month - still a bit cold to do much out there - but I've scrubbed out everything in preparation.

Really hoping not to have my greenhouse cucumbers ruined by red spider mite this year, so I set off one of those sulpur candles at the weekend. I've never done this before, but Whoo .. what fun. The entire greenhouse turned white, with smoke curling out of every crack. After about an hour I was even starting to cough standing a good few yards away from it - I can't see many pests overwintering in there this year. I do have this nagging doubt that, although I bought the candle from an organic gardening supplier, this can't have terribly good eco credentials though Question