Once the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are cleared away at the end of summer, does your greenhouse sit devoid of plants through winter? I urge you, have a rethink!
Your greenhouse is a magnificent vessel for growing crops during the cooler months of the year and no costly heat is needed. From the tiniest microgreens to salad leaves, robust leafy veg and beyond, think of your greenhouse as a huge cloche that will encourage lush, palatable foliage. It's an excellent space for the more tender edibles, too, like lemongrass and ginger, offering them a protected environment so they can safely grow through the winter period once conditions outside become too harsh.
This month is a key time in the greenhouse grow-your-own calendar - so it's time to get sowing. In this feature, I'll explain what hardy crops can be sown in September, ready to jump into your greenhouse borders as soon as the summer crops have been cleared.
This is such an efficient use of that valuable growing space during the colder months, but it's crucial to sow these crops now (please, don't wait until October). So, follow my advice here for harvests all winter long.
Maximising late summer harvests
Summer greenhouse crops will still have plenty of life in them come September. Encourage maximum yields before the summer sun fades by tweaking their management. Reduce watering to stress plants out a little (don't kill them, though!). This shifts the crop's mindset from growing leaves towards ripening its crop. Also, remove immature fruits, as these won't have time to develop.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من BBC Gardeners World.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من BBC Gardeners World.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
We love June
We're cruising towards midsummer: this is a month full of love and abundance. Wherever you look there will be something in your garden that lifts the spirits and makes you glad to be alive. We have colour to cheer us, we have leaves that still have the bounce and freshness of small puppies, we have the first berries fattening up, there are birds frantically parenting very demanding broods of chicks, the bees are all over the place, it's prime barbecue and picnic season, and we have lawns as lush and green as billiard tables. What a month to fall in love.
Your wildlife month
The female will usually lay one clutch of up to eight eggs
An edible garden in pots
Join Lucy Bellamy in creating an edible container garden for all seasons, as she harvests what's ripe now and starts later-season crops
Garden craft with kids
Fill the summer holidays with fun nature makes for kids, including botanical printed t-shirts, seed sowing in upcycled food containers and a hanging home for beneficial insects. Jaime Johnson and family show you how
Secrets of a COLOURFUL GARDEN
Using a colour theme is an easy way to give any garden a strong, unified character - Nick Bailey shows you how
Indoor plants, outdoor treats
Break the rules and give your house plants a summer holiday, with Michael Perry's mixed pot display ideas
YOUR PRUNING MONTH
The first few weeks of summer are a good time to get spring-flowering plants in shape. Follow Frances' guide for best results
Gardening for wellbeing
As the pressures of modern living bear down, our outside spaces can provide soothing respite for our minds and bodies, says Arit Anderson
Your greenhouse guide to A fruitful summer
Get the best from your greenhouse fruit and vegetable crops this summer, with these tried and trusted growing tips from Adam Frost
Stars of the show
Agapanthus is the perfect midsummer plant, flowering with spectacular blooms from June onwards and, as Monty explains, it loves to grow in a pot