HOMES & GARDEN: SUMMER GREENHOUSE GARDENING ADVICE

The summer is a time when the English garden comes alive. Many of our most beautiful plants are in full bloom at this time, and our gardens are bursting with life, colour and vigour. However, as well as its abundance, high summer also presents a unique set of challenges for the gardener – especially at a time when extreme heatwaves often take the place of our traditional soft, summer temperatures thanks to global warming. Heritage Glasshouse manufacturer Hartley Botanic has provided some useful advice for Greenhouse gardeners this summer, to help keep their Greenhouse growing at its best.

Essential jobs for the summer months

Check plants regularly for signs of whitefly, leafhopper, Glasshouse red spider mite, mealybugs and scale insects and treat them with biological controls or environmentally friendly sprays. Keep the Glasshouse free of fallen leaves, flowers and other plant debris to prevent the spread of diseases.

Remove the side shoots from tomatoes as early as possible. Tie in and pinch out the main stems of tomato plants once they reach the top of the support, so all of the energies are channelled into ripening of existing tomatoes.

Harvest crops regularly and train cucumbers and melons onto nets and frames; repot chillies, bell peppers and aubergines until they are in 23cm pots of peat substitute compost. Tie sweet peppers and aubergines to supporting canes if needed.

Harvest crops regularly in the summer months

The following can be sown in July: Basil, Calabrese, Chinese cabbage, Winter purslane, (Claytonia), Chervil, Coriander and Dill, French beans (climbing and dwarf,) Lettuce, Florence fennel, Oriental greens like Pak Choi, Parsley, chard, endive, chicory, beetroot.

Feed citrus with specialist food and continue training climbing plants like Gloriosa superba ‘Rothschildiana’ in a spiral around a tripod of canes, tying in as needed. Keep the pot at the back of the Greenhouse away from the doorway where humidity is higher.

If temperatures are unseasonally low, ventilate using the windows rather than opening the door which causes a draught.

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