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Harveys Garden Plants have just had an Alton Victorian Greenhouse installed at their nursery and will update us as to how they are using there greenhouse as a fully functional, working greenhouse through a reguarly updated diary.
Harveys Garden Plants is a family run nursery in Suffolk, UK, growing an extensive range of hardy herbaceous plants and have been awarded RHS Gold Medals for the display of rare and unusual shade and woodland plants at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. You can find out more here www.harveysgardenplants.co.uk.
  
The first installment of this regular diary is below.
22nd October 2010
Firstly may I say I am delighted with the service and installation of the Alton Victorian greenhouse last week, and we are already finding it fabulous to use. The intoxicating scent of the cedar is just heavenly.
It is positioned in full sun to maximise the solar gain, which will minimise heating in the winter months, (we will heat the greenhouse with a small fan heater just to keep the temperature above freezing on cold nights) and maximise early and late growth of plants.
Salad Leaves
For example it is not too late to sow salad leaves. The photo below shows Sheree sowing lettuce seeds in seed trays so that we can crop them as micro-salads. This involves sowing the lettuce reasonably thickly and then using them once they have grown to about 7-8cm. The small leaves are tasty and look delightful. Sometimes you can buy these in supermarkets, but at an exorbitant price, and certainly not as flavoursome.
Fresh Mint
Using your own fresh mint during the winter is a luxury. To achieve this follow the instructions below:
One already has pots of mint growing; Cut the foliage down to ground level and feed with liquid tomato feed, and place on the greenhouse shelving.
One has mint growing outside in the garden; Cut down the top growth to ground level and then lift pieces of mint of sufficient size to plant into 2l or 3L pots. These should then be planted with multipurpose compost, with added fertiliser. Slow release Osmocote (6-8months) is recommended. Probably 6 six pots of mint is sufficient to have some worthwhile pickings during the winter.
Broad Beans
To get an early crop, now is the time to sow broad beans in pots in your green-house.
Firstly fill your pots (9cm square is ideal) with multipurpose compost and then sow 2 bean seeds at a depth of 2.5cm, and watch them grow. After hardening off they can then be planted in early March.
Copyright Roger Harvey
Harveys Garden Plants
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