Looking for fresh ideas on what to plant in your greenhouse? You've come to the right spot.
Imagine stepping into your garden and being greeted by an abundance of delectable fruits and vegetables. Growing outdoors can be tricky due to the UK's unpredictable climate, but with a well-planned greenhouse, you can achieve a steady supply of home-grown, fresh produce.
A prominent greenhouse manufacturer has noted a surge in interest among customers wanting to cultivate their own food. This trend is fueled by the rise in plant-based diets and a growing desire for self-sufficiency.
The enhanced flavor and quality of home-grown produce is well recognized, and even high-end restaurants are investing in greenhouses to enhance their culinary offerings.
Notable establishments, such as Raymond Blanc's Belmond Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons and the Forest Side Hotel in the Lake District, utilize these greenhouses to supply their kitchens with the freshest ingredients.
When you decide to grow your own food, you'll be in good company with these acclaimed chefs.
To give you an idea of what you can cultivate, here's a list of some of the best crops for greenhouse gardening.
Ideal Crops for Greenhouse Cultivation
One of the most popular choices for British greenhouses each summer is the delightful tomato. However, there's a vast range of other easily grown edibles to consider.
From off-season lettuces to robust aubergines, spicy chilies to heavy clusters of golden muscat grapes, a greenhouse can serve as a reliable source not only for home-grown food but also for luxurious delicacies.
A greenhouse acts as the launchpad for outdoor vegetable production. When planning what to grow inside, be sure to include courgettes and outdoor cucumbers on your list. You can also start runner beans, brassicas, and even root vegetables like carrots and beets.
If you have some extra space, use it to 'chit' seed potatoes—exposing them to light and warmth will encourage shoots to grow before planting. A variety of tender vegetables can thrive in your greenhouse.
Your biggest challenge will be deciding what to grow, as space is limited and tough choices will have to be made.
Year-Round Yield: From Beans to Broccoli
With a greenhouse, you can significantly increase your productivity throughout the year compared to outdoor gardening, especially if you employ the right techniques.
For instance, by using specially designed containers for strawberries with planting pockets, you can harvest fruit in both May and November.
Summer broccoli, planted in January, can be ready for harvest by late June. If you sow your first runner beans in February under glass and transplant them in May, they'll yield from late June to September, making them some of the best vegetables for greenhouse cultivation.
With tomatoes, even modest varieties can produce surplus if tended well, and nothing beats the flavor of freshly picked home-grown ones.
Winter Greens and Salad
We've grown accustomed to out-of-season produce thanks to supermarkets, but you'll be amazed at what you can cultivate in a greenhouse.
After harvesting tomatoes, for example, you could plant pak choi or other quick-maturing Chinese greens. If you sow seeds in cell trays in August and transplant them in early September, you can enjoy tender leaves by late October.
Lettuce and rocket also grow rapidly in the autumn and winter but may appear thinner and more leggy than those started in spring or summer. You can cultivate salad crops, such as lettuce, in large pots or growing bags if you don't have access to border soil.
Many seed companies offer mixes of 'cut and come again' salad greens that can be harvested gradually, providing fresh greens all year round.
Growing Herbs
While many herbs thrive in outdoor gardens, some, particularly those from subtropical regions, flourish better in the warmer, humid greenhouse environment.
Hardy herbs like sage, rosemary, and thyme can also be grown in pots in a frost-free greenhouse year-round, supplying you with fragrant leaves.
Basil, with over 30 varieties available in the UK, thrives in warm conditions and offers a range of flavors from aniseed to citrus, making it a versatile addition to various dishes.
The warmth of a greenhouse enhances the production of aromatic oils, enhancing the unique flavor of basil. They can be easily grown from seeds or cuttings.
You can even try your hand at growing lemon grass, root ginger, galangal, or cardamom, all of which can be cultivated from root divisions sourced from specialty greengrocers.
Fruit Cultivation
During the Victorian era, glasshouses were instrumental in producing a variety of off-season and exotic fruits, including figs, peaches, apricots, and even pineapples.
Even if you don't have a grand glasshouse, a greenhouse is an excellent way to grow an array of delicious fruits.
Grapes: Grapes grown in a greenhouse in the UK are vastly superior to those grown outdoors. By giving your vine extra attention, you can enjoy large, well-formed bunches of grapes. Ideally, plant the vine rootstock outside, allowing the roots to reach nutrients while the main stem remains sheltered in the greenhouse.
This method allows the roots to access a broader area for nutrients while the plant benefits from the extended growing season inside. However, vines grown entirely within a greenhouse can also thrive, and you can even get modest yields from those planted in large pots.
Wall Fruits: In lean-to greenhouses, if the back wall gets ample sunlight, fan-trained fruit trees can be very productive. Peaches, nectarines, apricots, and figs are excellent choices for this setup.
If space is tight, consider growing dwarf trees in large pots for smaller crops. In summer, these compact trees can be arranged outside for more sunlight.
Citrus: Cultivating your own lemons, kumquats, or calamondin oranges in a greenhouse is quite achievable. The sweet-scented flowers of these evergreen trees and shrubs are a delightful bonus. Grow varieties such as lemon 'Verna', the lemon/orange hybrid 'Meyer', or calamondin orange in pots, ideally maintaining a minimum winter temperature of 5°C.
