Grow Your Own Magazine

I have just been out in the greenhouse, the first time for days- what with the rain and wind, and I've been poorly. I have minimally watered everything that needed it but I have a lot of grey mold on certain more tender plants, I know this is caused by bad ventilation. The winds have been gale force with heavy rain here since before the New Year and I cannot open my greenhouse door without fear of damage by the winds. Any suggestions? I have parsley, bay and a couple of thymes so I don't really want to use chemicals, is there anything else I can do?

Help!!!

Ogilvie (feeling very helpless)

You're right about the problem being due to damp and poor ventilation Ogilvie. It is all this terrible rain we've had to blame. That's why I don't use my greenhouse until later when I've got enough plants to put in to justify putting the heating on.
You could save your herbs by taking them out of the greenhouse. Pick of the gray bits (its probably botritis) and dispose of it in the bin.
Can you take your bay into the house for a while. If you harden off your parsley and thyme it can probably go outside and just be lifted into the greenhouse, or indoors, if we get any really cold weather. My parsley growing in the ground is still doing fine and I had thyme which lived outside for years. The flat leaf parsley gets through the winter better than the curly varieties.
I see you're a "near neighbour" of mine.

Alice,

My greenhouse is almost at capacity at the moment. It is filled with fuschias, margarites, geraniums, bacopas and other assorted bits and pieces but I haven't put any heating on yet. My heating is paraffin and it causes damp. I have brought an electric fan heater from the caravan with the thought that if it gets too damp out there, then I could put it on for say an hour a day. Right now this is as much as I could manage, I have just retired through ill health and it is taking my company months to sort out my right to ill health retirement pension rather than reduced early retirement pension. So for the first time I have kept the heating off as an issue of cost.

I'm sitting here in my craft room at the computer listening to the tiles on the roof rattling about in the wind and the rain is battering at the window, when will this ever end.

We can't live to far away from each other, maybe when the weather picks up a bit we can arrange to meet.

Thanks for the advice
Ogilvie

Sorry you haven't been so well Ogilvie, hope you get evrything sorted out soon. If you put your electric heater on at fan only this would help with the ventilation and wouldn't really cost anything.
When the weathers better you would be most welcome to call. In the meantime you can have a look at my garden. It just might cheer you up in this awful weather.
Alice's Garden

Alice,
Your garden looks gorgeous and you can keep your spirits up in the winter by reminding yourself what it's like in the summer. You are very lucky to have such a nice garden. I look forward to seeing it sometime.
Ogilvie

Hi Ogilvie,

Sorry to hear that you have been poorly, maybe when this weather cheers up a bit we will all feel better.

I can't help on the greenhouse issue as my little polythene one has blown away in these gales and so did everything in it!

Need to start saving up for a new one and start the chilli's off again. I am so annoyed as they were doing great in there!

I am not far either, just between Cumbernauld and Falkirk.

Mandy

Oh Mandy, what a shame. I'm so sorry you lost your wee greenhouse and especially your plants. This weather has been just awful.One of my neighbours has lost the cupula off his roof TWICE.

I pass Allandale way regularly on my way to Falkirk to visit my mother in law. Maybe in the summer I could call in at your lottie and admire it.

Hi Alice,

You are more than welcome, be good to meet you.

Not much of a lottie, I have just 'borrowed' some land between my house and the canal. Spent months clearing it then had a go for the first time last year.

Had some sucess and some disasters, so better luck this year. My only regret is not borrowing more land and a very well meaning Dad who surprised me by laying turf on half of the area!! might need to dig that up.

Hope to see you in the summer, if these gales ever go!

Mandy

See you when the sun shines Mandy. You're probably right about the turf. You can't eat grass But it does make very excellent compost if you just stack it green side down

Mandy,

Sorry to hear about your greenhouse and it's inhabitants. I hope you get a new one alright and gather up the stuff you need to go in it. Did you lose much? I used to work in Falkirk and travelled there from Livingston, in what seems like another life. Moved here three years ago to a house with a postage stamp garden back, and front.

I lost one of my cold frames from beside the house wall on New Years day and thought I was going to lose my greenhouse, however it survived. Remember the boxing day storms a few years back. I lost my greenhouse then, the wind got in and blew off the door and blew all the glass out and then mangled the frame. I didn't bother to fix it then, I just gave up gardening and it wasn't until we moved to East Kilbride that I caught the big again.

Let me know how you get on getting your new greenhouse.

Ogilvie

Thanks Ogilvie,

I have found a greenhouse on freecycle, it has coal heating in it and sounds very intresting. I am waiting to find out how big it is, probably too big for me.

If I can not take it I will put up a post for it and see if anyone else can make use of it though.

Hope the gardening goes well for you this year, Mandy

Mandy,
Now I'm totally intrigued. A greenhouse with coal heating, how would that work. If you find out please do let me know. And good luck.
Ogilvie

I am very intrigued too, I am waiting for her to get back to me about size etc as all she said is it is huge??

But it has coal heating at one end and a warm sand box and has a wooden frame. A few panes are broken but that is not a big deal. I can't wait to find out more but in truth think it will be to large for my garden/plot.

How much space do you have? It would be a shame for it to go to waste.

Mandy

I doubt it will be too big Mandy, doesn't matter how big they are they are still not big enough!

As to the coal heating, I would guess its a solidfuel boiler with water pipes and an expansion box (I'll do a sketch if you like) as to the sandbox I can only assume that it is just that a box that you put dap sand in that is either heated by the boiler or has a soil warming cable in (like my propagator)

__________________
ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

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There you go, the same principal could be used with a Oil or Gas central heating boiler to heat your greenhouse but you'd need to have electric to them as well.

__________________
ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Hi Ogilvie
I know you are further north than us, but I have my herbs outside and as yet the parsley, thyme and chives, rosemary, lavendar and coriander are still doing ok. haven't got a bay yet, but see them growing outdoors round here. Maybe they don't need to be indoors, perhaps you could overwinter them in a shelterd spot and cover them over if it gets bad? Might solve the problem. good luck.

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Alice - I've just seen your blog - your garden looks beautiful! You must be very proud. DDL PS still working on my photos!

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Thanks Nick,

I am still waiting to hear from her about the size, I know I would fill just don't know where I would fit it in!

If it is too big for me I will put up a post in case any one else can take it.

Mandy

Hi All,

Just had the chance of a 12'x8' wooden greenhouse, complete with staging and heating, sooo excited.

It is old, but sound any ideas how best to take it apart and put back up with too much damage, arguements etc

Thanks, Mandy

Whats sort of greenhouse is it Mandy? If it's an alton with dutch light glass ( approx 5' x 2'6") I'd leave the glass in and stand the panels on edge it will travel better.

If it's wood all you need is a black marker & you can write on it so you know wht goes where

__________________
ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

With a digital camera, large meory card and several sets of batteries, several marker pens (don't write on the outside ), note/sketchpad and several pencils, rubber, pencil sharpener and a very good selection of screwdrivers, adjustable spanners, normal pliers, needlenose pliers (great for glazing clips), plus a padsaw (looks like a knife using a hacksaw blade) to cut rusted in screws, between the bits of wood.
Most importantly loads of patience and care, though carefully targetted violence mey be needed.

Your transport dictates how far the dismantling will have to go.
Don't drop any little bits and stack it all carefully. I lost two reinforcing brackets in leaf litter and found them a week later when tidying up.
Give careful thought to how you are moving it, you do not say how far it has to go, a transit or luton van even a pickup is good but needs rope, a trailer will bounce a bit and needs rope.

De-glazing, is it bars, clips or putty? If putty take a couple of old wood chisels to remove the dry putty, watch out for glazing brads (small headless square section spiky nails, hiudden in the putty and use pliers on them.

Take lots of old newspapers, use a couple of sheets between each pane of glass and stand it upright in a box. Secure the box upright in the transport. Upright glass bears its own weight, at an angle it tries to bend and snaps.

At least two people are needed, you'll get to a stage where the bit(s) being removed need to be held up at one end while the other end is undone.

Drive carefully, one pothole too fast and you'll need lots of replacement glass.
Choose your day, dry and relatively windless would be best.

If you find rot stay calm, photograph it as moving may disintegrate the rotton bit, as you have it apart you have the ideal opportunity to replace any rotten timber, remember to use good quality treated timber and use the old bit as a template.

Good luck, it can be done I dismantled and moved my 12'x8' aluminium house four miles in a small car trailer, took several trips mind and that was dismantled down to individual bars, with the final load being the car only with the 12'ers nuzzled up to the dash, between the front seats and out the boot with a cylists/dogs flashing light keyringed off the last bolthole.

Do I need to mention safety?
Good strong boots, for dropping a sheet of glass on edge first.
Appropriate gloves.
Those odd looking woven ones with rubber net stuck over the top, great for carrying glass.
Safety glasess.
For when that sheet of glass shatters as you try to get it out of the frame.

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Hi Nick, Peter,

Thanks for that, I am going up to see it on Saturday to have a look at it.

All I know is that it is 12x8 wooden constuction, few panes broken. I have been told that there is no rot but it is in need of a good sand down.

It has the added advantage of coal heating, thanks for the earlier diagram Nick I will probably be back on asking how to fix the dam thing.

It has staging down both sides and it is FREE!!

I have a transit but think I might hire a luton or 7.5 ton as it this size I don't think the roof will fit in anything else.

It is about 30 miles from where I live so I think it will be a fulll day of dismanteling, arguments etc.

I will let you how it goes.

Million thanks for all the advice, Mandy

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