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Where you place a new greenhouse or polytunnel can make the difference between growing success and failure, so it’s important to get it right. With careful siting, it should be possible to optimise the productivity of your structure, which helps

A greenhouse or polytunnel allows you to grow a wider range of plants, and extends the growing season. Once the structure is in place you'll need to kit it out with a few essential items, listed below.You’ll have more success raising your own seeds

base rail, you can make one using lengths of 70 x 45mm timber, cut to length, then bolted on to the foundation tubes.Add a base railYou can buy anti-hot spot tape from most polytunnel/greenhouse suppliers. Place a strip along each hoop to cushion

Well, thank goodness for greenhouses. I've practically been living in mine this month. It's been far too chilly to even think about sowing outside, and besides, I don't do frozen fingers.Under glass, though, it's all lovely and cosy, and I potter

Occasionally, orchids need repotting to refresh their expanding root systems. Most indoor orchids are epiphytes, meaning they naturally grow attached to a tree branch with their roots clinging to the bark. In order to mimic their preferred growing conditions, house plant orchids ...

Chilli plants will thrive on a sunny window sill or in a greenhouse. They have a long cropping season, so you could still be harvesting fresh chillies in December. You will need just two small pots to sow your chilli seeds; use a good quality seed

Winter is a good time to clean, tidy and reorganise your greenhouse. Remove all the clutter, clean the glass to maximise light levels, and create an ordered working environment in time for the season ahead. BroomBucketDisinfectantGlass cleaner

The practice of taking stem-section cuttings is useful for rejuvenating overgrown house plants such as dracaena.Dracaenas are striking architectural plants, native to western and tropical Africa. Plants produce bold rosettes of strap-like leaves at the tip of each shoot, as older...

Planted with succulents, such as sempervivum, a smart slate trough looks good all year round. The soft grey and worn, uneven edges of reclaimed roof slates are the perfect foil for the fleshy plants.Two large or four small reclaimed roof slatesSingle-bottle wine boxStrong 'no nai...

Tomatoes will thrive in a greenhouse in midsummer with the right light, warmth, water and feed. But there's no point in ruining your hard work by watching the plant collapse under its own weight, when some simple staking will save the day. Nor do