Search - Articles

Buy plug plants and young bedding plants to grow on for baskets, pots and bedding displaysThin out heavy fruit sets on peaches and nectarines, leaving fruits about 10cm apartSow annual climbers, such as cup-and-saucer vine (Cobaea), nasturtium

to encourage early fruitingStart sowing seed of summer bedding and crops that need a long growing season to mature, such as pelargonium, petunia, verbena, salvia, lobelia and begonia

Collect fruits and berries from cotoneaster and pyracantha, and sow their seedsCheck stored bulbs and tubers for signs of rot Bring potted strawberries into the greenhouse or put in a cold frame to protect from coldWash glazing inside and out to let

Fit automatic openers to greenhouse vents to encourage good air circulationPlant tomatoes in growing bags or large pots, training them on to canes or wires for supportBring pots of strawberries into the greenhouse to produce early flowers and fruit

Increase greenhouse shading if temperatures inside are getting very hotTake cuttings from houseplants such as weeping figs and Christmas cactiDamp down the greenhouse floor every morningWater pots and growing bags dailyPlace potted tagetes near

Damp down the floor every morning and open ventsWater tomatoes regularly to prevent fruits splittingSow Primula malacoides and P. obconica for flowering pot plants next springHang yellow sticky traps in the greenhouse to help control whitefly

Take cuttings of zonal and regal pelargoniums, and pot up rooted cuttings taken earlierTrain the main stem of cucumber plants up a wire to the roof of your greenhouse. Pinch out sideshoots two leaves after a flower or fruitWater plants in pots

can cause split fruits and blossom end rotThin out bunches of grapes with pointed scissorsPinch out shoot tips on coleus to encourage plants to branch, and remove any flowers that formPropagate pelargoniums from cuttings during July and August to grow

Water tomatoes regularly to prevent fruit splitting and blossom end rot Feed tomato crops with a high-potash tomato fertiliser every weekBe on the lookout for aphids, vine weevils and other pestsVentilate daily and add extra shading if temperatures

Train cucumbers and prune back sideshootsPick off flowers on coleus to maintain their colourful leavesWater tomatoes regularly to prevent fruits from splittingTake cuttings from fuchsias, coleus, pelargoniums, marguerites and other tender perennials