This greenhouse is down the side of my house and does not get direct sun. It is cold and dark but in summer it would be warmer.
Would anyone have any idea's of what plants would love this type of greenhouse?
It just seems like a waste of space if I cannot utilise it.
Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved. I live in Queensland, AUSTRALIA.
This photo was taken at Midday.
Thanks Guys, I LOVE this site!
Your friend,
Debi
If you've got electricity out there, then you could put in some lights and use it for seed starting over the winter, or maybe overwintering some tropicals if you're in a chillier area of Australia. If you are in a chillier area, you may need to put heat in there too if you want to overwinter things or start seeds. Anything that you put in there for the winter though will be happier if you put it outside in real daylight during the warmer months.
Hi Ecrane, Thanks for the suggestions, what type of lights are we talking about? And how long do they have to be on, just overnight or all the time. Seeds sounds like a Fab idea. It can get chilly here sometimes but not always. I live around the brisbane area but a little in land. I am new to raising seeds, so are we talking Cacti and Succulents only or any seeds.
Thank you so much for your idea's as I am a newy. lol.
Debi
When I set up lights for seed starting, I leave them on for about 16 hours, then turn them off for the other 8 hours. The 16 hours are roughly during the daytime, but during the winter the days are shorter than that, so the lights come on around 6 AM and go off around 9-10 PM. I bought cheap fluorescent tube lights from a local home center. You can buy much more expensive lights that say they're specifically for growing plants, but they're really not necessary, the key is to keep the lights a very short distance above the seedlings, otherwise they don't get enough light but what sort of lights they are doesn't matter as much. When I mentioned seeds, I was not thinking of cacti and succulents, I've never tried to grow them from seed but I expect you might need different conditions for them. I was thinking of regular plants that you would put in your garden--annuals, perennials, veggies, etc. I'm not familiar with which parts of Australia are in which zones, but if you're in one of the zone 10 sections then you probably don't really need a winter seed starting setup, but if you're in a colder area than that then it may be helpful.
ecrane3, the problem is, so far we don't know what zone Debi is in. What kind of temperatures does she have in the winter? How long are her winters? I think before she can get suggestions we need to know a little more about her surroundings. Also, her likes and dislikes.
I know you mentioned them in your last post but I think also, what is the size of her greenhouse? It appears to be pretty narrow?? Maybe it is just the position of the camera? Does she have room for shelving? benches? hanging plants?
Maybe I am getting too technical for information.
Jeanette
It would also be helpful to know which direction it faces. Based on the fact that it gets no direct sun, I'm guessing it faces south.
Jnette--Brisbane's near the coast and is fairly tropical so all I was trying to figure out is if she's in zone 10 where she won't ever get frost or get below freezing, or if she's far enough inland to be in zone 9 where frost is a possibility. Definitely not any colder than zone 9 though, that's why I suggested the things I did. There are obviously lots of other logistical considerations relating to the space, but the main point I was trying to make is you're not going to be able to do anything with the space unless you can get some lights in there. Once you do that, then you've got the options I mentioned, but the size/shape of the space may still limit how much you can do out there.
Sorry ecrane.
Jeanette
Hey Debi,
It almost looks like there is a shade cloth on the top and side? Or is it green poly?
Hi Friends,
I asked my son to give me an idea how big it is, so here goes.
It's about 5 ft wide, about 30 ft long and it is on the South side. My area is called "Sub-Tropical" and by Australian garden books, I am in zone: 2.
The greenhouse is covered with chickenwire, then that green Poly? stuff over it.
It has had shelving in it at some time? There are a couple of old baskets and some fern type plants growging in the ground. I hope this photo helps a bit more. Is there anymore information that you would need?
Thanks Everyone,
Debi
It looks like it is not a rigid plastic but a type that folds or comes on a roll? Perhaps it was a dog run at one time? Or had chickens? ANyway..if it IS just the sheet plastic vs rigid poly you can change it out and put clear poly shheting on it and it wil increase you light quite a bit.. increase the temperature also
Yep! Great Idea, Thanks Jazz.
