Tomato Facts

A greenhouse is very much a luxury item for most gardeners. Not everyone can have one because of restraints on the budget and on the size of the garden. However, if you can afford one it will enrich your gardening no end and you'll appreciate an early start to your growing season.

You can sow your seeds earlier in the season and then be able to grow on tender plants. The greenhouse will also provide you with somewhere to overwinter frost tender plants and during summer you can grow your tomatoes and aubergines that would sulk in a typical UK summer. And when the weather isn't good you can stay inside your greenhouse and continue gardening in comfort.

To make a greenhouse pay its way in your garden you need to maximise the use you get out of it. Greenhouses are not just for growing you'll also need a workplace to pot plants on. If you've only got a tiny greenhouse then you may get away with just a potting bench. You can sow your seeds earlier in the season and then be able to grow on tender plants.

But potting benches do tend to be very small with not much space to work on. A much better option is aluminium greenhouse staging that comes in a variety of sizes to fit greenhouses both small and large. They can be single tiered, double tired and even three tiered to give you extra storage space.

If you like to make sure your pots are well ventilated then the greenhouse staging can be slatted or have a solid top if you want a practical work surface. Some staging folds up or folds down to allow you to use the space during the growing season for growing plants.

Being flexible with the insides of your greenhouse will help you get the most out of it. At times you'll need to cope with a mass of young growing plants and at times it could be almost devoid of living vegetation.