Similar to raising chickens or owning horses, gardening is rarely about economy. A rational person would live amidst an untamed thatch, extol the benefits of extreme rewilding, and retire to the sofa—unperturbed by the horrors of fireblight, aphids, or drought. But gardening is, in subtle or overt ways, about manipulating the landscape to your own will. Even a plot featuring only native plants, striving for a “natural” look, will require hours of curating and culling. And for most of us at least a small part of our landscape plan involves exerting our personality on the garden. Leaving our fingerprints on the space. And that means plants. And the bigger the space, the more plants you need.
A very helpful and timelt post as I now have more time to spend in my greenhouse. The note about moving starters to bigger plants was a goid lesson for me.
There's always something to learn. Last year, influenced by British gardening shows (very different climate), I kept tomatoes in the greenhouse long past the "starting" stage only to find that in the summer it gets waaay too hot in there for most of what we grow. But it's ideal for starting things in March. I'm wondering about ways to use it in autumn to extend the season, but that's just idle musing at this point.
I won't have a greenhouse in this lifetime, but I do enjoy reading about yours, as well as stealing ideas for plants.
I'm glad to hear that!
A very helpful and timelt post as I now have more time to spend in my greenhouse. The note about moving starters to bigger plants was a goid lesson for me.
There's always something to learn. Last year, influenced by British gardening shows (very different climate), I kept tomatoes in the greenhouse long past the "starting" stage only to find that in the summer it gets waaay too hot in there for most of what we grow. But it's ideal for starting things in March. I'm wondering about ways to use it in autumn to extend the season, but that's just idle musing at this point.