mini greenhouse

[Deleted]

hello, this is a really silly question but i have a mini greenhouse (u no the plastic ones) and it sits covered from the wind on my balcony and my boyfriend says ill have 2 replace it in a year is this true?

[Tig]

I don't see why you should have to replace it unless it gets damaged (like mine - one of the zips has broken :. It should be quite sheltered on the balcony and my neighbour has had one for four years with no problems so far. They can get blown over in the wind, but if you weight the bottom or it is not in a windy spot you should be fine.

Welcome to GWD madsmum

[Dr Bill]

The plastic tends to become brittle and lose its transparency after a while, but it ought to last more than 2 years. Then you can buy a new plastic cover - no need to replace the whole thing

[Missredhead]

I have one of these and I bought a new cover in Wilkos.....

[Deleted]

thanx all...............

[andy]

Should last about 5 years before the UV breaks down the polythene and makes it brittle.

[Barbara]

will most of my garden plants be alright overwinter in a mini greenhouse, or do they need heat of some kind, i'm talking pelagonium,osteos, seedling violas, i'm hoping it will keep them all frost free as its against the side of the house,

[Jasmine]

I have 2 mini greenhouses and I kept all my plants (fuchsias, pelagoniums etc...) over winter in them. I also bought tiny plug plants in January and they survived as well. My mini greenhouses are up against a house wall and when frost was forecast I wrapped a big sheet of bubble wrap round the greenhouse with the plug plants in during the night. I left the older plants but zipped them up for the night! I got the bubble wrap from the garden centre - they sold it on a big roll and I pegged the edges together.
I also anchor my greenhouses down with a breeze block on the bottom shelf of one and a bag of compost on the bottom of the other!
Being down south may have made a bit of a difference too.

[Barbara]

thanks jas yeah down south's warmer but frost is frost where ever you live. so i'll get bubble wrap, thanks for that,.

[Missredhead]

I bublewrapped mine too, although when it got windy it tended to blow and flap about a bit...this year I'm going to try and make a bubblewrap cover for the inside and then cover it with the plastic cover....I'll let you know how I get on
I also put bricks and compost in the bottom and tie the frame to hooks on the wall.

[Ladygardener]

My (2nd hand) little mini greenhouse survived the gales of summer this year. I too have bricks and did have compost bags (now used) to keep it on the ground. Mine is quite sheltered but I'll bear the bubble wrap in mind if we get a cold winter. I'll be using it for my cuttings, seeds and I've got some pepper plants with fruit on in there too.

[beanie]

mine has only lasted 6mth. after the first couple of uses the zip split and then in the high winds we've had it has more or less shredded the whole door piece. the frame is still solid though as hubby fixed it to the wall with pipe clips and screwed it onto a breeze block base.

[Barbara]

beany, i think you can buy new covers at wilkinsons, and stop being so rough ;D do you think it would be safe to put tea lights in on frosty nights, would it be enough to keep plants from frost damage. or what about a big torch, or the garden lights that work off solar power, there has to be enough warmth in them to help with frost surely,

[Jasmine]

MRH and I were talking about protecting plants in mini greenhouses on another thread and I wondered if horticultural fleece laid gently over the plants on the nights when frost was forecast would be a useful bit of extra protection. It would be another job on frosty evenings and it would need taking off the next morning but it might help keep the plants safe from frost. I'm going to have an experiment this winter.

[Barbara]

i might just carry the darn thing inside if a bad frost is forcast, because i have lots of stuff starting , because i want to see if its possible not to have to buy stuff, i said not to HAVE to ;D
so i have taken lots of cuttings.

[Jasmine]

What a brilliant idea Barbara - OH and I could bring it into the lean-to when frost is forecast. I did the plant saving last year - because I do the pots at the boys' school (a job I love doing) I saved fuchsias and pelargoniums to see if I could reuse them this year and save money. All the pots at school were done with last years plants plus some lobelia which the secretary gave me.

[Missredhead]

Sept 17, 2008 18:14:31 GMT Barbara said:

beany, i think you can buy new covers at wilkinsons, and stop being so rough ;D do you think it would be safe to put tea lights in on frosty nights, would it be enough to keep plants from frost damage. or what about a big torch, or the garden lights that work off solar power, there has to be enough warmth in them to help with frost surely,

someone told me that you can put a lit tealight on a saucer with a little water on it and place a terracotta pot upside down over it and place it at the bottom of the GH it keeps the frost out.
Haven't tried it myself though as the bubblewrap kept the frosts at bay last year.