Can I use a greenhouse in winter?
Q Our new house has an unheated (at the moment) greenhouse in the garden that I’d like to use this winter. What can I grow?
Mary Troubridge, Stevenage, Kent
A An unheated greenhouse can keep overnight temperatures as much as 5°C warmer than outside, which will keep plants frost-free in all but the worst of winters. It will also ensure plants stay dry, which greatly aids their survival.
There are lots of plants that will appreciate the cover of your unheated greenhouse. These include:
Winter salads: try hardy lettuces, such as ‘Salad Bowl’, as well as rocket, pak choi, mizuna, lamb’s lettuce and spinach.
Hardy herbs: pots of chives, parsley and mint brought into the greenhouse in autumn will continue growing all winter.
Fruit: you could grow strawberry plants in pots and have fruits a month earlier than those plants growing in the garden.
many summer bedding plants can be overwintered in a cold greenhouse, including fuchsias, marguerites
