Up next in 10
The tomatoes are out—but your greenhouse season doesn’t have to be over!Join Gardening with Ben as I explore how to make a greenhouse or polytunnel useful through winter. After clearing my tomatoes at the Sheffield allotment, I’m looking at the opportunities that newly available space offers.We discuss winter salads and leafy crops, the difference between sowing seeds now and growing on established young plants, and setting realistic expectations for the colder, darker months.I also cover clearing and cleaning the space, checking plants before bringing them under cover, watering thoughtfully and keeping air moving. There’s a reminder about the limits of an unheated greenhouse, plus ideas for organising pots, trays and staging ready for spring.Whether you have a large polytunnel or a small greenhouse, start with one manageable project and build from there.What’s growing in your greenhouse this winter? Have you already made plans for the space your summer crops have left behind?Follow Gardening with Ben for seasonal gardening conversations and regular allotment updates. Please leave a rating and share this episode with a gardening friend.Find more gardening tips and inspiration:
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Hey, let's grow. Grab your [music]
0:03
gloves. It's time to grow. Seeds and
0:07
flowers. Watch [music] them go from the
0:10
garden to the man again.
0:13
You're listening [music] to gardening
0:15
with Ben. Hey, let's growing
0:18
with Ben.
0:22
Is your greenhouse sitting empty? Make
0:24
it earn its space this winter. Welcome
0:27
to Gardening with Ben for another brand
0:30
new episode. Happy Saturday everybody if
0:33
you're listening to this on the day that
0:34
it comes out. But yeah, it's finally the
0:37
weekend. It's finally to get back into
0:39
the plots and the gardens if you have
0:40
the weekends off and you can actually
0:42
enjoy the weekends. If not, I hope your
0:45
weekend comes pretty soon and I hope
0:47
that you can get out in the gardens and
0:49
a lotments soon. I'll be back down at
0:51
the plot on Tuesday and Wednesday.
0:53
That's my weekend. So, I'll be enjoying
0:56
the time there. Hopefully decent weather
0:58
again and hopefully we can continue with
1:01
clearing the main area of the plot and
1:03
possibly doing a few other jobs like
1:05
planting tulips. But we'll see. We still
1:07
got to sort them all out yet. And
1:09
hopefully we can do that this week
1:11
before going down to the plot. I know
1:13
I've got I should have plenty of time to
1:15
do it, but I end up just sitting here
1:16
doing nothing.
1:18
I'm one of those that uh plans on doing
1:21
stuff, but I never actually get it
1:22
sorted. So hopefully I can get these all
1:25
sorted, my tulips, and get ready for
1:26
planting them all. But we're a very busy
1:29
person. So what is your greenhouse up to
1:33
this autumn winter time? Have you just
1:36
left it full of tomato plants? Are your
1:39
cucumbers all dying in there? What are
1:41
you doing with it? Well, you need to get
1:43
it emptied. Get those tomato plants out.
1:46
Get those cucumber plants out. Get those
1:49
pepper plants out. Get all the dead
1:51
plants out. what you've forgotten to
1:52
water in there. Get them all cleared
1:54
out. Get it all done as soon as
1:57
possible, straight away. And don't leave
1:59
it to sit there over the autumn winter
2:01
period until the springtime when it
2:03
comes to sewing the seeds. Get it sorted
2:06
as soon as possible because if any of
2:08
those plants are diseased, it will
2:10
harbor in the greenhouse and it will sit
2:12
dormant and then when the warmer weather
2:14
comes, it'll reignite and all those
2:17
diseases will be around and they'll be
2:18
spreading everywhere. So get them out of
2:20
the greenhouse and poly tunnels as fast
2:23
as you can. And then once you've got
2:25
them all out, give it a good clean out.
2:28
Disinfect it all. Clear it all. And make
2:31
[clears throat] it spotless. Wash all
2:33
the glass down as well. That's another
2:35
place where all the diseases can hand uh
2:37
hang around. Get it all and span
2:40
and looking fresh. Just pretend that
2:42
it's ready for springtime to tomorrow.
2:45
Get it all looking absolutely bliss.
2:47
Everything tidied away. all the pots
2:49
tidied up and looking absolutely
2:52
amazing. And then why not think about
2:55
growing stuff throughout the winter
2:57
period? There's plenty of stuff that you
3:00
can grow throughout the autumn winter
3:02
period in your greenhouse and poly
3:04
tunnels. Now, I've covered this quite a
3:06
bit in some of my Facebook videos
3:08
recently. If you're not following me on
3:10
Facebook, check it out, Gardening with
3:12
Ben. I've posted quite a lot of videos
3:14
on there recently of what to sew in
3:16
unheated green houses, what to sew in
3:18
pots, etc. I'm sharing lots of tips and
3:22
advice on that at the moment. So,
3:24
there's things like winter lettuce you
3:26
can grow. You can grow some kale, you
3:29
can grow broad beans, you can grow some
3:34
radish micro greens. So, if you fancy
3:36
the leaves and stuff like that, you can
3:38
grow them. You can grow peashoots as
3:40
well. You can also try and start your
3:43
peas off for next year called meteor
3:44
peas. Uh that's the variety that you
3:47
need to go for, meteor peas. And if you
3:49
are growing broad beans, they need to be
3:50
the aquadulus claudia variety. So yeah,
3:54
there's plenty that you can be growing
3:56
in your green houses. And why not even
3:58
try and grow some onions if you if your
4:01
ground's bare and it's got soil in it.
4:03
plant some onions in there and they'll
4:05
be ready for June, July time, ready for
4:08
harvesting before you plant your uh big
4:10
tomato plants in there. So, try and use
4:13
the space as much and wisely as
4:15
possible. And hopefully you could keep
4:17
those crops flowing throughout the
4:19
autumn winter period rather than just
4:21
letting it sit dormant, sit empty. It
4:24
gives you excuse to keep on doing that
4:26
gardening throughout the autumn and
4:28
winter period. And yeah, there's plenty
4:31
that you can be growing at this time of
4:33
year and hopefully you can find some
4:36
great stuff to try.
4:38
Now, I obviously cleared out all my
4:40
tomato plants this year uh this week and
4:42
we've got all them tidied away. So, I've
4:44
got five free beds uh what I'm planning
4:47
on growing in. And some of the things
4:49
that I'm thinking about growing are
4:51
broad beans, uh possibly some peas,
4:55
um some winter lettuce, and some spinach
5:00
as well. I might fill them beds with
5:02
those and see how we get on. Obviously,
5:04
I've got my onions in my poly tunnel,
5:06
and I've got my garlic in my onion uh in
5:08
the poly tunnel, but I don't recommend
5:10
growing garlic indoors because it does
5:12
need the cold weather to help it split.
5:14
The only reason why I'm planting mine in
5:16
my poly tunnel is because I'm doing a
5:19
lot of project work outside and I need
5:20
my plot empty and that means completely
5:23
empty. I want to do a lot of work on
5:24
that over the autumn winter period. So
5:27
I'm trying to have it as empty as
5:28
possible so that I can do all these jobs
5:30
that I need doing. So yeah, hopefully
5:33
I'll be growing along with you because
5:36
why spend all that money on those raised
5:37
beds that I put up in it over last year
5:41
when I wouldn't be using them. So, I
5:42
might as well make full use of them and
5:45
try and get as much vegetables growing
5:47
as possible. And I'm enjoying it. It
5:49
gives me an excuse to go back down
5:50
there. Obviously, growing stuff indoors,
5:52
you still need to keep things watered,
5:54
but you don't have to water as much
5:55
because it does stay damp and it stays
5:58
get condensation in there. It does stay
6:00
a lot damper than it would do normally
6:02
throughout the summer period. So, you
6:03
don't have to keep watering all the
6:05
time. And obviously if it's unheated,
6:08
make sure that you do use uh frost
6:10
protection still just in case it's
6:12
frosty. And obviously if the snow comes
6:15
that will add a bit of layer of warmth
6:17
over it by uh insulating it all. But
6:21
yeah, there's so much that you can
6:22
actually try and grow throughout the
6:25
winter period. And another tip if you've
6:27
got a greenhouse and you want to grow
6:29
throughout the uh winter is put a water
6:31
but in there and fill it up and the
6:34
water will warm up in the daytime and it
6:36
will let the heat out at the night time.
6:38
So it'll keep it that few degrees bit
6:40
warmer in there and if you can afford it
6:42
if your greenhouse is in the garden. Why
6:44
not put a heater in there? Like I can't
6:46
in mine because it's not at the bottom
6:48
of my garden. I can't keep my eye on it
6:50
and keep uh checking on it to make sure
6:52
that it's safe. But yeah, a lot of
6:54
people have he greenhouse heaters and
6:57
they keep them warm and they keep things
6:59
growing throughout the whole winter
7:01
period.
7:02
Another good thing to do is obviously as
7:05
you clear your tomatoes out, make sure
7:06
there's no tomatoes left around and any
7:08
old plant vegetables because mice and
7:11
rats will love to find them over the
7:13
autumn winter period and it gives them
7:15
something to snack on. So try and have
7:17
less food in there as possible.
7:19
Obviously, if you're growing stuff, you
7:21
can't do that. But yeah, try and get it
7:23
all cleared out as much as possible. And
7:26
another job what needs doing, what I
7:28
absolutely hate doing is cleaning your
7:30
pots out and your trays, giving them a
7:33
good scrub and a good wash. All you need
7:34
is a bucket of soapy water, warm soapy
7:37
water, and just wash off all that old
7:39
compost and clean them all. And yeah,
7:42
it'll take forever, but it does pass a
7:45
day on. If it's raining, it's good
7:46
excuse to get in there and wash. And
7:49
don't put them in your t uh in your
7:51
dishwasher. You don't want to ruin your
7:53
dishwasher. But yeah, get your hands in
7:55
the bo uh bottle of water and get them
7:58
all washed and cleaned ready for next
8:00
year. It's also good to wash down your
8:02
tools and sharpen them up if you've got
8:05
any uh secretaries or shears. Give them
8:09
a good sharpen because you'll be doing a
8:11
lot of pruning throughout the winter
8:12
period, especially your fruit trees.
8:14
Apple and pears you can prune in winter,
8:16
but your cherries and your plums you
8:18
leave until you prune after they've
8:21
finished harvesting.
8:22
And there's also obviously a lot of
8:24
flowers that you can grow in your
8:25
greenhouse uh ready for next year as
8:28
obviously I've got my sweet peas
8:29
growing. I've got colundula growing. You
8:33
can grow delphiniums ready for next
8:35
year. Uh fox gloves. Um there's lots of
8:40
flowers out there. Some poppies that you
8:42
can sew for next year. certain poppies.
8:44
There's absolutely loads. You could have
8:46
your greenhouse absolutely full to
8:48
busting with how much you can actually
8:49
sew. And obviously, if you sew your
8:51
flowers now, ready for next year,
8:52
there's certain ones that you can sew
8:54
now. You will save so much money on
8:57
buying all plants next year. If you sew
8:59
them from seed, you'll have such a
9:02
fantastic saving. And one thing that I
9:05
am going to be sewing, you can't sew it
9:06
now, but I'll be sewing it next year.
9:09
I'll be growing ders from seed again
9:11
because my ders
9:13
have done absolutely phenomenal. I've
9:16
done a little video on these which I'll
9:18
be sharing with you all soon and I can't
9:21
believe how well they've actually grown
9:23
from seed. So easy to grow. I thought
9:26
they'd be having a load of trouble from
9:27
slugs and earwigs and stuff like that,
9:30
but no, they've grown absolutely amazing
9:32
and one of the easiest flowers that I've
9:34
ever grown down at the plot. I'm
9:35
absolutely over the moon with them. So,
9:37
we're going to have absolutely tons of
9:40
ders next year down at the plot. It's
9:42
going to be inundated with colorful ders
9:45
in every bed, [laughter]
9:47
if only. Uh, but yeah, I'd love to have
9:50
so many more ders next year. And
9:52
hopefully we can. And it were only a
9:55
cheap packet of seeds as well. It must
9:56
have been only like a pound. Uh I often
9:59
go for the Wilco seeds what they sell in
10:02
the range and they're usually only like
10:04
a pound a packet the Wilco branding and
10:08
absolutely amazing. They've dr grown so
10:11
well this year and I can't wait for next
10:13
year to start sewing them all again
10:15
because I just want so many more flowers
10:17
next year. And another good thing to do
10:20
with your greenhouse is plan what you're
10:22
planning on growing in it next year.
10:23
whether you're going to be trying some
10:25
new tomatoes.
10:26
There's so many tomato varieties out
10:28
there now. I think I looked online and
10:30
there must be like thousands of tomato
10:33
varieties out there. Obviously, you only
10:35
see the common ones, but there's so many
10:37
out there to try. Like, I tried some
10:39
purple ones. I tried some black ones. I
10:41
tried some yellow ones. I tried some
10:43
orange ones this year. It's great to try
10:45
different varieties of stuff. I've
10:47
always stuck to the same cucumber
10:49
because I know my cucumber grows well.
10:52
Uh I usually grow the market mo variety
10:54
in there and it does absolutely amazing.
10:56
So that's a variety I've always stuck
10:57
to. And also I've been sent some um
11:02
skinless melons so you can actually bite
11:04
into the skin of the melons and they're
11:06
absolutely delicious apparently. And
11:08
there's five seeds in this uh packet. So
11:11
I need to make sure that every one of
11:13
them germinates and I can get them to
11:15
grow. It's new variety what's just come
11:17
out. So I'm looking forward to trying
11:19
them next year and I'll obviously be
11:20
sharing it with you all. how well they
11:22
get on. So try and think of the stuff
11:24
what you can grow in your greenhouse.
11:26
And maybe you want to try and fit more
11:29
in there. And if you're wanting to try
11:31
and fit more in there, why not have a
11:33
look at varieties of tomatoes that you
11:34
can grow outdoors? Most varieties can
11:36
grow outdoors. The smaller ones are
11:38
better outside the cherry ones and the
11:41
bigger ones are in better indoors
11:42
because they take longer to ripen. Um,
11:45
and try and use some of the greenhouse
11:46
for different stuff. I once grew my
11:48
market more cucumbers outside and they
11:50
did better outside than they did in the
11:52
poly tunnel. So that says a lot for
11:54
growing stuff in the poly tunnel in the
11:56
greenhouse. Sometimes it does better
11:58
outside than it does indoors. So yeah,
12:00
there's always different things that you
12:02
can try in the greenhouse. So try and
12:05
not leave it empty over autumn winter.
12:07
Try and get out in the greenhouse and
12:09
poly tunnel and get some seeds sewn.
12:11
There's plenty out there for you to keep
12:13
trying and keep growing and keep
12:16
yourself motivated throughout the autumn
12:18
winter period. It's time when people
12:20
like slack off or don't do anything or
12:22
leave all the plants in there to die.
12:24
There's plenty to be doing. So, crack
12:27
on. Get in there this weekend. Get some
12:29
work done and get it all looking
12:32
and span ready for some more seed
12:33
sewing. So, I hope you've enjoyed
12:35
today's episode everybody. As always,
12:37
please remember, keep smiling, keep
12:40
shining, and keep gardening with Ben.
12:42
Everyone,
12:43
[music]
12:43
>> another day, another seed.
12:47
A little sunshine is all we need. Keep
12:51
smiling.
12:52
Keep shining. Until then, keeping
12:55
[music]
12:56
with
12:59
See you tomorrow.
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