This Morning: James Martin shows inside his greenhouse
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Winter is a great time for gardeners to clean, tidy and reorganise their greenhouse, while there are fewer jobs in the garden to take up time. Cleaning the greenhouse will maximise light levels, clear blocked guttering, banish any pests and diseases. Tidying it will make sure that gardeners have an ordered working environment in time for the growing season ahead. Gardening experts at Envii have shared the importance of cleaning a greenhouse.
They said: “To ensure that your greenhouse is giving your plants the right conditions to thrive, it must be routinely cleaned.
“The right time to do this depends on what you are growing.
“In general, it is good practice to clean it in October and then again in April.
“Often, over winter, your greenhouse does not get much attention, allowing time for unwanted things to enter including dirt, green algae, moss, pests and disease.”
The gardening experts have shared easy steps for gardeners to follow to help them clean their greenhouses in time for spring.
Step one
Begin by removing the contents of the greenhouse as this will not only add room to do work, but it may also remove any pests or disease that are amongst the contents.
Gardeners should avoid bringing them back in whilst cleaning where possible.
It is best to choose a day where the weather is dry.
A breeze helps also as it helps to dry the greenhouse faster.
Step two
Start at the bottom as gardeners may find that the floor of their greenhouse is covered with dead plant materials, or even moss or algae.
Then sweep or vacuum the floor until all traces are removed.
Pests and disease can live in even the smallest of areas.
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Step three
Use soap and water to clean down the surfaces of the greenhouse, a hot solution works best.
If there is algae growing between each glass plane, using a plant label, make a gap between the panes – this will make it easier to clean.
If a greenhouse has electricity, don’t forget to cover any electric sockets.
Step four
Using a window squeegee, clean the glass surfaces both inside and outside of the greenhouse.
This will allow the maximum amount of light to pass through for plants to access.
Step five
Gardeners should aim to use a natural domestic cleaning product to disinfect their greenhouse.
This will remove unwanted bacteria and/or fungi.
Step six
Once cleaned, hose down the greenhouse with a hose pipe at high speed.
This is a more effective alternative to using a bucket of soap and water to scrub down.
The nooks and crannies in greenhouse are perfect for creepy crawlies to hide, the pressure from the hose pipe will aid in flushing them out.
Metal frames are less attractive for pests, but wood is desirable so take extra care here.
Step seven
Lastly, don’t let all the hard work go to waste, so before bringing the content back in, ensure pots and equipment have received the same treatment.
Disease and pests can just as easily be found on these things as around the greenhouse.
Don’t forget to replace soil that may contain disease or pathogens with fresh/ clean soil.
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