Two automatic watering systems

If you cannot regularly attend to watering, consider an automatic system which runs from a header tank connected to the mains water supply (or a semi-automatic system which is supplied by a reservoir).

• Capillary watering Pots are placed on water-retentive capillary matting and take up moisture as required. The matting can be laid in gravel trays. Complete watering systems are available, with trays, matting and sometimes water reservoirs.
• Trickle watering Popularly known as the “spaghetti system”: a main plastic supply pipe with thin tubes sprouting from it. Each tube is positioned over a pot or container so every plant is watered when the supply is turned on. Read the rest of this entry »

If money is no object you can now have a greenhouse or conservatory that looks after itself, with the plants watered automatically. On a more modest scale, garden frames and cloches are extremely useful (andcomparatively inexpensive) pieces of equipment: they are of particular value on the vegetable plot for extending the growing season at either end.

Eight types of greenhouse

Today greenhouses come in all shapes and sizes to suit every need and site.

• Span-roof greenhouse The traditional greenhouse, with pitched roof (each side of equal size and shape) sloping down to the eaves. Normally has straight sides, although there are models with sloping sides which result in better light penetration. The glass-to-ground types are ideal for growing plants at ground level, such as tomatoes in growing-bags; those with solid sides (to about 90cm/3ft) are good for pot plants, as they retain heat better than all-glass houses. Framework available in aluminium alloy or timber (such as western red cedar). You can now obtain span-roof greenhouses with curved eaves. Read the rest of this entry »