Greenhouse gardening in May

  

For anyone with a greenhouse or polytunnel there are a few things to be getting on with this month to help keep production up together:

• By now the ‘second wave’ of sowing – the salads – will be ready, so the greenhouse should continue to be a busy place. 
• Following the removal of bedding plants to the garden, planned planting of cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, aubergines, melon etc can go ahead. All of these plants are best planted in growbags.
• Tomatoes should not be planted until the first flower on the first truss has appeared, otherwise the root disturbance due to planting may cause the first truss to abort, greatly reducing the early fruit.
• Cucumbers and melons can be planted when they have produced four true leaves, peppers when they are 15-20cm tall, aubergines when 10cm tall.
• Melons and cucumbers are planted two to a growbag, tomatoes, peppers and aubergines, three to a bag.