Plantasia Greenhouse update – June 2016

Greenhouse – June 2016

The end of May and beginning of June is by far our busiest time in the greenhouse with all of the hard work going into the planning, preparation and potting up of all the wonderful plants we will be growing this year.  The weather had been kind and the night temperatures reasonably mild so the plants are growing well and fast.  We have encountered some small outbreaks of aphid and greenfly but very isolated and there is a good amount of natural predators this year out and about nice and early.  These helpful chaps, along with a consistent regime of spraying with SB Plant Invigorator and pyrethrum alternating weekly in between foliar feeding, seems to be keeping a good natural control.   The best way to use any natural plant protection product is to start using it before the appearance of pests as a preventative.  It’s unlikely that these products will regain full control if they are used as a cure for a heavy infestation.  Most often, natural plant protection products can be applied regularly without any harm to the plants and this practice is to be encouraged so get yourself armed with a  good natural product such as SB Plant invigorator, Trounce, 5sec or Neem oil. 

A good Sprayer with lance is the best option for applying plant protection products and it will allow you to get all over coverage and in between plants.  Good coverage is important as natural products rely on either contact with the pest or forming a barrier to prevent them from setting up home and feeding off your plants.  You can also re-enforce your natural army by drafting in extra troops in the form of natural predators.  Before you go ordering a gang of ruthless bugs to give your unwanted visitors a good kicking be sure you have the right environmental conditions such as temperature and day length so that they can establish and thrive, otherwise they will die out before making it down the hill to the battle field.

 It’s an exciting and busy year for us as our growing efforts combine with some of the industry’s most well-known product manufacturers to form this year’s greenhouse display and crop production.   We have dedicated sections for each product range all featuring different plant varieties and using a host of different mediums, feeds and additives.  We will be looking at each of these plots in detail via separate blog posts that are due to be posted over the next two weeks and updated throughout the season. Follow this link for the full greenhouse plant list 2016 and visit the chilli page too.