Yesterday I showed you some pictures of what I currently had growing in our greenhouse. But what I didn’t share was all the dirty window panes and gutters filled with pine needles and weeds.
I even found a little grey mold starting to pop up in some places {which is no surprise given the warm humid temperature in the greenhouse}. So, yesterday, I hauled everything out of the greenhouse so I could clean and disinfect it.
First things first, as you know, I am not a huge fan of harsh chemicals, so first I used scrubbed down the greenhouse with a little Dawn dishsoap and water with the HH’s car washing supplies. 😉 Shhh. Don’t tell him.
It’s actually a pretty good idea to clean your greenhouse at least once a year. Otherwise, after awhile, it will start to harbor algae, fungus, pests etc. which will wreak havoc on new plantings. Since I a plan on gardening through the winter, I think I will do a cleaning now, and one again this spring.
Again, since I plan on gardening this winter, the glass in and outside of the greenhouse needs to be spotless. Any residue will only filter out already sparse winter light. See those giant stock tanks? I’ll be plantings lettuce and beet seedlings in them once I get them filled with some homemade potting soil.
Greenhouse cleaning time is also a great time to clean out pots and trays. If you will planting something new in the trays, it is important to rinse and disinfect them. As for you pots, you can add a little compost and make sure that your next crop plays well with whatever you planted in the pot last. If not, you may want to empty the potting soil, clean the pot, and get fresh potting soil.
After you remove everything from the greenhouse and start to clean, make sure to keep an eye out for pests. This is like therapy. You can pick, squish, salt, or sprinkle Sluggo on all of the slugs and other pests that might be trying to winter in your warm greenhouse. They are like enemies lying in wait, ready to feed on your next crop. They.Must.Be.Destroyed.
Keep Calm and Garden On.
~Mavis
Rose says
Those slugs are so big. And your much braver than me cause, I wouldn’t touch them without gloves! This fall I am planting lettuce. I am going to try a thin strip of copper(like a ribbon) around lettuce bed supposely it will deter them from it. Have you ever heard or tried that before?
Stephanie says
Where do you find strips of copper? I used copper refrigerator line & made it into little “Necklaces” for my vulnerable veggies. It seemed to work as long as i kept the leaves off of the soil outside the necklace.
Cecily says
Yes it really works, provided you follow all the right steps.
Make sure you have no slugs in the bed first.
The wider the copper strip the better.
The copper cannot have any corrosion on it as that neutralizes the effects.
Make sure there are no breaks in the copper.
I have successfully kept slugs away using this method. You can also back up the copper by putting a layer of crushed egg shells, sawdust or wood ash next to the copper strip. I hope you will be successful with your lettuces.
Margaret Thele says
Nice post, Mavis. You’ve almost inspired me to do the same with my greenhouse!