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Post by roofgardener on Sept 14, 2015 9:44:43 GMT
"... and once the onion seedlings have polybifurcated, but prior to transbogglification, transfer from the Greenhouse to a Cold Frame..This ensures the plants are well hardened off prior to planting outdoors"
Why ? Whats the functional difference between a greenhouse (or polytunnel in my case) and a cold frame ? Isn't a cold frame just a sort of miniature greenhouse ?
On a seperate note... the advice above was followed by...
Onions grown for exhibition will benefit from being covered by cloches at this time.
Is the author seriously proposing that I transfer my Onions to a cold-frame... and then cover THAT with a cloche ?
These gardeners are mad. MAD I tell you. Bwwa haaaar haaaaar !!!
Cloches apart, can anyone advise me on this "greenhouse vs cold frame" connundrum ?
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Post by markb on Sept 14, 2015 17:08:43 GMT
I've often wondered about this advice myself, roofgardener, and it may be a throwback to the Victorian kitchen gardens with their 300 yards of frames and many staff to keep busy!
I don't use a cold frame myself, preferring to cover early plantings with fleece if chilly weather is forecast.
As this is referring to onions, however, you could use your polytunnel to grow them to maturity. I have had success with this method in the past using 7-inch pots of good quality growing medium (Levington M3 in my case), which gave good bulbs for the under 250g class at shows.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2015 18:02:06 GMT
I like to put plants out in a cold frame for hardening off as you can completely lift the lid in the daytime getting the plants used to outdoor temps while getting protection from sidewinds. Its always hotter in greenhouses with little or no exposure to breezes. Your plants won't 'harden off' in there. It's also good around May/June when I need the space inside for Tomatoes etc. I kick all my Dahlias/Coleus/Chillis out into frames until June when they go out into open ground. (essential with brassicas which definitely need gradual exposure to the elements) Those Victorian gardeners knew their stuff!  |
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Post by daitheplant on Sept 14, 2015 18:57:59 GMT
Also, a cold frame will give plants/seedlings "greenhouse" protection, while freeing up room IN the greenhouse.
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Post by Cherry on Sept 14, 2015 19:34:51 GMT
I think a cold frame can be anything you want it to be. Mine is being used for primula seeds and seedlings, so the lid will stay open even through the winter, but mice and birds are not too big a problem there.
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Post by roofgardener on Sept 14, 2015 19:48:57 GMT
Ahhhh... right.... I think DavidV's explanation has hit home. (though I also like Daitheplants point).
I'd be using these for onions Cherry... so they wouldn't really BE in it for very long, as they would quickly start to grow their leaves.
Actually.. what IS the word for the tall thin leaf/stalk thingy that onions put out. IS it called a leaf ?
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Post by daitheplant on Sept 15, 2015 19:25:39 GMT
Actually Roofy, apart from the roots, everything else of the onion IS leaf. Even the onion itself.
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Post by roofgardener on Sept 15, 2015 20:31:08 GMT
Truly ? Cool. I WILL be picking your brain about that.
But unhelpful in the current context.
What do I call the tall green thingy that reaches out to the sky, as opposed to the white bulbous thingy that lurks in the soil ?
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Post by daitheplant on Sept 16, 2015 18:43:04 GMT
Technically they are called monocotlydons. Or monocots for short.  |
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Post by roofgardener on Sept 16, 2015 19:01:43 GMT
Hells Bells, daitheplant, your span of knowledge knows no bounds. Hmm.... monocotydons ? Sounds like a dinosaur ? 21st Century Fox presents...."Jurrasic Park IV; when Monocotydons attack" Thanks for that... already I am learning. Tell me... how did you KNOW that ? At what point in your life did you have reason to learn that little snippet ? I'm intrigued. |
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Post by daitheplant on Sept 16, 2015 19:13:31 GMT
When I started serious gardening (40 odd years ago) I read a lot of books. Still have most of them. Monocotlydon just means "one leaf".
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Post by sweetpea on Sept 30, 2015 16:52:10 GMT
re cloches. they are one of the most useful adjuncts to a vegetable garden.
Not so much the little plastic/polythene thingys that you see advertised but the PROPER CHASE continuous cloches particularly the high barn type.
I got a load of them once off a strawberry grower who had gone out of business but gradually over the years I lost them and the wire clips got left behind when I moved home.
I was growing melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and all sorts of veg. in them.
There is a lot of claptrap written about using cloches from people who should know better.
if you ever get the chance to obtain some grab it immediately.
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