What to Grow in a Greenhouse Over Winter in the UK – September to November

If you think your greenhouse is finished for the winter once the tomatoes are pulled out, then think again!

The Greenhouse usually becomes a forgotten place where the spiders live in autumn and winter. In August, all the warm loving plants like tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet peppers have been cleared away and you might thinks theres nothing worth growing now? But that’s where you are wrong!

The Autumn and Winter months are where the greenhouse can help really you out. It gives extra protection for a long as possible to plants from frost, snow, the harsh winds and rain.

The greenhouse also gives protection (as long as the door is shut) from cabbage white butterflies and other annoying pests too, especially if you have a friendly spider or two.

Picture This…

Cauldron of Baby leaves in the greenhouse

In your greenhouse, picture a lush lawn of greens in troughs and containers, think lettuce without slug slime, think green leaves like rocket and mustard leaves not flooded or flattened, think spring cabbage in containers without caterpillars. Think starting your shallots, onions & garlic under cover for stronger roots or even growing them in containers in the greenhouse, as the El Niño will be bringing a wet and windier winter anyway apparently.

So it’s now your time to Stop thinking and start sowing!

Spring Cabbage grown in a container in the greenhouse

What can you actually sow, plant and grow in a UK Greenhouse from September onwards? Let’s take a look month by month.

What to Grow in your Greenhouse in September

September is prime time to start sowing in the greenhouse, when your late summer crops of warm loving plants have been cleared out.

Sow Seeds

  • Winter Lettuce (varieties include cos types red & green),
  • Salad Leaves,
  • Rocket,
  • Mustard Greens,
  • Spinach (winter variety),
  • Radish,
  • Spring Onions,
  • Coriander,
  • Baby Leaves.,
  • Spring Cabbage,
  • All Year Round Cauliflower.

Plant

  • Winter lettuce plug plants,
  • Kale plug plants,
  • Cauliflower plug plants,
  • Overwintering herbs like chives, rosemary or coriander.

Top Tip for Flowers

September is a good time to plant Spring Bulbs in containers and add them to your growing space in Spring. Sometimes these cheery coloured daffodils or tulips can remind you that Spring is here.

What to Grow in your Greenhouse in October & November

Shallots in the greenhouse

October has cooler days and shorter light levels in the day. To work out what to sow, think like a grower and ask yourself What conditions will the plant experience between now and Spring?

Sow Seeds

  • Overwintering Peas,
  • Broad Beans.
  • More Lettuce and leaves.

Plant

  • Shallots or Onions in cell trays to gain stronger roots.
  • Shallots or Onions sets in containers or pots to keep in the greenhouse,
  • Garlic in containers that can be moved outside (as they love garlic to form the bulbs).

The Greenhouse Reset

Summer in the Greenhouse

Before you can think of sowing seeds or putting in plants, you’ll need a bit of a greenhouse reset by making space for winter.

Consider this your Checklist:

  • 1. Clear the greenhouse and sweep the floor,
  • 2. Clean the glass inside and out,
  • 3. Evict the larger spiders, small ones will come back and help you with any pests,
  • 4. Clean pots and trays,
  • 5. Decide whether you’ll need staging or benches or whether you’d be better off with containers on the floor.
  • 6. Buy your seeds, onion and garlic sets now!

The ultimate burning beginner question that growers want to know is …..

Does a Greenhouse need heating in Winter?

A greenhouse doesn’t have to be warm in winter to be useful. A cold greenhouse provides protection from the exposed outdoors.

A greenhouse is a microclimate.

Diagram of the different heat zones in a greenhouse (Source: Dola AI)

Think Like a Grower

Cooler Zones = are by the ventilation, windows and doors.

Warmer Zones = are by the continuous panes of glass probably in the centre of your greenhouse.

Fences at the side of your greenhouse or Water Butts on the ends of the greenhouse absorb heat and slowly release it during the day, therefore there will be a warm pocket in this area,

Is there an area of your greenhouse where the water pools on the floor or in the corner where the water runs down the seams and underneath the frame? If you can identify these areas of overly damp places, then you can prevent putting plants there to encourage fungal diseases.

Depending on what you grow, larger leaved plants, create a cooler environment.

The size of the greenhouse also matters, with larger units take longer to get cool down after a sunny day.

To get around not having any heating, the best way to use your greenhouse is to grow cooler loving plants in Autumn & Winter and warm loving plants in Spring to Summer.

👀 Look

See what the temperature is in Winter in your greenhouse compared to the outside temperature.

🤔 Think

How might the microclimate in your greenhouse affect the plants you want to grow in it?

🌱 Understand

Plants respond to temperature and light. Discover where the best heat spots from the sun or thermal zones are in the greenhouse.

🔧 Respond

Plan your greenhouse setup, where to put pots, are you having benches, do they need to be foldable? or do you need raised beds on wheels so you can change the layout again in Spring?

🎯 Grow

Grow and learn what works for you and your greenhouse and use this knowledge to grow again next Autumn.

Whats on this month at The Grow Veg Academy?

Join us at The Grow Veg Academy and learn how to grow garlic in the Great Garlic Grow-Off.



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