Advice on Revamping Greenhouse usage

[fordius]

I have a bog standard Alum inium greenhouse some 10ft x 8ft, in the past I have grown the usual tomatoes, peppers etc.
For lots of reasons I will not bore you with I cannot grow any vegetables in my main garden so am thinking that I would like to grow vegetables and salad crops in the greenhouse
BUT ideally want to grow things that are either not readily available or expensive in the supermarkets.
I did have a fig tree but the last couple of years it really has not produced so have got rid of it (cut the wood up to use on barbq in summer) I now have a small tree to sart again.
Have thought about having a peach tree on dwarf rootstock but have been given very conflicting advice about the wisdom of this by local garden centres

Any/all suggestions will be gratefully received

[DavidT]

Peaches are more trouble than they are worth, I`d steer clear of them. Do you have the fig in a pot? They fruit better if their roots are restricted, but I certainl wouldn`t grow them in a greenhouse. I would save that space for the likes of Melons, Aubergines, Okra and the bog standard Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Peppers. Welcome to the site by the way.

[Ben]

Rather than trying to grow crops that are expensive in the supermarket, why not grow the things that taste completely different to what you can buy in the supermarket! I know you've said you already grow Tomatoes in there but Tomato's are a classic example. Supermarket grown tomatoes are tastless as they aren't picked ripe, and are varieties that are selected for factors such as 'being able to travel well' rather than having a great taste. Same with Aubergines, Chillis, Peppers, & Melons. They all taste better fresh and organic and when they're picked Ripe.

Salad is the other thing that tastes completely different when home grown and you can grow lots of exiting relatively unknown varieties.

My advise would be starting May/June - plant out tasty and exiting varieties of Chillis, Tomatoes, Aubergine, Cucumber, Melons etc. In September sow into modules autumn/winter salads such as spinach, chard, rocket, pak choi, tat soi, mustards, mibuna & mizuna. You could also in September 'under sow' some rows of carrots under the other plants.

Around mid October, pull out the Toms, Chillies etc. and set out the winter salads. You should be able to harvest delicious fresh salad In November and December, and then again from mid February to around April when they all run to flower. In March you could sow some beetroot or lettuce in modules to go in after the winter salads have bolted, which should give you just enough time for a crop before planting out the Toms & Chillies again in May/June.