Off Seasonal Vegs

[leehydro007]

Can any one tell me how can I get off Season Vegetables using my own green house??? like in my region where i live lady finger is produced only in summer season now how can i grow them in winter???
I am new to this forum so kindly ignore if i ask some very basic question ok
Thanks in advance

[Shetty]

Well, heating, extra light plenty of feed. You just have to make the conditions in your greenhouse the same than during the summer. But I am not sure if it's worth it. I reckon you end up with a huge electricity bill and some tasteless fruit rather like stuff in the supermarket coming from the greenhouses in Holland.
To my knowledge you can preserve them though when there are in season by roasting them with garlic and then covering them with oil. So you can keep the taste of the summer for a bit longer

[leehydro007]

Originally Posted by Shetty

Well, heating, extra light plenty of feed. You just have to make the conditions in your greenhouse the same than during the summer. But I am not sure if it's worth it. I reckon you end up with a huge electricity bill and some tasteless fruit rather like stuff in the supermarket coming from the greenhouses in Holland.
To my knowledge you can preserve them though when there are in season by roasting them with garlic and then covering them with oil. So you can keep the taste of the summer for a bit longer

according to your post what i concluded is that it does not worth much to have off seasonal vegetables through green house???

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by leehydro007

Can any one tell me how can I get off Season Vegetables using my own green house??? like in my region where i live lady finger is produced only in summer season now how can i grow them in winter???
I am new to this forum so kindly ignore if i ask some very basic question ok
Thanks in advance

You would need a pretty expensive heat and light system to provide what is needed for seed germination and growth if you want things like okra in the winter. I think the money is better spent on a second deep freezer and growing plenty in the summer months and freezing them.

My freezer is crammed with runner beans, homemade mashed potato, broad beans and peas etc

Using the greenhouse through the winter is really only suitable for winter lettuce, spinach, perhaps a few little potatoes for Christmas dinner, chard in pots is good and mustard. If you're brave you can sow some peas now and see what happens, I'd try 4 plants to a 5 litre pot and you might be picking come April

[leehydro007]

Originally Posted by PottyPot

You would need a pretty expensive heat and light system to provide what is needed for seed germination and growth if you want things like okra in the winter. I think the money is better spent on a second deep freezer and growing plenty in the summer months and freezing them.

My freezer is crammed with runner beans, homemade mashed potato, broad beans and peas etc

Using the greenhouse through the winter is really only suitable for winter lettuce, spinach, perhaps a few little potatoes for Christmas dinner, chard in pots is good and mustard. If you're brave you can sow some peas now and see what happens, I'd try 4 plants to a 5 litre pot and you might be picking come April

Dear,
Unluckily i do not have that much resources to buy that much expensive heating and light system...that means indirectly you both are saying that its not good to have a go at off season vegetables using green house...Am i right?

[Shetty]

Yes, sorry, but off seasoned veg is an expensive excercise. You could try winter lettuces or mustards, they can be nice and spicy if eaten raw or get a bit milder, once stir fried. I agree with pottypot, a big freezer and other means of preserving, like pickling or drying are the best way to get through the winter.

[leehydro007]

ok then i think one should go for some thing else other than off seasoned vegetables as off seasoned veges seemed to be impossibility......so what would you people suggest me to plant?

[Ben]

Where abouts are you based?

Oriental leaves for salads are great to grow in the polytunnel over winter here in the UK, as are chards, spinach, lettuce.

You can also get away with carrots. I sowed mine in september under the chillies which were pulled out a month later. The carrots grew steadily until christmas and have now pretty much stopped but will carry on growing from Late feb and I think I'll be harvesting them by mid march.

[VictoriaJS]

Hi, I am new to this forum, I am a keen gardener and I manage a small greenhouse in Lancashire, England.
Enough about me. From your username it looks like you are growing hydroponically (or am I barking up the wrong tree?) If you are growing hydroponically your hydroponic kit might have a heater, which would mean that you can start your plants off 3-4 weeks earlier than normal and keep them going longer at the end of the season so whilst you won't be growing throughout winter necessarily you could extend the season significantly. While a whole range of grow lights may be too expensive a propagator light might be worthwhile. It depends how far north you are and the quality of natural light you get.

[leehydro007]

Originally Posted by VictoriaJS

Hi, I am new to this forum, I am a keen gardener and I manage a small greenhouse in Lancashire, England.
Enough about me. From your username it looks like you are growing hydroponically (or am I barking up the wrong tree?) If you are growing hydroponically your hydroponic kit might have a heater, which would mean that you can start your plants off 3-4 weeks earlier than normal and keep them going longer at the end of the season so whilst you won't be growing throughout winter necessarily you could extend the season significantly. While a whole range of grow lights may be too expensive a propagator light might be worthwhile. It depends how far north you are and the quality of natural light you get.

No dear, My name suggests wrong. I do not us hydroponic systems at all. My friend uses them and let me tell you that you got it as similar to him. Because he does exactly what you told me to do but unfortunately i do not have that luxury therefore i just retreated from my idea as it was a bit too expensive for a gardener like me.

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by Shetty

Yes, sorry, but off seasoned veg is an expensive excercise. You could try winter lettuces or mustards, they can be nice and spicy if eaten raw or get a bit milder, once stir fried. I agree with pottypot, a big freezer and other means of preserving, like pickling or drying are the best way to get through the winter.

I don't think you can beat the satisfaction of staring at a freezer and pantry full of homemade goodies My rows of pickled onions in their shiny jars are a joy to behold, and I scare everyone away with my spicey pickled eggs

[fivespud364]

I am afraid the other posters are right unless you want to spend exorbitant amounts of money on heating and lighting then it just is not worth trying to grow summer plants out of season.

However by choosing the correct varieties you can extend the season on many veg well into Autumn and there are plenty of things you can still grow in a greenhouse over winter with some fleece protection for colder nights

[leehydro007]

No no dear, I have changed my plan of growing off seasonal vegetables...It was far more expensive than what i was expecting...

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by leehydro007

No no dear, I have changed my plan of growing off seasonal vegetables...It was far more expensive than what i was expecting...

Just grow more than you can eat in season, and then preserve and store the excess I have three handsome pumpkins left from October, and one is going into a soup tomorrow along with some lovely sweet parsnips made better by the frosts.

Learn to be a squirrel

[rachel_nickless]

pottypot - you are a genius

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by rachel_nickless

pottypot - you are a genius

I've been called many things but that is one of the nicest

[ginger]

I guess it depends on the scale too?

I brought in (to the kitchen windowsill, after some negotiaton with my wife) chillis and peppers at the end of the summer, and they continued to fruit (particularly the chillis) throughout the winter (I have a few new fruits ripening this week ).

Maybe you coud try the same with okra if you've got the space?