First off the bat. Why are storage-box greenhouses such a good idea?
*Seedlings are kept double super cosy and warm.
*Slugs and other pesky wildlife have a tricky time getting in the boxes to cause trouble.
*The lids can be taken off when it’s warm and sunny…or left on if it’s raining.
*If a sharp frost is forecast…just bring the boxes indoors and stack them up.
*After you plant out your seedlings you can use the box to store a massive packed lunch.
*These boxes are made by ‘The Really Useful Box Company’ (I am not affiliated with them.) and they are 64 litres. They cost about £16 each. They take 40 x 3 inch square pots snugly. This covers just over four square meters of cut flower patch.
Higgledy Garden tips:
*In the olden days when I was a flower growing nipper, I used to melt drainage holes in the bottom and air holes in the top. It turns out this was unnecessary. My storage box with sweet peas was left shut for three months over the winter and they were totally fine. The secret was to only water them gently before I shut the box. They didn’t get any more water until last week. For spring sown seeds I tend to keep the box shut other than to open it every now and then to give my seedlings a pep talk and be generally nosy. The vast majority of my seedlings are planted out by mid May, so lashings of hot days isn’t usually an issue. If a hot sunny day is forecast I simply leave the top ajar by inverting one of the blue handles, or just by leaving the lid off entirely. Trust me….you can overthink the management of these things….just make sure you don’t saturate the pots….less is more.
*Take the boxes indoors as soon as you are finished using them for seedlings. The summer UV levels will damage the plastic. Do this and they will last you years. I have two that Flash used to play in as a pup, so they are certainly over 7 years old and they are still minty.
*Sometimes you can buy 2 on a deal with Ryman’s. Look out for the 64 litre ones. (The sweet pea one is the same depth and width but about a 1/3rd shorter.) Be careful not to accidentally order the coloured ones.
I hope this is of some help to folk.
Kindest regards
Benjamin Higgledy.
If you have any questions then please ask away…you can find me onTwitter or Facebook.