Help with outdoor tomatoes - Project Completed!!!!

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Mrs WW has got into planting things and I've been thinking of buying her something we can put outdoors as we're rapidly running out of window ledge space.

What I'm looking for is a part glass enclosure that'll give young and delicate plants a bit of protection and some sun but I've no idea what these may be called, if they exist, and searching B&Q is getting me nowhere. There must be something out there... I keep thinking of the printer hood/box things printers used to be in when I used to fix computer gear. They had a lifting glass front and a gas strut... there must be some sort of trough with hood arrangement like a mini greenhouse type thingy for garden use?

If anyone can follow that and has any idea what I'm looking for please tell me what they're called and if possible where to buy one as I think Mrs WW would love one.

Thank YOU!
 
ah, thanks.

Actually rather than struggle at B&Q I've just googled "outdoor plant protection" and got some good results... in the middle, see?

r4BzYn1.jpg


How that crept in I just don't know. Gotta love the internet for throwing random stuff at you :D
 
PS.

That frame in the link looks exactly what I was looking for!

I'll show Mrs WW and take a look at the measurements but I'm certain she'll love that or something very like it.

Thanks again.
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
Or you could make one easily enough.
Click to expand...

Could do and I'd love to but to be honest with the price of these being so reasonable I don't think I will as despite appearances, me appearing to be always on this forum, time is actually quite tight as apart from trying to have a normal married life a lot of my time is spent, washing, ironing, cooking and washing up and generally looking after someone who needs a lot of help and although I'd love to build one getting the materials and doing it is time that could be spent doing other stuff.
 
Thanks Josh, that's very kind of you but it's also not so much the time but the disruption and change to routine. Alzheimers is a terrible thing and we go from happiness to utter despair at times in seconds and maybe a box arriving and being quickly assembled is better than repeated trips out and working in the garage building it or people arriving to do it. I'd love to DIY but all things considered the easiest and less disruptive path is the one I tend to take.
 
It depends on the type of plants.

We've used a couple of the mini plant staging with plastic cover things (number 4 from the left) and they work OK but with 4 or 5 shelves in don't allow plants to grow very tall. I've also just repurposed of "grow house" which was designed to take a grow bag full of tomatoes. I lay it down and put holes in the bottom so it works as a plastic cold frame and windbreak. It was cheaper than buying plastic sheeting for a home made frame.

If you can get to shops then prices are a lot cheaper. Number 4 in your list is actually a *cover* for the item for 17 quid. I got the whole thing including the cover from B&M for 15.

https://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/garden/greenhouses
 
ta.

We're having a look at the various options today. I think she'd like a greenhouse but at the moment we're just looking at smaller things. One potential problem is that we seem to be in a spot which can be quite windy and we often have the wheelie bins roaming around like mad Daleks so I am worried about whatever we go for being blown about especially if there's plastic sheeting involved.
 
woof woof said:
ta.

We're having a look at the various options today. I think she'd like a greenhouse but at the moment we're just looking at smaller things. One potential problem is that we seem to be in a spot which can be quite windy and we often have the wheelie bins roaming around like mad Daleks so I am worried about whatever we go for being blown about especially if there's plastic sheeting involved.
Click to expand...

Yes - we get a *lot* of wind here (right on the coast). I screwed 2 old hinges into the wall and then zip tied them to the frame. You need to make a couple of holes in the plastic to do that though.
 
That is nice Graham. I'll show Mrs WW and see what she thinks. That one is unavailable at amazon but I'm sure they'll be available somewhere.

She's already picked a spot so we'll have to measure up and check dimensions.

Thanks all.
 
We are looking to do the same thing and I must admit the cheapy ones look really good value for money, but I don't have anything to tie them to, so in a heavy wind they'd be up the road I reckon, so we're going to buy a wooden one with a trough in the bottom we can stick a gro bag in and hopefully that will keep it anchored. Made by VegTrug and bought through RobertDyas, stupidly expensive but with a bit of luck buying that for the Mrs means I have bargaining powers to buy some bits for my motorcycle. :)
 
Got a link?

A grow back to weigh things down seems like a good idea. I initially thought a couple/few bricks might do it but I'm nervous about leaving bricks about as they may just be too tempting if they're spotted as someone may just pick them up and throw them through something.

Another thing is that with some of these cold frame things I can't decide if there's a base to them or not.
 
I'm just looking at the 4 or 5 shelf options like these...

https://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/5-shelf-greenhouse-353711

What I could do is buy one or two of these depending upon the width and fix them to a couple of wooden beams screwed between the brick pillars between fence sections thus preventing them from blowing away.

I'm assuming that my local B&M hasn't got these in stock but Googling is just soul destroying as no matter what I type in everything I look at is only the plastic cover with no frame or shelves but this vital detail is of course hidden in the description somewhere so clicking on an item wastes a few minutes time after time.

In theory the internet makes things easy to find but in practice a lot of the time what I want is hidden in a blizzard of stuff I don't want. Grrrrrr....

Mrs WW is supposed to be researching this and making her mind up but I can hear her chatting on voice over internet... Women!

This place looks better...

https://www.woodsideproducts.co.uk/99980-woodside-4-tier-greenhouse.html
 
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I’ve had a couple of the plastic growhouses. They’re colloquially referred to as “blowaways”. The metal frame is light and flimsy and can be easily bent by the wind trying to lift or move the plastic cover.

I’d suggest a wooden or proper metal framed growhouse. I was going to buy a wooden one but needed some different dimensions due to space so was going make one.
 
woof woof said:
Got a link?

A grow back to weigh things down seems like a good idea. I initially thought a couple/few bricks might do it but I'm nervous about leaving bricks about as they may just be too tempting if they're spotted as someone may just pick them up and throw them through something.

Another thing is that with some of these cold frame things I can't decide if there's a base to them or not.
Click to expand...
https://www.robertdyas.co.uk/vegtrug-tomato-grow-house-natural
Delivery about 3 weeks though. Waiting for ours :(
They also do one for less money without a base.
HTH.
 
omens said:
I’ve had a couple of the plastic growhouses. They’re colloquially referred to as “blowaways”. The metal frame is light and flimsy and can be easily bent by the wind trying to lift or move the plastic cover.

I’d suggest a wooden or proper metal framed growhouse. I was going to buy a wooden one but needed some different dimensions due to space so was going make one.
Click to expand...

As I said up above I'd love to spend some time on this and possibly make something but I look after someone who needs a lot of help and has a touch of Alzheimers and upset/changes to routine can be tricky so all in all buying something that can be quickly assembled and installed is probably the best option.

Quick snap out of the window so please ignore the reflections and poor quality. I think this is the best place, between the two brick pillars shown by the red arrows. My thinking is that if I screw two wooden beams as shown by the blue lines I can fix one or two 4/5 level units to them. Here and fixed in place hopefully it'll/they'll survive gusts of wind. We have a lovely garage wall on the other side which I thought could be a good place but it gets the sun most of the day and getting to it means crossing a lawn which could be messy on wet days. So all in all this is possibly the best place.

DSC00250.jpg

I think poor Mrs WW is really excited about this and she keeps asking if I've ordered one yet but sadly she'll have to wait a while as we need two lengths of wood, some ties or other fixings and some compost and we're still isolating. She's been raiding the tubs for compost and using anything and everything which would normally go for recycling but I think we've come to the limit on the compost she can redistribute and the window ledge space she can commandeer :D

Some of the 4/5 tier ones I've found seem to have plastic frames so a more robust metal one may be better and I don't mind paying for a nice thing as she's really looking forward to all this :D

I'll keep looking but if anyone knows where I can get one or two nice robust 4/5 tier frames (depending on the width) and cover please let me know :D

PS.
Another reason for this being the best spot is that she sits at this window doing her studies so she'll be able to see her plants when she looks up.

Just for fun :D Here she is in position...

o20viGV.jpg
 
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For a lot of plants, especially tomatoes and the like, a South facing wall will be ideal.

As Omens says, the lightweight ones have a tendency to wander if allowed and also to break if held down by weight on the bottom bits so tied to supports as you suggest is probably the best idea.

Might be a bit late to start tomatoes for this year but if you can get some fairly well advanced plants, you might get a crop this year!
 
I had a bit of a rethink and I thought why not go for a greenhouse?

You can't really see from this snap but at the end of that path there's room between the end of the path and the wall for a greenhouse, it's well over 2m to the wall...

h5U56eg.jpg


But Mrs WW would rather have the 4 or 5 tier phone box type arrangement. That's a shame as I quite like the idea of a greenhouse but she's adamant so 4/5 tier thingy it'll have to be :(
 
It's much easier to shove the 4/5 tier thingy in the garage when she gets bored with it after a couple of months/years...
 
That's a thought but the garage is full of MX5.

I do quite fancy a greenhouse though :D
 
Bob, part of the problem is that she's incredibly shy (and this is a woman who managed over 200 people and was if not exactly a tyrant then someone not to be crossed :D) and if I put a greenhouse at the end of the path the neighbours will see her. The fence on the right is quite high and there's the garage and then another high fence on the others side so really the only people with a clear view are the people over that low brick wall there, an elderly couple and their dog and I'm sure they don't care :D

I'll just get her what she wants :D
 
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The thing is that if I show an interest in anything she offers to buy me it. If I wanted an A9 I could afford one but as I'm tight I could just gaze longingly at the website and let her buy me one... If I was that sort of guy.
 
THIS stuff will dry to an opaque finish so nobody will be able to see her through the glass...
 
woof woof said:
I do quite fancy a greenhouse though :D
Click to expand...
How about a compromise and get / build a "lean to" greenhouse on that far wall?
That's what I'd do anyway :)
 
Cobra said:
How about a compromise and get / build a "lean to" greenhouse on that far wall?
That's what I'd do anyway :)
Click to expand...

At the end of the path? If that's where you mean there's actually room for a good sized greenhouse and I thought she'd like the idea. A lean too would make sense too but she's adamant that all she wants is the thing that came today. I'm hoping they'll just send a new cover rather than swap the whole thing as a new cover is all it needs. If she likes it when/if we get it up and running I could add a second or we could maybe go for something grander if she gets more into this.
 
My wooden one arrived the other day, a million parts that screw together, fortunately I am good at that stuff. Anyway after a couple of hours it was built and in the gales and rain that have followed the last couple of days it's been fine. Initially I thought the wood was a bit light in weight but all seems fine with it and the plants inside, so a little expensive but good quality and the Mrs is well pleased, a 5 star rating from me.
 
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