GARDEN DESIGN
Greenhouse ( built in the 1950s ,) a Hartley 6 Grow and Store ( the 60s & 70s ), Victorian Terrace ( 90s ) and a Modern Horticulture Opus Grand Botanic ( present day ). The show stand offers a journey through Hartley Botanic ’ s legacy and the history of Greenhouse gardening as a whole .
To tie-in with the theme of its stand , Hartley Botanic has worked with gardening writer Matthew Biggs to uncover some historic Greenhouse growing tips and tricks which may have been forgotten about and which need to be remembered .
Tom Barry , CEO of Hartley Botanic said ; “ Over its 83 year history , Hartley Botanic has certainly moved with the times and trends . New Greenhouse designs and styles have been launched with the decades to reflect gardeners ’ needs and ambitions – whether a neat Greenhouse and storage shed solution in the 60s and 70s ( the Grow and Store ) or our elegant and ornate Victorian-style Glasshouses in the 90s ( the launch of the Victorian range .) But as we look back , we can see the timelessness of some of these historic designs . Honed over 83 years , the structure , shape and detail of these Glasshouses have become iconic , originally designed decades ago but very much in demand by the modern gardener . In the same way , some of the Greenhouse growing techniques of the decades gone by are gardening gems which stand the test of time and shouldn ’ t be forgotten .”
1950s
The post-war gardeners ’ Greenhouse Britain entered the 50s with wartime rationing still in place , and many gardeners remained in ‘ Dig for Victory ’ mode , when parks and playing fields had been turned over to food production . But now , at last you could take down your Anderson shelter , and replace it with a state-of-the-art Hartley Botanic Greenhouse . Planting was fairly basic by today ’ s standards , and often consisted of growing flowering plants to add a splash of colour to the garden and vegetable seedlings for planting out . Anything more exotic would have been hard to come by , and in any case , the 50s British palate was not quite ready for fiery chillies or Cherimoya .
1950s Greenhouse edible growing tips Inspiration book : “ The New Illustrated Gardening Encyclopaedia ” ed . Richard Sudell c . 1950
50s growing inspiration : plant tomatoes in an ‘ L ’ shape “ Tomatoes – Bad gardeners sometimes allow their tomatoes to grow ‘ leggy ’ a state which can be remedied somewhat by laying the stem horizontally into the soil at planting time .”
Matthew Biggs said , “ Leggy looking tomato crops are often the result of tomato seeds being sown too early in the year , when there is an incorrect balance between light and heat . Too much heat , and plants become tall and spindly , or ‘ leggy ’ as they try and grow towards the light . The idea from this c1950s encyclopaedia of laying the roots almost horizontally so the plant formed an ‘ L ’ shape , is intriguing . Tomatoes produce roots on the stems , so planting them deeper increases the size of the root system , but you don ’ t need to lay the roots horizontally , just modify this tip from the 1950 ’ s and plant them vertically , with the stems buried 5-10cm below the level of the compost . This means that if your plants are not excessively ‘ leggy ’ you can still get decent crops , you don ’ t have to put them on the compost heap and start again .”
50s growing inspiration : tailor your soil “ The final potting compost should consist of two parts fibrous loam and one part each of leaf mould and well decayed manure with a good sprinkling of sharp sand .”
Matthew Biggs said , “ The complexity of creating the right compost in the 50s has been completely removed today thanks to the good range of peat-free multipurpose composts which are available from your local garden centre . However , this does remind us of the importance of choosing the correct compost for different crops . Most Glasshouse crops need multipurpose compost or multipurpose with added John Innes . It is a good idea to warm the compost in the Greenhouse for 24 hours before sowing or transplanting , as tender crops don ’ t like the shock of cold compost .”
50s growing inspiration : your vegetables can also be ornamental “ Sown under glass , these half hardy annuals are usually grown for bedding . Their handsome graceful foliage is an admirable foil to beds of such subjects as begonias .”
Matthew Biggs said , “ In the 1950s no-one thought of sweetcorn as an edible crop , instead , they thought of them as ornamentals for use in bedding displays . This sparks a nice idea – to consider aesthetics when growing your vegetables .
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