So l built a greenhouse, but was it worth it?

You may have seen in my recent videos that earlier this year, I decided to build a greenhouse in my garden using some of the materials that I had laying around in my barns. As we know, a green house offers a warmer local climate for the plants inside than plants outside. But with the record breaking heat we have had lately, was it even worth building a greenhouse? Well, let me say this: l think it's fair to say there is nothing like the taste of homegrown tomatoes. The sweet juicy flavour can't be matched by the store bought ones. But for the last few years the taste of these delightful homegrown tomatoes has eluded me, and here's why.

The dreaded blight. Yes, anyone who has grown tomatoes or potatoes in their garden will be well aware of this affliction. It's a disease that can strike and decimate the whole crop in no time at all. It starts with the leaves turning brown and curling up which then spreads to the tomatoes eventually spoiling them. I also think it's made worse when the tomatoes are exposed to the rain. I tried for several consecutive years to grow them outside, but it would always strike just before they were ripe to harvest.

But this year l wanted my tomatoes to bear fruit, so that's why l decided to build a greenhouse. So, why is there no blight since it can be airborne and lay dormant in the soil for many years? With a greenhouse you can change the soil reducing the build up, and keep them sheltered from driving rain, coupled with the increase in heat inside has helped me avoid this perennial problem, for this year anyway.

To date l think we have harvested around 20kg of succulent tomatoes and still counting. We initially purchased six heritage organic plants from our local market. Ranging from small purple and yellow cherry, to giant beefsteak varieties, which are particularly sweet and delicious! The price can be around €5 per kilo in store so my initial outlay is well on its way to being paid back. Although I primarily built the greenhouse for delicious blight free tomatoes, we are harvesting many other delicious fruits and vegetables this year such as aubergines (or eggplants in the US) and cucumbers. In addition to this as well as the peppers, cornichons, courgettes and herbs, we have also grown in the greenhouse it works out to substantial savings and tasty and healthy veggies.

So to sum it all up, a greenhouse can be a great investment, as well as producing some amazing and succulent homegrown produce. If you plan on building one yourself, you may like to keep the build cost down, so why not consider recycling old windows and doors in your project. It's beneficial for the environment too. Click on the link to check out my video where I finish building my greenhouse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkGB-EnKqws&t=202s&ab_channel=Sean%27sWorld.

Just remember to water every day, and you should get a great yield of produce that is safe from most pests and disease. I would be very interested to hear your comments about your experience of growing tomatoes or if you have or plan to get a greenhouse. To leave a comment all that you need to do is enter your email address and create a password, it takes just two seconds! If you want to read more content you can subscribe to get the blogs sent straight to your email, it's that simple.

Coming soon: Now that we have a bumper crop, what shall we do with all those tomatoes?