As the nights begin to draw in and the days get colder, you might be wondering whether you can still get use out of your greenhouse. The answer is yes! There are plenty of plants you can grow in a greenhouse in winter, and while they won’t grow as fast as they would in the warmer months, they’ll still flourish with a little help from you and some protection from the elements. 

The specifics of what you should grow will depend on the type of greenhouse you have and where you live, but there are a number of crops that tend to work well for everyone, as long as you’ve planned accordingly!  

Cleaning Your Greenhouse for Winter

Before you start planting for the winter period, your greenhouse will need a good clean. It’s not the most glamorous of jobs, but it’s important. Removing any stubborn dirt, algae and mould allows for more light to come in, and your winter plants will be happier for it – after all, they need all the light they can get! Raising certain plants on some sturdy greenhouse staging is also a good idea to let them get more light. It’s also a great time to get it done as you’ll have fewer jobs to tend to in the rest of the garden. 

Try to pick a dry, mild day for the task if you can (it’ll make things easier!) Then go about the following actions:

    • Start by removing all plants from the greenhouse, keeping them in a sheltered area while you work your magic. 
    • Sweep or vacuum away any debris from the inside. 
    • Clean all the structural parts of the greenhouse using a disinfectant. This could be a garden-specific solution, or simply a domestic cleaner. Hot solutions work best!
    • Use a glass cleaner on each panel of glass in order to scrub and soak off dirt.

Growing Herbs in Your Greenhouse in Winter

The freshness of herbs makes all the difference to your home cooked meals, and there’s no reason to miss out just because the seasons change. While some herbs won’t survive the UK’s harsh winter weather conditions, there are still plenty that can thrive when grown under glass. 

Coriander, dill and mint are all good choices, best planted in late Autumn. Parsley in particular is an excellent herb for withstanding the cold – it will form a decent sized plant and can even grow through a small amount of snow! Mediterranean herbs like thyme and sage hate winter and wetness, but they can still thrive in a greenhouse environment. Take cuttings in the summer and plant them closely together in some dry soil. You can then move them outside into a herb garden when May comes around. 

Vegetables to Grow in Your Greenhouse in Winter

There are plenty of hardy vegetables that will grow well indoors throughout winter – here are our recommendations of the best ones:

Potatoes

The perfect winter ingredient, you can grow potatoes in either grow sacks or a large bucket/flower pot. We recommend filling your container with two parts garden soil to one part compost for best results. Potatoes started early in the winter season will be ready to enjoy by March, or you can start them later and then move them outside when the weather warms up. Potatoes can be susceptible to frost, so be sure to keep your greenhouse warm  if the temperature drops significantly. 

Winter Lettuce

For the salad lovers, there are a few different types of lettuce that prefer the cooler environment. Little gem, rocket and lamb’s lettuce are all good – they tend to grow fairly quickly, so just harvest when you’ve got some big leaves you can use. 

Spinach & Kale

These leafy greens can readily brave the cold, which makes them perfect for growing during the winter. Growth times can vary, but you’re sure to have crops in abundance. Merlo Nero and Riccio d’Asti are good varieties of spinach to sow in an unheated greenhouse, and kale can survive in temperatures as low as -6C. 

Brussel Sprouts

Love or hate them, brussels are perfect for winter greenhouses. They take around three months to grow, so harvest them in March when they’re roughly 1-2 inches in diameter. If you’re going to be using them for cooking, be sure to harvest sprouts that are of a similar size – this will give them a more uniform cooking time.