Greenhouse Cleaning & Maintenance

Greenhouse Cleaning and Maintenance. It may not be the most glamorous of winter tasks but cleaning out greenhouses, gutters and water butts is an important one. Cleaning greenhouses, whether glass or plastic, greatly improves the growing environment for plants. By removing the algae, moss and grime it lets in more light and helps control pests and diseases too.

When to clean your greenhouse?
Cleaning of the greenhouse is best done with regard to the plants being grown:

• For summer cropping such as tomatoes: clean in winter when the crop has been cleared
• For all year round plants such as orchids: clean in mild spells in autumn to improve light transmission as winter approaches
• For periodic and successive crops, raising seedlings for example: clean in periods between crops such as autumn or spring

Garden hygiene and encouraging or introducing natural enemies, should be the first line of control. If chemical controls are used, they should be used only in a minimal and highly targeted manner.