So, if you follow me on my Facebook Page or my Twitter Feed then you might have noticed that last Sunday I posted up that I’d built my first Greenhouse of the year. I’d taken pictures, done my bit so I could write a blog about the start of this years “Adventures with a Greenhouse” and all that. But then I started feeling a little ill and came down with a bad cold, so it got put off till I felt more like it, but then, three days later, this happened…
Before:
After:
Notice the difference?
Yup! – It took three days for a freak bit of weather to come along and kill my Greenhouse. Before I’ve even got going!
It wasn’t that it wasn’t secure, I’d used the same system as I had on last years build, a whacking great lump of metal to hold it down;
It was the cheap plastic that the Manufacturers (B & M Grow Your Own range) has used to make the things this year, the joints had just snapped 🙁
It was one of the things I was going to cover in my Blog about the build, how noticeably cheaper things felt this year compared to last. Indeed a few of these things had cracked when I’d inserted the poles into them. Luckily I’d saved a few bits and pieces from when my first Greenhouse and been killed last year.
Sure, they’re only cheap Greenhouses from B & M but step down in quality from last year to this year was disappointing, even more so now that I’ve seen what a bit of wind can do to it. The one from last year survived a fair old pummeling before that couldn’t take anymore.
To make matters worse, I lost plants. Poor little Chilli Babies gone before they got the chance to show the world what they could do.
I’m not 100% sure yet how many I lost, I’ve tried to save some but so far I’m at least 15 plants down. I lost 9 out of this tray alone.
Then of course there was my other “Multi Pots” where I had 6 seedlings in each pot, lost a few of those but mainly due to soil spilling out, taking some plants with it but some managing to stay in the pot. Those are the ones I’ve tried to save.
One of my Komodo Dragon plants was hanging out in the Greenhouse at the time. He got decapitated for his troubles 🙁
He was a good little strong plant until then. He lost maybe two inches off the top. Luckily (?) last year I had an incident with a Tomato plant attacking my First Born Scotch Bonnet where it had snapped it in half, that plant wasn’t anywhere near as strong as this one seems to be so I’m hoping that all is not lost here, that plant managed to keep on growing and I’m hoping this one will be the same and pick up where it left off, it’s lost a few leaves since, but, fingers crossed!
I should have taken pictures at the time so you could see how badly the whole Greenhouse failed but I’d had a rubbish day at work, I was full of a cold and wasn’t in the mood to come home to that, especially as it was cold and windy – The last thing I wanted to do was take pictures.
Today I pieced the frame back together to see if it could be salvaged, it looks like it might be able to, apart from the bit left bent and dangling :-/
Unfortunately, out of all the little bits and pieces I saved from the last years Greenhouse, that size pole wasn’t one of them – Typical!
So, I did what any man would do, used brute force to fix it by standing on it 😀
Didn’t work perfectly, but it should do the job. I think.
I’m going to try again with this thing, I’ll need duct tape before I trust it again though!
Just to be clear, it’s the one that looks like this that has let me down so badly this year.
I know they’re cheap and cheerful, I’ll be the first to admit that last year I didn’t think it’d stay the course, these things never do and I don’t expect to have a £20 buy last me years and years.
But the one last year lasted far longer and better than I’d hoped, sure the plastic had gotten a little beaten up but the frame itself took a fair old punishing through several storms, in fact if it wasn’t for those storms it’d probably still be standing ready to do it’s job again this year.
This year though, I couldn’t be more disappointed with the quality – Three days it lasted (in case I’ve not stressed that enough).
To make things worse, I bought two of these this year – I’ve yet to decide if I want to bother putting the second one up yet.
In the mean time, I’ve got some plants I want to be outside to catch as much sun as it can when it’s out. It’s getting to that time of year when it does start making itself known a bit more.
So. I’ve got this.
Now. I know what you’re thinking. “But, that’s the same brand!”
Yeah, I know. But I’ve got two of these to use as well :-/
Plus, I figure that if worse comes to worse, when I pick up some duct tape to try and fix the other frame, if I don’t trust this one then I can always do the same again.
Right?
Either way, I’m stuck with them – Might as well try and use them.
Though, to be fair – One thing did strike me as soon as I opened the box up.
The quality of the parts used already seemed better, which is odd. Good, but odd.
You can see straight away that the tubing is much thicker, the joints on the plastic seem tougher as well, it just all feels, better. Perhaps this was last years stock? It had been discounted down already you might have noticed. Perhaps not a good seller?
It went up in no time at all with no issues worth talking about. I did wonder if it was actually long enough to hold a grow bag, or, at least one of the ones that I’d bought. Turns out that it is, just.
WIth the grow bag tray bought in place then it should be pretty easy to secure this by using string criss crossed underneath it. I haven’t done that part yet, this isn’t it’s final resting place, just a temporary measure for now.
I threw the cover over it and put it in place, where it’s brother had once stood just days before. I just made sure the edges of the tray where over the the rods that formed the border a little. It should be enough to stop it moving about to much till I can sort something else out better.
Fingers crossed this one lasts!