What to do now: greenhouse

Pick of the pots
At last there is an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic pots. Garden centre plant stockist KinderGarden Plants is now growing the majority of its young plants in rice-husk net pots. The biodegradable pots are made from a by-product of commercial rice production. More than 400 garden centres sell the KinderGarden range, so thousands fewer plastic pots will be discarded each year. After potting on the plants, the pots can be thrown on the compost heap, along with the remains of the bedding plants, and will decompose within about 12 months.

Brush up on fruit blossom
Bring potted peach and nectarine trees under cover now. The warmer conditions will encourage blooms to open earlier than those of outdoor trees. Keeping them under glass will also deter peach leaf curl, a fungus disease spread by rain splash. Blooms must be cross-pollinated but, as few bees and flying insects are active at this time of year, you'll need to do the job yourself. Dab the blooms with a soft, bushy brush to transfer pollen from flower to flower.

Adam says: strawberries fruit earlier under glass
It's time to bring potted strawberries into the greenhouse or dig up established plants from the garden and pot them up. Warm conditions under cover will encourage earlier growth, flowering and fruiting. Watch out for greenfly and vine weevil, both of which can attack plants.

Check list

• Use a greenhouse heater at night to maintain frost-free conditions for tender plants.
• Plant begonias, gloxinias, gloriosas, cannas, eucomis, agapanthus and other summer bulbs.
• Put pots of spring bulbs in the greenhouse to develop.
• Sow begonias, verbenas, lobelias, ageratums, pansies, violas, antirrhinums and other summer bedding.
• Crops to sow in heated propagators include celery, tomatoes, aubergines, onions and peppers.

Keep tabs on greenhouse temperatures
Peering out into the darkness on winter evenings, it's hard to tell how low the temperature in the greenhouse has dropped. Is it freezing? Is the heater working? To monitor conditions, I've invested in a digital thermometer with a remote sensor that measures and transmits the temperature from up to 30m away. With the sensor in the greenhouse and main unit in the house, I can see the temperature at a glance. The unit also records the maximum and minimum temperatures, making it a useful gadget to use all year round.

Tip: clean your glazing
Wash glazing inside and out to remove grime and mould, and to let in more light. Do this now, before you start sowing seeds, because all plants appreciate higher light levels during the early months of the year.