‘Irish weather apologises for the late running of this season’, could well be a headline to sum up the weather at present. However, there is more to gardening than sowing and growing, rooting and fruiting. There are the maintenance jobs too. Fixing gates, clearing shed and sharpening shears, etc. One of these wintry jobs is removing any green algae and dirt which is clinging to the glass outside and inside the greenhouse.
First: Clear out the greenhouse as much as possible. Remove the withered remains of last year’s annual crops if not already removed. The old cape gooseberries’ growth, runner bean and tomato stalks etc. I still have lots of flat parsley growing so the spring clean will be good news for the over-wintered parsley plants.
Second: With the help of a steady stepladder, brush away all the cobwebs and loose grim from glass and frames inside and out.
Third: Fill a bucket with warm soapy water. Find an old dish clothe or sponge and a window clearing rubber blade.
Fourth: Starting on the outside from the apex of the greenhouse roof, scrub and clean each pane of glass from top to bottom. Then do the same on the inside.
Fifth: Take a seat with a cup of tea and observe the increased light levels now in the greenhouse.
Cleaning a polytunnel is really a two person job. A rolled up old bed sheet soaked in warm soapy water is held at each end by the two person team. With this ‘sheet rope’ over the polytunnel at one end, each person in turn pulls the sheet to simulate a soapy sawing action until they reach the far end of the polytunnel. The lower parts of the polytunnel are OK to clean single-handedly with a sponge and some warm soapy water.
One week on from the greenhouse spring clean, the flat parsley, under glass, is brighter, bushier and evidently growing faster, making the bit of elbow grease and effort all the more worthwhile.
Washing a greenhouse. Not good to be in a hurry, as you don’t want to fall off the stepladder through a glass roof! Keep one hand free to hold on to the frame all the time.
Trevor is co-founder and was, until his appointment to Government, a board member of Sonairte, the Irish National Ecology Centre, near Julianstown, County Meath which is an Agricultural Training and Visitor centre with a 2.2 acre walled organic garden. He is also a member of Amnesty International, the Dublin Food Co-op, the Irish Organic Farmers’ and Growers’ Association, Organic Trust and a former member of Macra na Feirme. A former teacher and fluent Irish speaker, he relaxes by reading, walking and playing music. His favourite form of relaxation is tending to his prolific organic garden at home in Balbriggan, North County Dublin, an area known by many as Fingal.
