Knowing when a melon is ripe can be an art form, but you can pick up some general tips quite easily. Grafted plants may help where soil problems are suspected (aubergines and tomatoes are now available). Finally, iPower offers a lifetime warranty on their product, so if you’re not satisfied with your purchase, they’re sure to make things right with you. I am an avid gardener and DIYer with over 25 years’ experience while also being a gadget geek when it comes to new products in the garden industry.

A grow bag (or growbag) is a planter made from plastic or fabric, filled with a growing medium, and used to grow plants such as tomatoes or other salad plants. Sowing tender, fast-growing plants like sweetcorn, squash, melons, and courgettes in the middle of spring is ideal so that they can be planted in their final positions under glass in the late spring or outside in the early summer. To combat this, we’ve designed the cover with two metal eyelets at the top and an eyelet on each side. Honeydew:‘Honey Bun’ and ‘Green Machine’ are honeydew melon varieties that can flourish in a UK greenhouse. Removing the side-shoots is simple – every time you water, check the plant for any shoots sprouting just above each leaf, from the joint between the leaf and the stem.

Keep the plants in a greenhouse or on a well-lit windowsill, where the temperature is always at least 16°C (60°F), and water regularly. Sow basil seeds to grow indoors or transplant outside during the summer, and purchase ready-grown pepper and tomato plants to introduce to unheated greenhouses.

These varieties are known for their shorter growing periods, making them suitable for the UK’s climate. Seedlings will require a light, ice free area to develop whenever they have sprouted; A greenhouse that is not heated probably won’t get warm enough until April.You’ll know it is time to move the seedlings from their smaller pots and into grow bags when they have two true leaves. If the average soil temperature is 21°C or higher then melon yields can be expected to around 20% higher than a cooler temperature soil – put the grow bag inside the greenhouse into the greenhouse before planting up to allow the compost temperature to warm up.

Cold frames are glaze box-like structures made from brick or wood with a hinged or removable, glazed, sloping lid. Bags were traditionally used under glass and were introduced as an alternative to planting directly into greenhouse soil. When you water, try not to wet the leaves, as this can encourage fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew.Make sure you water regularly and, once flowers appear, feed weekly with a high-potash fertiliser to increase your crop. With outdoor cucumbers, pinch out the growing tip once plants have developed seven leaves, to encourage side-shoots. Tomatoes do well in large containers and growing bags in a greenhouse or outdoors in full sun, and are very productive in a space.

They are much easier and cheaper to transport: Rigid flowerpots are often expensive and fragile to ship, but transporting grow bags is a piece of cake. Soak pots of young tomato plants in a tray of water for an hour to fully hydrate them, which will help reduce root damage during transplanting. When taller growing or top-heavy crops are 20cm (8in) high, push a cane into the bag next to each plant.Sow baby carrots and lettuce indoors in late summer if space permits to take advantage of the autumn sun and produce late harvests.