Turning An Old Pig Shed Into A Greenhouse

Phoebe gives an insight into her greenhouse project and what is grown there for the café and her plant stall.

I like to spend lots of time in the greenhouse growing edible flowers and herbs that are used on café dishes, growing and potting plants to sell, and in the winter months grafting apple trees to sell in the café. This article details the development of the greenhouse out of an old pig shed and what I get up to.

Having left college, my one ambition was to design and make my own greenhouse. So, I worked out a plan over a year, and Matt, the local builder, put the vision into action.

The walls of the pig shed were cut down by half and then built up with a wooden structure, polycarbonate on the sides, and a roof with two reclaimed windows and a tailor-made stable door. The interior is now segmented into two main areas. One for seed sowing or potting, and the other for plants growing in pots. The lean-to design aids rainwater collection, and fixed to the walls are sturdy staging shelves we built ourselves.

In the greenhouse, I pot on or propagate plants to sell. Often, Cornish-grown succulents such as Aeonium, Haworthia, Echeveria, and Sempervium. These are sold on the plant stall outside the café. Also, I grow edible flowers, viola, calendula, and borage nasturtium, grown from seed for use on café dishes.

In the winter months, I concentrate on developing my skill in grafting apple trees and hope to build up a stock of interesting Cornish varieties that will be sold and planted on the land.

Below is my first ever grafted apple tree, a Pendragon taken from a nearby orchard. Stunning pink flesh and blossoms Pendragon is an early-season desert apple, grown in England since the 12th century and hailed as one of the healthiest to eat!

Many thanks to those who have supported my growing projects and plant stall to date.