Growing

Yes, with the right kit in the right spot. Many kits are written for indoor use, so check that yours allows a covered spot outside the house, then measure the greenhouse corner: it can get too hot, too cold or too dry for the kit’s stated range.

Start with a bush tomato, a compact pepper and a small sowing of salad leaves. Add a greenhouse cucumber only if you can give its climbing growth a proper support. Judge each plant by its mature size and its care, because small fruit doesn’t always mean a small plant.

Three of the commonest fruit problems in a greenhouse, blossom end rot, splitting and patchy ripening, trace back to watering that comes and goes, according to the RHS. The rest of the season is simple by comparison: sow in late winter, plant out when the house stays warm, pinch out side-shoots and feed once the fruit swells. Here is the year in order, with a table for the problems you are most likely to meet.