Grow Your Own Magazine

I've been told that there is no point planting directly into the soil in a greenhouse, as the soil will turn sour and will therefore need digging out & replacing every year.

What are the implications of 'sour soil'?

Opinions/ experience most gratefully received.

It will become exhausted of nutrients and because it is an enclosed environment without rain to wash out impurities it could have a build up of salts, like the little crust you get around the top of plantpots. It could also have pests and diseases in it.
I made the mistake of thinking that if I 'beefed' up the bedsoil with loads of farmyard manure this would cure any soil sickness...............it didn't!
The only way is to dig out all the bedsoil to at least one spit deep and replace it, or else you will suffer from diminishing returns each year!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

I'm a Greenhouse Newbie. I've put staging down one side of my 8 x 6 and had planned on panting my toms, peppers, etc, straight into the ground on the other side when they were large enough. Should I use large pots/growbags instead then?

Your first year will be fine but as posted above will get worse in subsequent years. I use growbags and find they work well. The plastic keeps the water in and they stay damp for a few days. The soil can then be used as compost elsewhere next year.

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http://plot62.blogspot.com/

I tend to replace one side each year. I put the old stuff on the garden veg bed and dig out some of the soil to replace it. Then I add some 'good stuff' and get the plants in. so far, every other year seems to be keeping things in good nick.

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Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. Mrs C W Earle

vegheaven.blogspot.com updated May 18th 2008