Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi all, just found your site.

I've got a greenhouse arriving on Tuesday, it's an 8x6 aluminium jobby with polycarbonate windows from B&Q. It's going to be placed on the on of the lawns in the back garden which sits on clay.

What I'm planning on doing is building a timber frame out of pressure treated fence posts. Either 4x4 or 3x3. I've made some brackets for the corners of the frame and I'll fix them to the timber frame and hammer some 500mm long 15mm diameter pins into the ground holding it firm. Then fix the base to the frame and build the greenhouse. Will this be an okay way of fixing it to the ground?

Also, I was planning on covering the lawn beneath the greenhouse with weed control fabric and then maybe filling it with gravel with some paving stones down the centre. Will this suffice??? Never tried growing my own veg before, really looking forward to it.

I'm no expert, but I'm not sure timber would be the best material for the base. I'm pretty sure my greenhouse (still unnassembled) is similar to yours as the B&Q ones look very much like a re-labled Halls. I have the base that comes with it and I have laid some breeze blocks on to the soil to support the base, and then I'm going to build the greenhouse on top of the base. Dunno how much sense that makes. I will also be using weed suppressent fabric and gravel/paving stones as well (between the breeze blocks and steel base).

Yeah mate, that makes sense. I thought along the lines of the pressure treated timber as some of the posts in Homebase and B&Q are guaranteed against rot for 15 years.

Are the breeze blocks on your GH just loose on the soil or have you cemented them in? I presume you just anchored the base to the breeze blocks with screws and Rawl plugs?

Do you grow everything out of pots/growbags if your floor is gravelled and paved?

Actually I'm just thinking. As the greenhouse comes with a base, I might just use the brackets I've fabricated and attach them directly onto the base. Surely 4 500mm long pins will hold the GH down even in the strongest of winds? Would make life a whole lot easier too.

Hello mate,

My breeze blocks are just laid on to some stones and stuff on top of the compacted soil. Actually, I think if the ground is firm enough, you can lay the base directly onto the soil anyway. I've used the breeze blocks as a precaution more than anything else. My base come with what looks like tent pegs to secure the base to the ground, so I'm going to use them. Plus with the weight of the greenhouse (although mine is glass) I can't see it moving around much.

My greenhouse is going up this weekend, but my intention (so far) is to put in a small raised bed (on top of the membrane) along one of the sides and grow shallow rooted plants in that. The rest will be grown in big pots (tomatoes, aubergines, cucumber, chillies).

" My base come with what looks like tent pegs to secure the base to the ground, so I'm going to use them. Plus with the weight of the greenhouse (although mine is glass) I can't see it moving around much."

hmmm. With an 90 mph winter gale, that may be optimistic.

I put our greenhouse on a steel base and put all the retaining pegs into concrete mix for posts. Has not move din 25 years.

A really strong gale can move anything not securely fastened by the constant one/off pressure of wind gusts loosening all but the most secure foundations.

My Dad turned up earlier with four lengths of 3x3 pressure treated timber, so I guess I'll have to put it on them now. Will attach the brackets I made and might concrete the pins for them into the ground.

How deep should I lay the gravel inside the greenhouse?

i made a deck out of 4x4 posts secured into the ground and 6x2 joists...then laid down with tanellised timber on top and secured the greenhouse to this base...remember pins just in the ground will loosen with the drying and wetting of the soil...and even you can see my greenhouse moving slightly in a good wind...

Well....I don't know. As mine is glass, i think it'll probably not need *quite* as much anchoring as polycarbonate. Each pack of glass weighs a ton...

Gravel - I think enough to give you a level (and pleasing) floor. If the base is on fairly level ground, then put the slabs in, then gravel up to the level opf the slabs.