preferred base in greenhouse?

[salilah]

I hope to get the greenhouse later this year and was wondering about your advice on the base
Part of the base will be a concrete flat area (already there) - and I know the outside edges need to be on a flat surface
Am I better off concreting throughout and growing in pots / bags only, or better off doing a base around the edge, and allowing one side (north) to have soil beds? If I do the latter, I'd probably do slightly raised beds - how much soil would I need to shift out if e.g I wanted to grow tomatoes each year?
I hope to set up drip irrigation in there, in case that makes a difference
your ideas / thoughts / comments much appreciated!
thanks
S

[bobleponge]

Salilah
I am moving my greenhouse this winter. Its currently on a concrete base, but I want to move it to a different area of my garden.
When it moves I will again move it onto a concrete base, which I will be making on my next trip home.
I really only use mine for starting stuff off before transplanting them, all my toms and cucs are grown in the garden.
I have a few lemon trees and other bits and bobs that I bring home from my travels that stay in the greenhouse in pots, but for me, and for what I use it for, a concrete base is by far the easiest.
If you needed humidity for a certain crop you could put a layer of gravel on top of the concrete and water straight onto it.

[ginger ninger]

Mines on concrete, it's the first year i've had one, i've grown my tomato's, cucumbers, aubergines and peppers in 45 liter bendy buckets, that way i can change the compost and recycle the old, plus if you don't like the position of a plant, you just pick it up and move it, i'm also thinking..much easier to hose down if i have to disinfect at any time.

[Incy]

Mine was made on bare earth and we have left one bed at the far end and filled the rest with gravel then paving slabs on top. This means I can have both pots and direct sown plants. The toms have certainly enjoyed having room for their roots this year.

[vikkib]

I'm contemplating a base for my greenhouse too. The area inside the actual metal base frame (that we've concreted in at the corners) is bare soil at the moment and I was thinking of levelling it out, putting down weed suppressant and then covering it with a fairly thick layer of gravel.

Interested if anyone thinks this is a doomed plan?!!

[Incy]

That's what is under my paving slabs and between my raised beds. I see no reason why it wouldn't work in your greenhouse. Added bonus is that slugs and snails aren't keen on crossing gravel so it reduces the numbers in their army!

[vikkib]

Added bonus is that slugs and snails aren't keen on crossing gravel so it reduces the numbers in their army!

That was definitely one of the reasons I wanted gravel down... The slugs and snails have been driving me crackers in the rest of the garden! I'm also considering putting enviromesh (or similar) over the windows and vents etc. (from the inside) in an effort to keep the butterflies out as they have turned my pepper plant leaves to lace.

I'm hoping my greenhouse will be a pest free oasis in the garden...

... I can hope, can't I?!!

[bobleponge]

I fear thats all you will do Vikkib, hope!!

[nick the grief]

See my reply to Jimmy's post

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...tml#post520729


I have a friend who concreted the floor of his greenhouse and wishes he hadn't. My small house has a concrete floor apart from one bed ( currently sown with Lettuce, carrots and peas for a late crop) I find it better to grow my toms in here with the pots standing on the on the beds to help them with moisture retention in summer.

The large greenhouse has two soil beds and the late chrysanths go in here standing on the soil which I fork over and water with Armillartox a couple of weeks prior to housing - that keeps the slugs down too!

If you don't want to look at bare earth then a covering of gravel does look good but I'd still go for slabs or concrete for the paths - they are easier to keep clean (unlike mine at the moment!!

[vikkib]

I fear thats all you will do Vikkib, hope!!

Hehehe! I think so too!

It don't half look smart now though! Need a couple more bags of gravel to get a better thickness down and just keeping fingers crossed the cats won't see it as a giant litter tray!

[salilah]

Thanks all for input - sounds like overall I should probably have one side with soil (like the idea of putting things in pots on this for moisture retention
and yes, need to think about path also - slabs of some sort make sense...
appreciated!!! Now I just need to get the surround base down and flat - luckily "I know a man who can"...
cheers
S

[Premier Polytunnels]

Hi Salilah.

We have a 12ft wide polytunnel fixed onto hardstanding (flags). With it being a reasonable size, we have built a large raised bedding area down the middle which is filled with soil... It's like having a mini garden within the polytunnel and is just like growing outdoors, but with the all the added protection and benefits of a polytunnel or greenhouse.

We have staging down one side of the tunnel on which we grow flowers in pots.... The work surface is empty at the moment though as all our flowers are now planted outside (and are taking a battering in this wind!)

Down the other side of the tunnel we have large pots in which we grow our tomatoes.

It's great to see that you've had so many replies.... Got quite a lot to think about now, I suppose!

Deborah.

[salilah]

Hi Salilah.

We have a 12ft wide polytunnel fixed onto hardstanding (flags). With it being a reasonable size, we have built a large raised bedding area down the middle which is filled with soil... It's like having a mini garden within the polytunnel and is just like growing outdoors, but with the all the added protection and benefits of a polytunnel or greenhouse...

It's great to see that you've had so many replies.... Got quite a lot to think about now, I suppose!

Deborah.

Yes lots definitely! The greenhouse will be a 10ft wide one (15ft long I hope) so I'm not sure it's quite wide enough for a bed in the middle - shame, sounds a great idea!
I do want to do indoor tomatoes, so I either need big big tubs, or a bed one side I think...
Oh well, back to planning!
S

[seanbadger]

We had a greenhouse donated this year (very lucky, all the lady wanted was a crop of tommies for it) and pondered over how to anchor it.

We did think of doing a concrete base, or even frame and sink it into that (or bolt it onto). In the end we got 8 empty mayonaise buckets (the big ones that kebab shops use) and filled them with postcrete and with a bolt sticking out of the top of them.

We then sited the greenhouse on the allotment and pushed garden canes throught the anchor holes in the greenhouse frame. Next we dug holes and dropped the weighted buckets into them, lined evrything up and filled around the buckets.

Now if i ever have to move allotments i can just move the whole thing (including the weighted buckets).

This winters project is to level the floor, cover it with a weedproof membrane and put paving slabs in.

[Premier Polytunnels]

Hi again Salilah,

The 10ft wide is a very popular size, we find. I think you'd be surprised about what you could fit inside a polytunnel or greenhouse that size! But, like Martin says, a polytunnel/greenhouse is like a garage.... No matter how big it is, you will always fill it! (Well, he certainly manages to fill our garage with cars and motorbikes, but thankfully he also fills our polytunnel with things I can enjoy too!)

Our tomatoes are in pots in our tunnel and, although they take a little longer to ripen at this time of year, we still have a whole pot full in the kitchen. Tomato soup will definitely keep me warm this winter!

Take care.

Deborah (Premier).