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  • #1

    Soil for greenhouse

    Hi,

    I'm having a greenhouse installed on top of a concrete base. I plan to grow vegetables in pots but don't know what kind of soil to buy. I'll need a lot of soil because it's a very large greenhouse.

    I assume I should obtain sterilized top soil but I can only find one seller who can sell in bulk (750kg). On the other hand, I can find many sellers who can provide topsoil but it's not sterilised so I'm concerned it will have weed seeds, spores, and bad stuff. What advice do people have on the kind of soil I should buy? I'm estimating I'll need several bulk bags. Any sellers people would recommnend?
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  • #2
    How large exactly is your greenhouse?

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    • #3
      For local to you info we need to know roughly where are you located ?

      Nationally via internet ...........


      Soil | Dandy's Sterilised Soil | 100% weed free, screened top soil.

      Sterilised Top Soil - Compost, Mulch & Playbark

      Organic Sterilised Soil | Peat Free - Compost Direct Ltd

      http://www.uk-gravel.com/sterilised-top-soil-p-157.html

      http://www.backyardfarmer.co.uk/sterilised-topsoil
      Last edited by bearded bloke; 28-05-2013, 07:22 AM.
      He who smiles in the face of adversity,has already decided who to blame

      Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity

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      • #4
        Perennials like say a grape vine or tree would be planted in large pots of suitable soil. But I think most greenhouse plants would be in a more temporary medium like compost. So this would usually be replaced or replenished with fertiliser each year.
        you can buy enriched growing medium by the ton, this might be good for you. Certainly you would need to remove a few inches every year and replace it with new rich medium. And rotate for the usual reasons.

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        • #5
          I would be reluctant to use soil but not for the reasons you give, such as weed seeds or fungi etc. It's increasingly difficult to find good quality top soil which won't just go cleggy and solid and most of what is sold is simply the stuff stripped off the surface on building sites. If you only have a small greenhouse then use ordinary potting compost which is sufficient for most vegetables. I usually make a mixture of 50% sieved compost from the compost heap and 50% peatfree compost in a bag, which is good for things like tomatoes.
          Better still, why not consider the much neglected ring culture technique. You can look up details on the Internet but essentially the 'water' root run is into a deep pea gravel substrate where you water while the plant itself, or its 'feeding' roots, grows in large bottomless pots full of compost which is where you concentrate the feed. The advantage is that watering and feeding are much easier to control and you don't find your plants drying out as they do in a pot-only system. At the end of the season you only have to remove a few pots and you can flush out the gravel bed and even treat it with bleach or something if you worry about pests and diseases.
          Last edited by BertieFox; 28-05-2013, 08:27 AM.

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          • #6
            I got 6 ton of top soil that was screened for two large raised beds. Over the last few years it hasn't gone claggy, it is still nice and very loose. This was delivered from a local place in north Lincolnshire (if that's near to you?) For about £90. The soil had no rocks or small stones at all
            All my projects including my brewing adventures!

            www.make-your-own.info

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            • #7
              Hi, I have a local supplier that i bought 3 tons of compost off a few years ago for my polytunnel, I've had good results for toms, cucumbers melons etc, if you can collect it yourself, with a trailer or pick up he sells it for £10 per 1 ton bag, i'm going back to him for another ton for the greenhouse next week. ps when i picked it up it was too hot to touch so i'm assuming it was sterile.

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              • #8
                WOW, thanks for the various suggestions. I really appreciate it. I live in Cambridge btw.

                Originally posted by rustylady View Post
                How large exactly is your greenhouse?
                Greenhouse will be 20ft long, 8 feet wide. Actually, I have another question: I plan on having staging all around the sides, filled with pots to grow fruit and veg. I also plan on having pots underneath the staging (on top of the concrete pad). I also plan on growing more stuff outside in raised beds - an area about 10 feet by 3 feet.
                Would a single bulk bag approx 850kg from the supplier mentioned above by 'bearded bloke' likely be enough?
                http://www.dandystopsoil.co.uk/dandy...soil-254-p.asp
                Last edited by jimj; 28-05-2013, 02:34 PM.

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                • #9
                  OK, another question. What sort of fruit and veg are you planning to grow?

                  If it were me I wouldn't use soil to grow stuff in pots. As Bertie said, soil doesn't really work well in pots and troughs. It goes claggy and is difficult to keep evenly moist.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by rustylady View Post
                    OK, another question. What sort of fruit and veg are you planning to grow?

                    If it were me I wouldn't use soil to grow stuff in pots. As Bertie said, soil doesn't really work well in pots and troughs. It goes claggy and is difficult to keep evenly moist.
                    Oh, I didn't know that. So it's best to avoid topsoil altogether and just grow in potting compost? I see that I can get a bulk bag of organic peat free compost from link below. Is that they way to go?
                    Buy Compost, Manure & Soil Improver Online | The Compost Shop

                    I'm planning to grow strawberries, tomatoes, cabbage, cauli, pak choy, chinese leaf, cucumber, chard, courgettes, lettuce. At the moment, I'm growing most of these with varying success just in my garden, just in the soil mixed with some compost. I just naturally assumed I'd want to use soil in the forthcoming greenhouse.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by jimj View Post
                      Oh, I didn't know that. So it's best to avoid topsoil altogether and just grow in potting compost? I see that I can get a bulk bag of organic peat free compost from link below. Is that they way to go?
                      Buy Compost, Manure & Soil Improver Online | The Compost Shop

                      I'm planning to grow strawberries, tomatoes, cabbage, cauli, pak choy, chinese leaf, cucumber, chard, courgettes, lettuce. At the moment, I'm growing most of these with varying success just in my garden, just in the soil mixed with some compost. I just naturally assumed I'd want to use soil in the forthcoming greenhouse.
                      Surely the prices shown are not with delivery I'm on my mobile so can't see postage anywhere if any
                      In the following link you can follow my recent progress on the plot

                      https://www.youtube.com/user/darcyvuqua?feature=watch

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by jimj View Post
                        Oh, I didn't know that. So it's best to avoid topsoil altogether and just grow in potting compost? I see that I can get a bulk bag of organic peat free compost from link below. Is that they way to go?
                        Buy Compost, Manure & Soil Improver Online | The Compost Shop

                        I'm planning to grow strawberries, tomatoes, cabbage, cauli, pak choy, chinese leaf, cucumber, chard, courgettes, lettuce. At the moment, I'm growing most of these with varying success just in my garden, just in the soil mixed with some compost. I just naturally assumed I'd want to use soil in the forthcoming greenhouse.
                        Some crops are suited to greenhouse growing, and some aren't. Tomatoes and cucumbers are great in greenhouses.

                        Cabbage, cauli, pak choy, chinese leaf, chard, courgettes, lettuce are much better in open ground.

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