Topic: Greenhouse - Solid base and plant into grow bags or open soil?

[cambourne7]

HI Guys,

I need to benefit of your experience when i put the greenhouse into place the question i have is do i put slabs down and use grow-bags or do i leave it open and plant into the soil?

What do you recommend?

Cam

[hippydave]

i like to plant into the boarders i can get more in, but others i know with a greenhouse use grow bags and get very good results, to me its personal preference, if using grow bags plant in them with the bags on their sides so the roots get goood and deep. ;)

[Vortex]

The reason for using growbags is that if you perenially grow cucumbers and tomatoes in the same soil you get a massive increase in the disease suseptability of the plants, so it's either grobags or change your soil every 2-3 years.

[cambourne7]

Thanks guys slabs and growbags it is then ;)

[chriscross1966]

If you're going to slab then dig out ther topsoil and use it elsewhere... you might as well  have hardcorer under there and get somew use from the soil........

chrisc

[cleo]

How large is the greenhouse going to be?(sorry if I missed an earlier post)-the almost ideal would be a paved area for your potting bench and soil beds around. You can still put pots,growbags on the soil if you cannot change the soil every year

[goodlife]

I used to have slabbed base and used bags and pots for growing....never again..
It lasted two years and I found far too much work to keep plants thriving..
so I dug up slabs and I have never regretted it..changing a bit of soil every few years is easier and cheaper in long run and watering..oh..so much less hassle.. ::)..and in same space you can grow so much more too....l

[Larkshall]

I used to have slabbed base and used bags and pots for growing....never again..
It lasted two years and I found far too much work to keep plants thriving..

I agree, it can be very time consuming. Although I still have pots (Morrisons flower buckets) and Stewarts large patio troughs, I have in the past had borders lined with polythene sheet and filled with compost. The base is concrete and the sides are cement blocks (9" X 18" X 6") which the greenhouse stands on and scaffold planks each side of the central path, held in place by a concrete block at each end.

[AdeTheSpade]

When I was trying to decide on what to do when I first had my greenhouse, in some ways I would have preferred to use borders (ease of watering etc) but like someone else pointed out, I'd then have had the problem of not being able to move crops around every year on a 4 yearly crop rotation.   So in the end I decided to go with slabbing it, and using large pots, which I find absolutely fine.  Yes, ok, you do have to water more often, but I couldn't think of a workable way of rotating the crops using beds.

[goodlife]

rotating in greenhouse is bit different from outdoors....
I grow something in greenhouse all year round..and I only change my soil or some of it every 3-4 years...but every year some part of the beds get flushed with water following good dollop of lime and few weeks rest before next crop..normally early peas...once these have done they best out they go..topping with fresh compost and toms go in..when toms are done..topping with compost and winter salads go in...it is rotation but not like outdoors...
....I'm going to my 4th summer with "same" soil..but as I haven't noticed any problems I'll carry on with one more crop...untill autumn....

[Two Choices]

As an alternative to slabbing I use pea shingle. Might be a problem though if the greenhouse is at the lottie and treading in with muddy wellies.

[Morris]

I have mine on gravel, and use a mixture of pots and growbags.  The plants can root into the gravel, and the gravel is easy to keep damp and helps the humidity (if it needs helping.... :) )

If I had the choice, which I didn't, I would definitely have deep soil borders, so much more flexible and less work all around.  You can grow winter crops like lettuce much more easily in a proper border than a used grow-bag or pot, IMO.

[cambourne7]

Greenhouse will be 8x10 ;)

I think you have given me a lot to think about... Maybe I will start with 2 soil Borders for this year and over winter and see how I get on then I can always either slab over the beds in the future or cover with membrane and pea grit and use pots and try that.

Originaly I has planned on raising the bed 6" digging out the soil mixing with compost adding some well rotted horse manure and adding the soil back to raise the level.

... Lots to think about....

[goodlife]

Have ago both...slab half and leave half with soil bed and see which you prefer..If you set your slabs just on sand then it is "easy" ::)..to lift extra ones off if you have decided that soil border is for you. Then next winter you either slab rest of it of rip it out...we all have our own opinions.....

[cambourne7]

I am just going though my seeds and trying to work out what i want to plant (the exciting bit) and i think that will help me decide what to do slap wise. So for now its easy tomatos, peppers and chillis plus i am going to be starting off some plants for the garden on some staging. What other stuff do you grow in your greenhouses?

Watching the victorian kitchen gardener i noticed that in one they had some hanging baskets in one of the greenhouses and love this idea has anyone else got a hanging basket in there greenhouse i was thinking of popping some of those trailing tomatoes inside with basil on top?

[RobinOfTheHood]

If it helps at all, I have soil borders, and last years' tomatoes got watered in at planting time, and never again. They did pretty well.  :)