Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Growing in Greenhouses & Polytunnels => Topic started by: colinc on July 16, 2012, 21:10
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I am thinking of building some raised beds in my green house for growing peppers and tomatoes etc.
Do you think this a good idea or should I stick to grow bags that need a lot of watering.
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Well, I don't have experience - I hated using grobags (always have) in my greenhouse last year and this year, I am using large pots which I don't find need as much watering (but then again, the GH isn't as hot this year so who knows?!).
I have decided to build raised beds but actually fill with manure and operate it as a hot bed style setup to produce earlier heat in the greenhouse, topped with compost. I plan to then dig the manure out at the end of the season to use on the beds on the plot.
Not sure if it will work, but the soil my greenhouse sits on is practically bedrock (sandstone less than 1 foot down) and so borders are out of the question. I also want to avoid soil sickness. Raised beds are therefore the only answer and it means I have effective a storage area for my rotting manure.
I want to lower the cost of growing in the greenhouse and compost/grobags is an obvious expense I need to remove (not to mention capillary matting under the large pots this year). the biggest concern I have is I may import bugs in the manure which effectively take over the greenhouse, but as I already have ants and woodlice galore, I figured it is worth a try.
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Is your greenhouse on concrete then, so you can't access the soil?
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I am a real fan of raised beds, for all sorts of reasons! I find them much easier on my back,easier to weed and I find I get better and more prolific crops than just growing direct in the soil.Of course they need maintaining, the same as all soils, but I just throw in old manure and a bit of compost in the winter, a bit gromore in the spring and I'm up and running.Good luck, whatever you decide.
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I have raised beds in the mini tunnel, forming a kind of reverse square topped U shape.
They work a treat as they keep soil from washing onto the paths, or out through the front edge
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I haven't got raised beds in my 'poly just yet...
Over time though, as I add things like spent compost and manure etc, I hope to build up my beds into raised beds.
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I have raised beds on all four sides of my greenhouse, bricks on the outside and paving slabs/flags around the centre walkway. The southernmost end which is shaded by next doors fence and with the propagation table above is just used to store 'useful stuff',
O.K. junk. ::)
(http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae294/Kleftiwallah/IMG_1904.jpg)
(http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae294/Kleftiwallah/IMG_1905.jpg)
Cheers, Tony.
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Tony,
They look direct planted, and are those bottles for getting the water/feed down to the roots?
Look briiliant! :D
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Nice setup Tony. I am on the lookout for old bricks on freegle at the moment so I can build some over winter.
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Plant food sprinkled on the surface waiting to be watered in and water in the bottles goes down to the deeper roots.
Cheers, Tony.