[julietmaria]

Hi I have moved house and inherited a green house.  I have some tomatoes, red peppers and cucumbers growing nicely inside house and probably ready to go into greenhouse soon.  I have questions.  First of all some of the glass pains have been broken and are missing, how important is that?  Do I need to get them fixed or nothing will grow or can I leave it for this year.  It is still very warm inside the greenhouse.
2nd question.  There are a couple of beds actually inside the greenhouse.  Full of weeds which I am in process of clearing.  Should I grow my plants in these beds, and what soil should I put in there, should I put manure in?  Or should I grow them in grow bags?

Thanks again in advance
Juliet

[stentman]

Yes you do need to replace the missing panes of glass. Things will still grow but with gaping holes in the structure there could be problems. Firstly you have no control of temperature if it is open to atmosphere so may lose delicate plants, secondly with missing panes the wind can get in, with a strong blow the whole integrity of the greenhouse structure can be compromised, thirdly pests and beasties have open access to your precious plants. As a bonus once intact your growing season will be extended at either end of the scale and you can control what happens in there. The things growing on the floor knowing exactly what they are would be nice but perhaps it may be better to make a new start with stuff you have grow and therefore are sure of it's origin. Growbags could be a good idea this season.

[IanYORK]

You're best plugging the holes in the greenhouse for sure (use polythene as a temporary measure).  You can get glass cut to size at appropriate place yard (don't get ripped off).  Do you have a window that you can open easily?  Ventilation in the summer will be essential.  As for the beds, if it was me I would replace the soil, unless you know what the previous house owner grew in it?  I would not put raw manure in the greenhouse - it stinks as well (use fertiliser (organic preferably).  If you do use manure then use the very well rotted stuff.   Make sure you weed well, and you'll be away in no time!  Good luck.

[Ice]

Absolutely agree with everyone about replacing the glass.  Also, many would beg to differ, but I would put in some weed suppressant and maybe a floor out of gravel and grow in buckets.  You can get cheap or even free ones from florists or supermarkets.  I always do this with the buckets sitting on large trays to keep the roots moist.  That way what you grow is movable should you need to rearrange things.

But that is my way and there are a million other ways to do it.

[peterjf]

think about sterilizing the greenhouse,