new to this

[wotudoin2]

I have been given an 8 x 6 aluminum greenhouse. i have erected it on a solid base and have laid paving slabs to three quarters of the floor and have left an open bed to one side for planting. As i am new any ideas to help fill my greenhouse would be appreciated. thanks.

[Snadger]

Bit of staging down the other side might save your back a bit when potting on etc.

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi wotudoin2 and welcome to the vine, there's a good buch of grapes on here to chat with, have a laugh and learn from, so plese enjoy yourself as much as the rest of us do!

Congrats on the greenhouse, I'd second Snadgers suggestion of some staging, one of the other grapes Nick has some great plans for collapsible staging that we are going to make at some stage, if you do a site search you should be able to find them fairly easily!

As to filling it, not much to add yet, unless its heated there's no real point in planting anything until the weather starts to warm up in the spring!

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hello wotudoin to the Vine - and congrats on the greenhouse. Cant really add much more advice - just make sure its clean and ready for sowing in the spring! DDL

[nick the grief]

Hi Wotudoin,

You won't need ideas to fill it .... you'll just need a bigger greenhouse this time nextyear

What to put in it depends on whether you are going to heat it or not. FIrst job I'd do is put up some bubble wrap (not the packaging but the proper 3-ply greenhouse insulation) big bubbles if you can as it dowsn't cut out so much light. this will make no end of difference to the heat retained in the greenhouse & will save you loads on the cost of heating it.

Choice of heating it depends on where it is. Parafin is the cheapest to buy but probably the most expesive to run & is fairly time consuming as you have to check it everyday & trim the wick otherwise your new greenhouse will be black on the inside !!

Bottled gas - bit more expensive to buy but cheaper to run & the modern heaters have thermostats on so there is a degree of control.

Electricity - about the same cost to buy & run but more flexible in as much as you can switch it on forget it & you don't have to have any ventilation like with the other two.

If you keep your Greenhouse frost free (upto about 5c) you can overwinter Fucshia's in there & then start off your seedlings earlier to help get you ahead of the game. If you go for the Cold house you're at the mercy of the weather & can only overwinter the more hardy stuff with a bit of extra fleece etc.

Hope this helps

[wotudoin2]

thanq for the advice. already looking forward to the spring