New greenhouse bed advice needed???

[afrench108]

Hi there, i have just cleared the gh and made 2 permanent raised beds, 1 each side, plenty of gravel for drainage and filled with mixture of plot soil and grow bags. whats the best tips for growing through the winter and i was thinking of sowing green manure to prepare the soil for next years growth, any advice and ideas would be welcome.
Next year they will be purely for toms so any preperation for soil would be great...Thanks

[Aberdeenplotter]

No offence intended but for me, raised beds in a green house are a bit daft especially since the crop to be grown is tomatoes and height is already an issue for that crop in a greenhouse. Personally, I would have left the beds empty until springtime if all you are going to grow over winter is green manure. There is a real danger that your soil/compost will dry out as the temperatures can soar behind glass on the sunny days even although it might be chilly out.

[afrench108]

Hi, i agree but my gh is 12ft x 6ft and i usually grow around 30 toms in 12inch pots, so is expensive every spring on grow bags, i also had a lot of good mature soil to remove from plot so i thought i would kill 2 birds, as they say.. wasn't planning on sowing through winter but green manure will improve the nitrogen etc in soil, just wondering what if anything i could use them for, i was thinking of some garlic?? Thanks

[Snadger]

I do most of my greenhouse growing in raised beds at the allotment. It is a lot more forgiving if you can't get every day to water plants.
My greenhouse has a single pitched roof 10 foot high tapering down to 7 foot. I have a 2 foot 6 inch high raised bed on the high side with peppers in it and a shelf half way up with potted peppers as well. Also a 1 foot high raised bed on the low side.
Once the high bed is cleared I put boards over it and turn it into a propagating bench.

Green manure sounds like a good idea. Garlic probably wouldn't ripen before it was time for the toms.Winter lettuce could be grown. Spring cabbage could be grown and harvested as spring greens rather than letting them heart up. Spring onions or even jap onion sets could be grown for spring onions.I may even stick a few leek plants in my small bed.
If you didn't want to specifically buy a green manure you could just plant up with broad beans and dig those in come spring.

[veggiechicken]

My greenhouses have always been sited on concrete or paved ground. Once I had one on the roof of the garage accessed through the bedroom window! In each greenhouse, I've sectioned off the long sides with a plank and lined these beds with polythene. The beds were filled with bagged compost. Tomatoes are grown in bottomless pots sitting on the compost with quick growing salad plants in between the pots. At the end of the tomato season I empty the pots onto the beds to raise the level a bit. Above the beds is aluminium staging with removable shelving, which comes out once the tomatoes are in place. I use the staging framework to support the canes. Throughout the winter I grow salad leaves, rocket, pea shoots in the beds. They can easily be sacrificed when its time to put the tomatoes back in in the spring.

[bravo2zero]

try winter lettuce have a flick through the seeds of italy catalogue theres loads in there. spinach, coriander, spring onion,radish and pak choi but bare in mind that they wont mature as quick as spring and summer grown crops and dont plant too close or you will struggle with watering and rots also try a few carrots. sow now while the soil is still warm and dont forget a bit of protection despite them being in the greenhouse.