Raised Beds in new greenhouse

[Cheffi]

Hello I am new and this is my first post. I have just bought and had erected an 8.6 x 7.1 greenhouse. We have very small garden and the only spot we could put it was on the patio. I want to grow a lot of tomatoes down one side and the other side I want two tier staging growing bushy varieties of aubergine, peppers etc.
I was just wondering what is the best way to go for my toms? Do I make a frame out of tanalised timber and fill it with gravel on bottom and then compost? Would it need a liner? What is the ideal depth? I have seen the diy modular kits but they don't make them in the size I need and also they seem very shallow. Surely the more compost I can get in the better. Would I be able to grow salad veg alongside the toms?
Apologies for so many questions. Thank you.

Please see my last post ref filling these beds.

[JennieAtkinson]

Hi Cheffi - and welcome to the Vine!

Sorry I can't really answer your questions as I haven't gone for raised beds in the greenhouse, but I have raised beds in the polytunnel. They are on earth, but it was pretty rough, so I covered them with membrane, a layer of gravel on the bottom and then compost. They are 10/12" deep and so far I have grown dwarf/climbing beans, peas, leeks and carrots (although I had to pick those young). I find I need a lot of mulch on the top to stop everything drying out. So far I have managed to plant my toms direct into the soil.

I'm sure someone alot more knowledgeable than me will be along soon!

[Alice]

Hello Cheffi, and welcome to the Vine. A lot of questions there and not entirely sure what you are asking. You don't have to make raised beds in your greenhouse unless you have a reason for doing so.
You can dig out the borders and plant into them if you want to do it that way. I don't so maybe someone else will advise you on that method.
You can grow your tomatoes in growbags, or 12" pots. Your aubergines and peppers will be fine in 9" pots - or 3 to a growbag.
As for your salad things - over summer it will be too hot for lettuce and the like in the greenhouse. They will get on fine outside.
You could use your greenhouse to get early and late salad crops.
Hope this is of some help.

[Cheffi]

Thank you for replies. I did say that the gh was on the patio therefore nothing to dig into. I know I can grow in pots but wouldn't a bed be better? Do the pots restrict the growth and crop? If not then I am prepared to go down the large pot route. Thanks for salad info, so I would be better off putting them in a coldframe then?

Brilliant site, couldn't stop reading the posts last night even though I have no allotment or any exposed soil for growing anything. It's just me and the greenhouse.

[Snadger]

I have just installed raised beds into the greenhouse I inherited! It is a home made affair on my allotment and and has a flagged floor similar to how I imagine your patio will be.

Mine has a brick base up to two foot high around it. I have made an L shaped raised bed along one side and one end. For drainage all I did was lift some of the flags that were inside the bed.

The beds are full of well rotted manure now and I intend to grow peppers, sweet and chillie,melons,cukes and cape goose berry along with anything else that isn't a tomato!.

In the winter I will construct a cover to go over the top and use it as I would normal normal staging, for bringing my plants on!

If yours is glass to ground your frame will need a 'back' on the glass side!

PS Welome to the vine Cheffi!

[Cheffi]

Sounds good Snadger. Yes mine's glass to the bottom but I already have a cunning plan, well not cunning but a plan. I am going to make them out of tanalised timber with a liner and if poss I may try to lift a flag or two for drainage.

[Snadger]

Sounds good Snadger. Yes mine's glass to the bottom but I already have a cunning plan, well not cunning but a plan. I am going to make them out of tanalised timber with a liner and if poss I may try to lift a flag or two for drainage.

If the timber you use is tanalised you shouldn't need a liner! By using a liner you may get all sorts of creepy crawlies hiding between the liner and the frame!

[nick the grief]

.....You won't need to lift slabs either I wouldn't have thought. As to your's snadger, have you thought that is you make your staging a bit higher you could force Rhubarb, Asaragus or Chicory under tour staging with the addition of a bit of curtain/black out blinds ( I bet LJ will still have the ones she made in the war ...... Boer war that is )

[Cheffi]

If the timber you use is tanalised you shouldn't need a liner! By using a liner you may get all sorts of creepy crawlies hiding between the liner and the frame!

Yes but I am a girl and I am going to be the one making this bed, so the chances are there will be mahoooooosive gaps. I will see how it goes, if no gaps then I'll not bother with the liner and if gaps I'll line it and get myself a super jet powered water pistol to blast the creepy crawlies.

[Snadger]

.....You won't need to lift slabs either I wouldn't have thought. As to your's snadger, have you thought that is you make your staging a bit higher you could force Rhubarb, Asaragus or Chicory under tour staging with the addition of a bit of curtain/black out blinds ( I bet LJ will still have the ones she made in the war ...... Boer war that is )

Ok...you asked for it...here's the story. As you know, I have a wood burning stove that requires fuelling. One of the guys on the allotments does house clearances and had a load of timber on his wagon which I wanted...the only problem was he also had a stone fireplace on the wagon as well! He wouldn't tip one without the other, so I finished up with a load of dressed stone as well as the timber for burning!
You can guess what I built the raised beds with, with enough left for a small stone fireplace around my log burning stove!
Anyway, on the Victorian Kitchen garden he planted his melons in raised beds in the glasshouse and as I am 'theming' my lottie similarily as a Potager, to a crazed mind like mine, this seems very logical!

PS The flagged floor of my greenhouse has quite a slope on it, so when I water the beds I don't want it running out of the bottom all over the floor, hence the reason I have lifted the internal flags! I may even put under soil pipes from the stove under the soil eventually!
I also have three sheds for forcing stuff if required.

[Alice]

You won't need to grow your sald in a cold frame Cheffi. My lettuce, spring onions, pak choi, radish, red onions, rocket and much more, are all growing in the ground. If you want to start early, or grow on late, then use your greenhouse, but by this time, outside is fine.
Good luck with the raised beds.

[mrskp]

my toms are in ring culture black buckets, 3 to a growbag by the walls of the g/h (I may live to regret that) and 2 to a growbag on the front row. 4 of my special Supersprout pineapple toms are ring cultured (same buckets) in their own plastic stacking boxes to give them a bit more room. These are all sitting on the gravel base of the g/h so have plenty of drainage.

All I've got alongside the toms is my pot marigolds and some Naughty Marietta french marigolds to help dissuade the beasites.

All the chillies and peppers are in t'other g/h which will also house the aubergines. I've not even thought how I'm going to accommodate those yet !

Apart from all that I have no idea what I'm doing and this is very much an experimental year ! I'm doing a lot of hoping and praying !

Welcome to the vine Cheffi.

[carlseawolf]

when i last grew toms in a greenhouse i put them in a wooden box / raised bed 5' by 2' by 1' deep and lined it with plastic with no holes in it , and grew three moneymaker toms in it without no problems.
the plastic liner made life easier as you said about gaps and watering was less of a chore because what they did no use when watering stayed in the plastic as a water table to keep the compost moist ( at this point if your not sure how often to water toms you can put a few holes in the plastic 6" up the side of the bed so the water table will only get to 6" and then the extra will run away ) this way means less often watering as you can put a couple of gallons in at a time and no split toms due to lack of water, water twice a week on a wednesday just water and sunday water and feed.
hope this helps

[Cheffi]

my toms are in ring culture black buckets, 3 to a growbag but the walls of the g/h (I may live to regret that) and 2 to a growbag on the front row. 4 of my special Supersprout pineapple toms are ring cultured (same buckets) in their own plastic stacking boxes to give them a bit more room. These are all sitting on the gravel base of the g/h so have plenty of drainage.

All I've got alongside the toms is my pot marigolds and some Naughty Marietta french marigolds to help dissuade the beasites.

All the chillies and peppers are in t'other g/h which will also house the aubergines. I've not even thought how I'm going to accommodate those yet !

Apart from all that I have no idea what I'm doing and this is very much an experimental year ! I'm doing a lot of hoping and praying !

Welcome to the vine Cheffi.

Oh a kindred spirit. I don't really know what I'm doing either even though I grew up with my father growing everything under the sun. Trial and error and this forum is great for us L platers. No doubt next year we will be imparting our new found knowledge to other newbies.

[Snadger]

when i last grew toms in a greenhouse i put them in a wooden box / raised bed 5' by 2' by 1' deep and lined it with plastic with no holes in it , and grew three moneymaker toms in it without no problems.
the plastic liner made life easier as you said about gaps and watering was less of a chore because what they did no use when watering stayed in the plastic as a water table to keep the compost moist ( at this point if your not sure how often to water toms you can put a few holes in the plastic 6" up the side of the bed so the water table will only get to 6" and then the extra will run away ) this way means less often watering as you can put a couple of gallons in at a time and no split toms due to lack of water, water twice a week on a wednesday just water and sunday water and feed.
hope this helps

Bit like giant open topped grow bags then???