Greenhouse soil?

[Amandaod]

I managed to inherit the greenhouse from the previous plot holder, which has soil in border area, I'm assuming to plant directly into (Apologises, complete garden newbie here). However, the soil is quite... sandy? And dry? I don't plant on planting into it until next season, but I just wondered if this was standard, or if I should replace the soil. I didn't know if this was a normal thing as greenhouses will be warm, but figured I'd ask Is it the same as outside? Should I be adding manure to it to improve it?

Sorry for all the questions

[Guest]

You may be best to replace it incase of disease and so on as it would be horrible to lose a season as greenhouses really do make a difference. Was there anything growing when you inherited it?

I inherited two gh's and I was a bit naughty and naive and worked with what I had. One gh was sludgey soil the other dust, each winter they both get three sacks of poo. The sludge has become brilliant after two winters but the dust still has a way to go.

[Amandaod]

Thanks for the reply


As you can see the only thing growing in it was a lot of weeds..


We cleaned it out, and for the past couple of months I've just planted things in pots rather than putting them straight into the soil as I wasn't sure! I think I'll go with replacing it for spring I've managed to get another greenhouse to use for seedlings so I'll probably rip out the shelves and plant direct next year. Maybe a stupid question, but living in Scotland, do I need to heat my greenhouse or will it be okay come spring/summer?

[alldigging]

I put a load of muck in mine over winter/ The tomatoes have grown ok so I will probably put some more in next time I get some.
It has been really really dry though - only to be expected as it's a glass box heating up and evaporating out water.

[sparrow100]

I grow in the soil too - on the footprint of the former greenhouse. I've had fantastic tomatoes this year. I dug it over to begin with and added a couple of barrows of manure, a bale of compost and some BFB, so at least the soil there got a boost. I have the opposite problem to you though, my soil is orange clay.

[Thelma Sanders]

When I lift the plants at the end of the season, I remove a couple of spades worth of soil, from each planting pocket and replace with a garden soil/manure mix

In the Spring I dig the borders add some calcified seaweed and some Osmo Organic Plant Food granules, and off we go again

[skeggijon]

I don't have beds in my greenhouse, but in my polytunnels I dig the beds out every year and replace with a layer of farmyard manure, compost and fresh topsoil. I realise this is slight overkill, but it ensures any diseases left from the previous years tomatoes and cucumbers are removed

[rosiepumpkin]

I inherited 2 greenhouses and the soil was dust in both with a lot of weeds. I haven't done anything to improve it, just fed the plants more. I may weed membrane it over the winter if Grapes think it'l kill off the chickweed. Only thing that has made any difference in the volume of it are not watering the borders and caterpillars eating it to a skeleton.

[Bigmallly]

Funny you should mention sandy soil. It reminded me of a fella on the lottie. In his greenhouse he grew his Toms in pure sand beds with pipes to the roots for watering, he had some belters. Don't know if it was the variety or the sandy conditions but he never grew in soil.

[Thelma Sanders]

More likely the tomato feed (whatever it was?) added to water

[Bigmallly]

Yes Thelma, he did use plenty of food.

[burnie]

As I mentioned in the pot washing thread, I was always told you either change the soil in a greenhouse/tunnel or sterilise it every couple of years. Adding soil improver/feed is also required, but to aid moisture retention, I found feeding the plant was more beneficial and just improve the soil with plenty of fibre like spent mushroom compost. I never had heavy clay, but I guess the compost would help lighten the soil and improve the drainage if that is a problem.

[noviceveggrower]

We use to live in Peterhead, the other side of Aberdeen, and my dad had a 6x4 greenhouse. He never heated it at all over the winter he just swept any snow off it.
He use to just put plenty of manure on the soil in autumn and let it rot down ready for spring.

[Alison]

We use to live in Peterhead, the other side of Aberdeen, and my dad had a 6x4 greenhouse. He never heated it at all over the winter he just swept any snow off it.
He use to just put plenty of manure on the soil in autumn and let it rot down ready for spring.

The beds in mine are as full in winter as they are in summer, there's so much you can use them for to extend seasons. Have loads of small plants getting ready for planting out when the toms etc get hoofed out.

[veggiechicken]

As I mentioned in the pot washing thread, I was always told you either change the soil in a greenhouse/tunnel or sterilise it every couple of years.

My GH is on concrete with edged beds on 3 sides. The same soil has been in it for 30+ years - never sterilised or changed it.
I grow the toms and cues in open bottomed buckets, in fresh compost, resting on the soil so the roots go down into it. Around the pots I grow salad veggies like lettuce, rocket, spring onions etc. At the end of the year, I empty the tom buckets onto the "beds", give it a bit of a stir and that's it.
Lazy gardening, maybe, but it works for me.