So for the last ten years (and before in my old house) I've been gardening in the greenhouse with either growbags or, more recently, builders buckets.
These have worked great and I've had some amazing crops over the years from them, making up my own mixes to plant into. A great old post showing this can be found here!
But since the ducks have been in the tunnel in the winter I've been missing out on growing some winter salads and having some early crops. So until I can see an end to winter poultry restrictions I think it's time to set things up a bit differently.
Then I put them back in and started to make a bed down the one side.
To do this I just lined it with slabs. It probably means I'll be a bit short down in the garden but it's not the end of the world.
I then decided to do it no-dig as it's not that big of an area and I have some matter to fill it with.
Cardboard down first.
Then a layer of last years rotted straw, which is braking down nicely.
Then about 6 wheelbarrow full of really well rotted muck from my pile (no photo - it's muck after all)
Then a good few bags of bought in compost. I'm not 100% convinced on the compost, has a bit of a funny smell, but it's peat free and organic so should be fine.
So now I plant to get a quick crop in now of greens and maybe beets. Then have it as a melon how in the summer and when they come out it can be for winter greens again.
What do you prefer, beds or planters in a greenhouse?
I changed the use of my greenhouse, and removed the bed. Everything is now in pots.
ReplyDeleteWe've gone in opposite directions! I'd keep going with the pots if it wasn't for my ducks!
DeleteI like that vegetable bed. I once made an outside raised concrete flags bed with river sand and sieved soil on my allotment in England. The carrots and parsnips were like show exhibits. You should grow a lot of vegetables in your greenhouse bed.
ReplyDeleteSounds good with the sand. Be great to by a few tons of washed sand like that!
DeleteKev, no greenhouse here, but I do have a concrete pad in the backyard that I was actually thinking about turning into beds as I cannot really do anything else with it and it has full sun all year.
ReplyDeleteFull sun all year would be great, I think I'll do some big pots in the front garden this year to make sue of that in our front garden.
Deleteis the compost SupaGrow peat free organic compost? We bought some and I am quite annoyed with it. It also stinks but it has loads of plastic bits in it. little fragments of hard white plastic, lots of green wire ties and some orange bits of sheet plastic. its awful stuff
ReplyDeleteYes! I have to say mine doesn't have any plastic that I've seen in it, but it's so woody and stinks to high heaven.
DeleteI've ordered a ton from a company locally but think that is just soil improver/mulch rather than proper compost. There is also a company near me called fertile fibres which used coconut as its base. I have my doubts about this as being eco friendly, due to how far its shipped, but its great conpost and peat free.
yes ours also has a lot of sticks in it. Maybe it is compost for newbie gardeners who dont know what compost is supposed to smell of. it is a bit like half rotten fish. If I was in the mood I would write to them and complain as it is not correct at all.
DeleteSame! I walk in there and just wrinkle my nose, I hope the smell goes quickly. I'm the saem, I'd write and complain but it's hardly worth it. I'll try and get some better stuff in the next week or so. I also thought fish guts - wonder if it's seaweed or something.
DeleteSeaweed doesnt smell like this, my parents used to spread whole seaweed on the garden. I also opened one and it was pure white fungi
DeleteAhhhh...I see you've stumbled upon my bindweed roots. I'm in Nova Scotia Canada and I knew those darn roots had gone a ways. 😉
ReplyDeleteAnyhow. Nice greenhouse.