Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Diane Poston on December 9, 2009 at 1:12pm

I first tamped down all the soil to make a very stable base, then placed two 2x3's (i think) parallel about 2 1/2 feet apart down the middle to map out the walking area. I filled the two outer areas with pea gravel and then the center area with crushed gravel. It is now 5 years later and it has worked beautiflully. the crushed granite has compacted nicely to a solid walkway but still will allow drainage and the pea gravel works very well to set plants on and water does not puddle anywhere. I think we put at least 2 to 3 inches deep of each. you may need to excavate down to do this. we allowed for this when laying out the foundation. The wood edging between both materials keeps it neat and if any pea gravel gets out of place it is easy to sweep back where it belongs. fyi, my greenhouse is 8x16. I decided to stay away from concrete, it can get slippery, slimy, have drainage problems and can crack. Hope this helps!

Permalink Reply by Barb z6 MI & z10 FL on December 9, 2009 at 1:31pm

I have gravel in mine.,..dirt gets your feet dirty after watering plus it gets muddy..In my walkway I have flat square stones to raise my walking area so I don't get wet feet (or muddy in the case of a dirt floor)...If you plan on setting containers on the floor you have to take that into consideration as well...My gravel is a fine stone and seems to drain plus is level enough for the flats, pots etc that I put on the floor...There is a drawback though...dirt DOES get into the gravel...Drainage is an absolute must in a greenhouse since YOU WILL be getting lots of water...I use a hose in mine...I've had mine 35 years now and until about 5 years ago ran it all winter without any problems...Currently I spend my winters in a zone 10 in SW FL and don't run my Greenhouse until Spring when I will start my flowers and veggies...Enjoy Greenhouses are truly a lot of fun :o)

Permalink Reply by William Brooks Zone 7/OK on December 9, 2009 at 2:12pm

Diane that sounds like a good idea I think pea gravel on one side might be alright. I plan on having about an 18" wall on one side half way down the greenhouse and fill it with good soil for rooting trees and such the other side is open for plant racks and various other plants so that side I could lay down pea gravel. As far as the excavation I believe I went to deep already and may need to fill in with large gravel and then put the smaller gravel on top of that. I think that might work. Your response triggered my mind to think again for I was brain dead on ideas. I plan on having a 3 to 4 foot block wall all the way around so that I can put the soil bed on the inside. I hope 8 x 12 isn't going to be to small. Do you live in an area that requires a heater and air conditioner? It's like 25 degrees out side right now and was down in the teens over night so I was thinking I need both for it gets hot here in the summer months as well, 106 plus sometimes.

Permalink Reply by Diane Poston on December 10, 2009 at 9:34am

I live in Dallas and believe it or not, it is only 21 right now and got down below 20 last night! I have a King 240 pic-a-watt heater in my greenhouse and it does great. I've had it for over 5 years now and keep it at a toasty 50 degrees for my tropicals. Also, I keep a small oscillating fan that I clip to the ceiling to circulate the air, this helps especially when the sun comes out and it heats up even in the winter. I don't keep much in there over the summer, just too hot for anything with the sun beating down on it. Don't forget to plan for a shade cloth too! Garden gate magazine had a great idea for a do-it-yourself shade cloth using tension curtain rods between the supports. As far as the size, do as big as you can afford and have room for, you won't regret it. You will however regret building it too small if you could do larger. You will be surprised how fast you fill it up!

Permalink Reply by William Brooks Zone 7/OK on December 10, 2009 at 10:50am

Hard to read the article but I got the name of the Magazine and I should be able to get a copy of one. What month was it? Now do I need shade cloth for all the glass or just the roof? I planned on putting in a solid wall on the west side to help keep the sun out in the summer and maybe the roof on that side to. I have looked at Lowes and they have these corrugated panels called Tuftex. I was wondering if that would be strong enough to handle the winds up here in Shawnee or would I be picking it up over in the next county. Some great ideas.

Permalink Reply by William Brooks Zone 7/OK on December 10, 2009 at 10:54am

Barb thanks for your input I believe I will be using the gravel after talking to Diane I also would have problems with the mud I think I will use the gravel where I plan to put my top soil and lay plastic on top of that little area so the soil won't leach down through the gravel but still let the water run off if it gets to much.

Permalink Reply by William Brooks Zone 7/OK on December 10, 2009 at 11:16am

Sheri Good ideas but sub flooring I don't think will work for me its already to wet in that area and sub flooring would just add to my problem here where I live that would work great in dryer areas though. Thanks for your input.

Sheri Cline said:

First question to ask yourself is: What's my $ budget? It also sounds like you need some type of heat to keep seedlings/plants warm in winter and early spring. It may cost you more to do it this way, but in the long run you'll be much more happy with results. Your making a foundation which means you can put in floor joists to keep yourself off the wet ground. Add sub-flooring and on top of that, then nail down "Tile" backerboard (same stuff used in showers). Look into a NU-HEAT floor mat (doesn't have to cover the entire floor, just main walking areas) and lay a tile floor on top of that. NU-HEAT also includes information on how to do this (very easy, I layed a tile floor with it this past summer). You can buy inexpensive tile (Porcelain, ceramic is too fragile) $1.99 sq.ft. (12 x 12) at Home Depot or search your local home remodeling outlets. Home depot has tile sometimes even cheaper than that. You'll have a floor that is strong, warm and easy to mop up and disinfect. Good luck!

Permalink Reply by William Brooks Zone 7/OK on December 10, 2009 at 11:57am

Diane I don't think my reply got sent on so I'll try again. I couldn't read the page you scanned in but I can get a copy from the magazine just need the month it was published. Should I cover the roof with shade cloth or all the glass area? I checked into some corrugated panels from Lowe's called Tuftex but I'm concerned about the wind blowing them into the next county. I get 60 mph winds at least once a yr. plus more sometimes. 20 to 30 is common where I live and I'm on a slight hill.

Diane Poston said:

I live in Dallas and believe it or not, it is only 21 right now and got down below 20 last night! I have a King 240 pic-a-watt heater in my greenhouse and it does great. I've had it for over 5 years now and keep it at a toasty 50 degrees for my tropicals. Also, I keep a small oscillating fan that I clip to the ceiling to circulate the air, this helps especially when the sun comes out and it heats up even in the winter. I don't keep much in there over the summer, just too hot for anything with the sun beating down on it. Don't forget to plan for a shade cloth too! Garden gate magazine had a great idea for a do-it-yourself shade cloth using tension curtain rods between the supports. As far as the size, do as big as you can afford and have room for, you won't regret it. You will however regret building it too small if you could do larger. You will be surprised how fast you fill it up!

Permalink Reply by Diane Poston on December 10, 2009 at 1:28pm

it was Aug 2009, issue 88. I just have a portion of the roof blocked with shade cloth so that plants that do not like direct sun have 50% shade. I have the shade cloth installed on the inside of the greenhouse because of the wind here also.

Permalink Reply by linda broun on December 11, 2009 at 10:49pm

When my husband built our greenhouse about 5 years ago he placed 10" square cinder blocks on their side down the walkways. These happened to be blocks we already had. He then spread about 4" of small (about 1/4 -1/3 washed) gravel all over the remainder of the floor. Since I have a sink in the greenhouse he dug a 24" hole below the sink drain and filled it with the same gravel. It has worked extemely well. I cannot think of a better floor and highly recommend this.

Permalink Reply by William Brooks Zone 7/OK on December 12, 2009 at 8:46am

Linda thank you the space heater sounds like a good idea on timer I don't know why I didn't think of that for I got one in my well house running right now. The whole in the ground under your sink is basically a french drain and I did that once when I lived in CA with a problem I had. I can dig a hole at the entrance to my drain pipe to help with with the drainage I suppose for I still have a little standing water and that would eliminate that problem. I love all these ideas every one is coming up with thanks to all.

linda broun said:

When my husband built our greenhouse about 5 years ago he placed 10" square cinder blocks on their side down the walkways. These happened to be blocks we already had. He then spread about 4" of small (about 1/4 -1/3 washed) gravel all over the remainder of the floor. Since I have a sink in the greenhouse he dug a 24" hole below the sink drain and filled it with the same gravel. It has worked extemely well. I cannot think of a better floor and highly recommend this.

Permalink Reply by Sparticuss The Gardenest on January 14, 2010 at 7:43am

I recommend putting Landscaping fabric down, this works well for me, since it's very cheap to put down, it keeps grass/weeds from coming up, and you can actually grow things in the ground, in your greenhouse if you wish. Both effective and cost affordable.

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