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In ground in greenhouse

G

Guest

ok, so I had this shed/garage 15'x15'x15' (peak) that was basically a condemned building - not officially but it's structural integrity moved south a number of years ago. So, I decided to tear the walls and roof off (lighten the load), add some support back to the beams and then as winter came up I rolled 10mil plastic onto it. It's not fancy by any means but it works for now and I can upgrade things along the way. the cement floor is broken and popped up here and there. So, what I decided to do is; I sledged the busted pieces down to managable sizes, tore the floor up in a roughly 10'x10' area.
I plan to plant directly into the ground but this is still inside a greenhouse.

I haven't gone through a summer with this greenhouse yet so I want to try to kill any problems before hand. I know I need to think about ventilation (36F outside; 98F.inside), the heat builds up pretty easy in there.

What else am, I going to need to consider? :chin:

Thanks, :joint:
J.
 

suzycremecheese

Active member
If you havent considered it already. Changing or at least aerating the soil beneath the concrete. Maybe get one of those automatic vent openers for the roof.
 
D

DJ_highst_

sounds like a cool set-up. very smart way to re-use material and save time too. If heat is an issue I would build some vents and installs some exhaust, like a large greenhouse fan or squirel fan. Get some temp contols with some temp/humidity readings. check out the greenhouse material thread for good spots for greenhouse materials.

do have some pics, to help give us some ideas on what needs do be done to get that bad boy running smooth.
 
G

Guest



Here's a shot of it before Winter, November or so. Unfortunately most of my cactus died since we had unusually cold temperatures (-17F.low) and the gh was not insulated for that cold. Anyway, I'll snap a shot of it now tomorrow morning and post with the opened floor. (Warning: it's still very crude but it'll work for now)

Suzycreme, I forgot to mention; I amended with FF Ocean Forest, Happy Frog, MG Organic Plus, well composted peat (moss all over it, good indicator), sand, chunky perlite, acrillite, vermiculite, hygromite, crushed silica, lava rock, chunky orchid mix (bark, chunky perlite, chunky charcoal)............I think thats it.........oh; rare earth (powder).
I already have the base and veg TriFlex gallons so I'll probably use those most of the grow but undecided on flower formula yet. I also use Floralicious Plus and molasses.
I have 4 seedlings in a 18"x18"x18" box with 200wtts 5000K 92CRI cfl.

J.

P.S. forward is East; right is South; Left is North; and your back is to the West!

Edit:
The soil underneath the floor is untouched for at least 42 years, it was already much softer than planned -Bonus-
 
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D

DJ_highst_

I think it looks pretty fucking sweet if you ask me. Besides it being a GH, looks like you got a nice work bench/area for your gardening. thats good that you have the southern sun facing one of the open walls and a concrete floor, those two things alone will keep temps up a few degrees

I would seal off the western wall with a door and window made from double or tripple layer polycarbonate or woven plastic.

You got a great platform to build a cool GH structure. keep it up. thanks for the pics.
 
G

Guest

Ok, I finally got around to taking pics of the inground/ingreenhouse. I know it's early for putting them out but i have plenty of time to find a female and take cuttings and get them rooted and set out in time for outdoor planting.









They certainly have seen better days but they've been nothing but problems since I used that flippin TriFlex (shit sucks). The worst that can happen is they don't perform well. I've already written them off as gone and have started making backup plans with new material. If I do get a girl and no hermie in her then she'll get cut for the clones I need.

J.
 

suzycremecheese

Active member
Is it possible that your having pH or nutrient issues in that soil or where they came from? Maybe you should get it tested.
 
G

Guest

The other soil had problems but this should be fine for them, I just don't know how well they can still do in the best environment now. I won't ever stray from my organics again. The edges are still a bit rough but I can get those cleaned up this week (forecast in the 50'sF.). With regard to space efficiency and plant bushing/respiration; I should be able to get at least 6 into the plot comfortably and then possibly 4 into 15glln pots for a total of 10.

J.
 

trybud

Active member
if that was my spot, i'd dig out soil that was under the concrete and backfill with the mix of your choice...or grow in big 30 gallon rubbermaid totes.......<edit> i didn't see the list of amendments up there (prolly just daydreaming about having a spot like that) seems to be good choice cuz of cooler root zone in summer months
 
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G

Guest

As you could see in the last pics, they weren't lookin too hot but they have bounced back now with a few days to adjust and a foliar shot of Maxicrop and Floralicious.

J.
 
G

Guest

it's still pretty ghetto but it'll work for now. The problem is that I have a fair sized collection (3-400) of tropical cactus and they have places too but I lost ALOT of them that weekend that all the crops (citrus, avacado, etc...) were damaged. The trash men aren't taking yard waste yet so I have a huge pile of dead plants, 12" pots, and concrete all inside the gh still. April/May I'll be able to start moving this shit out and get it cleaned up. I think the inground;ingreenhouse is a good idea but I'll have to work on/with it for a while to "dial it in" as they say.

Thanks for the positive, folks.

J.
 
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