On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:04:10 +0000, Dave Whipp
wrote:


Hi -

This is my first posting here so please bear with me -

This is my first full year of greenhouse ownership, it's only a small
6' 6" square plastic Rion greenhouse, but I'm hoping to get some
tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweet and chilli peppers going in growbags
later this year.

I had limited success last year, but not as good as I hoped, due I
think to a late start and the wet summer we had.

Due to my odd work hours, I'm not going to be available to water the
greenhouse every single day, so I have a water timer and drip feeds
into the growbags. Is this a good idea - or is there a better way ?.

Is it better to cover the floor with concrete flags, and sit the
growbags on top of those, or will it be a better idea to cut a few
slits in the base of the growbags and rest them directly on the soil,
so some of the root systems will be able to grow down underneath the
growbags ?

Last year I had a lot of small black flies, which I believe are
encouraged by having damp earth to lay their eggs in, so I'm thinking
that if I concrete flag the floor first, this will help eliminate the
black flies problem ?

Thanks - Dave.


I am not familiar with growbags but the ones I saw on the WEB seemed
to be rather large. I can not imagine that they would need to be
watered every day. I am the southern US and have a greenhouse. I do
not water my seedlings every day even though they are in trays with
partitions that are about 2" square.
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/supplies.htm #6686 is a sample of what I
use to start seeds. And no, I did not pay that much for mine. Even
this size does not need daily watering.

Put your Growbags in trays or saucers and fill the tray and let the
pot absorb the water. Keep it up until it is wet all the way through.
Remember it is roots that need the water. Do not set the pots on the
ground. If the roots grow through the drain holes it will be a pain
to remove the plants to either plant outside or move into larger bags.

Remember greenhouses can get very hot when hit with direct sunlight. I
have seen mine go from 50°F to 90°F in an hour or two with the outside
temperature is 40°F.

I am not an expert but I do have a couple of years or experience now.
If you have more questions ask here or my email is correct.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)