Greenhouse Equipment Part 3
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Another solution for the potting bench problem is to use your basement. The basement is an ideal place, if you have the extra room, to use as a potting area.
No matter where you decide to do your potting; one thing is certain, be sure that you use a rugged surface to do your potting on. Transite is a very good table top surface to use for potting. You can also use wood for the potting surface top. You can make it with lumber that is ¾”, 1″, or 2″. You’ll find that even the ¾” inch top will serve your purposes well, even when putting a bushel or two of planting soil on the potting area table top.
Unless you have planned this greenhouse for a long time and have a supply of good soil ready, the soil required for your first year’s planting may have to be included in your budget. More than just plain garden soil is needed for potting most greenhouse-grown plants. Garden or field loam can make up as much as a third of the mixture, but it should be enriched with another third of organic material. Vermiculite or sand is the other third.
With an established compost pile or a heap of leaf-mold, you will find it necessary to purchase only such organics as sphagnum moss, peatmoss, or peat. Sphagnum moss wholesales at a few dollars a bale plus shipping charges; granulated peatmoss and horticultural peat. Leafmold is priced at cheaply per bushel . Special potting materials such as osmunda fiber (an old-time medium for orchids ) can cost a fair amount, shredded wood and bark, used increasingly of late in orchid culture, is (or was) priced very reasonably.
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