Hi everyone,

I finally got off my bum and bought a proper greenhousE. It is 2.5m wide x 3.7m long and come in kit form. I will post some pics of the build in this thread. Very excited.

HN

Awesome HN, you planning on filling it with any specific kinds of cacti, or is it overflow from the rest of the collection?

Great cant wait to see some pics. I am sure you will have a lot of fun putting it together and filling it.

I'm going to "try" and fill it slowly with mostly Mexican miniatures such as Ariocarpus, Astrophytum, Lophophora etc.

I have a heap of work to do on the ground/base layer before I can even start. Any suggestions regarding the base would be helpful, currently the site is grass which I plan to remove, even it up with road base/concrete aggregate etc and then either pave (I have some old ones) or fill it with some rock like scoria or blue metal. Just for info I won't be putting anything in the ground it is simply storage

Any ideas ? or hints, CC ?

HN

I'd make sure it had good drainage, and maybe put in weed matting under the pavers or gravel

If nothing is going to be planted in the ground you could just use a base of scoria or maybe some Lilydale topping (aggregate) and hire a compactor to ram it flat.

Ideally, I would raise the base about 6-8 inches above the surrounds and edge it with strong timber like redgum, then rammed aggregate to act as a floor. If it's going to be be a permanent addition to the yard you might as well do it properly from the beginning and have a result that lasts.

I am not that fussy i think road base nicely compacted then a thin layer of builders sand or concrete sand is fine. Small pebbles are good but expensive same as marble chips etc. Pavers and or concrete will increase temps i think. As long as your benches are secure base is a matter of personal preference 2 of my hothouses had no prep to the floor and occasionally i have to remove the odd weed but it is fine another 2 i fussed a little more and used a road base to make level then weed mat followed by 30mm concrete sand or paving sand is fine. Have fun and good luck filling the new hothouse cant wait to see a variety of progress shots.

Ok thanks for the info everyone I appreciate it. The build will be a little slow but I will get there eventually. Little busy at present.

I will be sure to post some progress shots

HN