Basic Greenhouse Supplies

Some of the basic greenhouse supplies you will find a use for in your gardening adventure are:

• Potting bench
• Seed trays
• Containers to hold seed starting mix
• Waterers
• Pots
• Sprayers
• Watering trays
• Heating pads
• Thermometer/Hygrometer

The potting bench can be as fancy or as rough as you can make it. It's basic purpose in to hold your seed trays at a comfortable height while you work. A simple frame of 2x4's with harware cloth nailed over the top will work. I will allow the spilled materials to fall through the wire to the ground and you won't have standing water mess on the work surface. You can purchase potting bench kits that are very handsome, some come with a handy upper shelf or rack which is nice to keep your tools and other equipment on. A bench should be very sturdy, able to hold trays of dirt and other items while you work. Your potting bench does not need to be inside your greenhouse. If you want to use all of your greenhouse space for growing, place the bench right outside of it, under a tree, or even in a potting shed, which is the traditional place for one.

Seed trays are shallow wooden or plastic trays or boxes that will hold just enough soil to start seeds in. Once the seedlings have 2 sets of leaves, you will be moving them up to individual cells or pots large enough for them to grow their roots further down. One reason we start the seeds by broadcasting them in a tray is, they won't take so much area on the heating pad to keep them warm enough to sprout. Once the second set of leaves appears, they will function without the heat.

Containers for seed starting mix that are durable and strong and won't split from constant handling will make it a lot easier to dip into the mix with a scoop or small bucket. Here again, it can be just about any material that is sturdy. I have used plastic trash cans with lids that come off. I put the lids back on to keep birds or cats from getting into the container. For year round gardening, you will want to keep a supply of soilless mix or the ingredients for making your own handy at all times. Then, if you suddenly get the urge to start some indoor herbs, you are supplied.

Waterers can be anything that will get the water from the faucet to the potting bench so you can wet your seed starting mix and keep them watered daily.

 

 

 

Pots are used to move the seedlings up to a larger container from the seed starting tray so it can grow bigger roots. You will probably want to keep pots of all sizes on hand. You can recycle seed and pot trays you get from purchasing plants, and lots of pots are available everywhere for purchase. Try to use re-usable and permanent pots to reduce landfill loads. Some gardeners prefer one material over another. You will find over time, the benefits of each type and choose your own favorite. I find that new construction landscaping jobs throw away a wide assortment of pot sizes that can be retrieved for nothing. You may also find enough material to build a potting bench out of.

Sprayers, or misters, are used to keep the surface of seed trays moist to aid the seedlings in growing up through it. Once the seedlings have emerged, you will stop misting them so they don't become susceptible to dampening off disease. Sprayers and misters are also used to moisten or fertilize the leaves of larger plants. Leaves can absorb food for the plant in this way.

Watering trays are anything that is fairly shallow and will hold water, which will allow you to set a seed starting tray inside of it to soak up water from the bottom. This handy tool will save you many hours of pot by pot watering. It should be large enough to accomodate some larger pots as well, then you can simply put water in it, place the dry pots inside and go about other chores while they soak up moisture, then go back and switch those for another set of pots that needs watering.

Heating Pads are plugged into electricity and placed under newly seeded trays to keep the soil warm and encourage sprouting. If you do not have a heated greenhouse, a heating pad will put the heat where it is needed.

 

Thermometers keep track of the temperature inside a greenhouse. A Min/Max thermometer will tell you how low the temperature dropped during the night and the warmest temperature it gets during the day. This information is very important to know if you are starting seeds in climate that will vary. Once you see the temperature dropping towards too-cold-for-the-plants, you can start heating the greenhouse.

 

 

Hygrometers measure the humidity inside the greenhouse. Knowing the humidity levels will alert you to the need for more air circulation in order to prevent diseases. Hygrometers are usually attached to a thermometer.