What did you use for your greenhouse floor?

I will be recieving my Rion Pro greenhouse kit next month and I am wondering about what I should do. We were going to pour a cement slab. Maybe thick plastic with gravel on top of that.
What is your suggestions?
thanks
Amos

We put down landscape cloth. Then 4" of builder's sand topped by 12" X 12" cement pavers spaced 1/2" apart. Finally, we filled in the spaces between the pavers with more builder's sane. That arrangement seems to increase the humidity in the greenhouse. I didn't anticipate having to deal with my worst nightmare inside the greenhouse — Bermuda grass! Our pastures are a combination of native grasses and Bermuda. Even after being nuked by RoundUp, it worked its way through the landscape cloth, the sand and up between the pavers. It loved all the water and fertilizer. When it's safe to take out the plants, I'll have to spray and spray and hope to kill it before the end of October when the plants need to go back in. If you don't have anything as invasive, pavers would work well. I like gravel as well, but with my bum ankle, it wasn't a good idea, not stable enough. Cement will contract and expand depending on the temperature and would probably crack unless you pour it in sections with expansion joints inbetween. That's one advantage of having pavers. The sand filled spaces between the pavers act as expansion joints. Do you plan on heating the greenhouse?

I have cement in one. A combination of cement and two 8x31 foot dirt grow sections in another. I love cement it is so easy to clean and roll plant shelves around on . Do it once with cement and enjoy forever.

This is the one with the grow sections there is a 20x15 foot floor area in the front of this one that holds some shelves and tables and big tubs

Mine is on cement only because it was already there. Clean up is a snap. I just hose it down and the water runs out some drain holes my DH put in the wood base.

After you Round-Up the grass growing between your pavers you should try using a little Preen to keep any grass seeds from sprouting. Round-Up doesn't kill seeds. You may have to apply it often since GH's are wet places and it may get washed away. Preen is a little stinky, but it works.

We put down some paver sand from Lowe's. Then these cheap concrete squares. (The big ones so you use less)
We didn't put any under the benches. I use that area to root stuff sometimes.
We've had this for a year now. It still looks great.
Pam

eweed, lovely lovely tomatoes.

My gh is small, 10 x 14. I don't use it in the summer. Would be too difficult and too expensive to keep it cool enough for plants. It is part of my garage, on NE corner.There is a cement floor under all. There are a few smallish 1" drain holes in the floor in front of where the heater is located. There is almost always some water on the floor under the benches. It works pretty good for me but I sure don't have any wonderful looking tomato plans like yours E weed.

Donna

We put down landscape fabric and then about 4 inches of crushed granite. It works well for me. Its easy to walk on, doesn't move around like pea gravel and is fairly easy to clean I just rake it once in a while. So far I haven't had anything grow up through it. My daughter put bark in hers and that was a big mistake, smelled awful and was always damp.
Just my experience.
Linda

LOL, pastime, I can tell that you have never been around Bermuda grass! Lucky, you. It can send roots and rhizomes 6 feet deep and many feet laterally. Usually, unstressed Bermuda doesn't produce seed, but it does grow amazingly fast. The rhizomes are my problem. They travel through the sand and under the pavers emerging between them.

Thank you one and all for the ideas.

Amos

If you let the leaves dry after applying it, it can't "wash away". It's impossible.

The best way to effectively use glyphosate is to first, feed the plant you want to kill. Yes, feed it, with a water-soluable fertilizer (such as Miracle-Gro). Nurture it. Get it producing sugars. It must be *actively* growing for the glyphosate to work. After about 3 days of this nurturing, the plant will be producing sugars. When these sugars are actively moving through the plant, the glyphosate will attach itself to carbohydrates, move rapidly through the plant, and effectively kill it.

Applying it to the base of the plant, at the oldest growth, is best. If you spray, say poison ivy, at the end of the vine, you'll be less than happy with the results. Not all leaves produce sugar. The darker, dull-colored leaves are the targets. They're the ones that are actively producing sugar. Those shiny, new-growth leaves aren't producing sugars at all (or in such minute amounts as to be negligible), so they won't transport the glyphosate.

Bermuda grass, here in my area, is nothing but an invasive pest. Its growing season is too short to be useful as a turf grass. It's VERY difficult to kill because of (some of) the reasons stated above. It won't send rhyzomes six feet deep, unless you've cultivated that deep. In uncultivated soil, such as a lawn, it will only run about 6" deep. But, it's an interesting plant, in that it's the only turfgrass I can think of that spreads by stolons, rhyzomes, and seed. Gotta admire its dedication. =)

Growing in the greenhouse, through bricks, is a tough one. It gets plenty of water, warmth, and light, which are the three things it needs to thrive. It still will try to store food for the dormant season. That's probably the best time to target it with glyphosate. It stores the food in the rhyzomes, and spraying at that time, should kill it. It would be easier, if the bricks weren't there, for sure. You could spray it, then lift the rhyzomes to the surface to die.

I'd deal with it as best you can, during the summer, pulling the stolons as often as possible. Then, at the end of the growing season, feed it, then hit it with glyphosate. Maybe even a second application, seven days later.

HTH and good luck!

It's not that easy. I've had some grass specialists from Texas A & M wish me luck in trying to get rid of Bermuda. One of the reasons, Bermuda grass is used as a pasture grass is because it is deep rooted and can handle almost anything but shade. RoundUp will knock it down for a few months, but it comes back.

It sounds like you're applying the glyphosate at the wrong time. Try as I suggested. Near the end of the growing season, feed the Bermuda. Wait three days, then hit it with glyphosate. Reapply again, seven days later. In between apps, make sure you water the Bermuda. Remember, you want it to keep actively growing, so that it transports the glyphosate down to the roots. You could even do a third application seven to ten days later, if you think it's necessary. This *will* work. Give it a try..

Thanks for the info Eggs. I have my own battles with bermuda, but I'm considering your technique for a native vine that drives me bonkers here (Funastrum cynanchoides.) It's supposedly impervious to herbicides, but I'm inspired to give your technique a try this fall. If it works you will have improved the quality of my life greatly. It's on my calendar. ;-)

Good luck mudhouse. Timing is very important, when applying glyphosate.

Apolgoies to Amos for straying OT.

mine is upside down carpet on 6in of packed sand