Greenhouse recessed beds in clay??

Bongpullr

Bongpullr

Member
Good day friends! Getting ready to start a project and open for thoughts. My 20x48 greenhouse sits and the bottom of a slope everything is red clay in the area. Last year I ran into headroom issues being the ceilings are only 12 ft. Here's my thought. Take out raised beds and dig recessed beds. Like 3 trenches the length of the greenhouse. Roots would be cooler is a big bonus as well. My worry is water retaining in the beds being clay bottom and getting root rot. D- earth in the bottoms maybe? Would rather not raise the greenhouse as it sits just below a tree line and just a few feet could make it noticeable on the ridge. Maybe drain tile? Any links or experience would be awesome.! This years line up includes sugar momma, master kush, blackberry kush, headband, chemdog, grape romulan, royal kush, purple grape ape, and snow cap and panama red for sats. Thanks brothers and sisters. B.P.
 
vostok

vostok

Well-Known Member
D-Earth ...? diatomaceous earth, I'm no fan can be expensive and even harmful to breathing that stuff in, besides I have a pleasurable habit and prefer to keep my lungs for it, your trenching idea is popular with greenhouse owners wanting improve yields, even better on a slope, just ensure you have a drain away at the bottom, even an old emergency sump pump, can be handy, I prefer gravel lined trenches, a yard(meter) wide and the length of the building
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
Hey BP, that sounds like quite a line-up. Nice variety.
Two things that concern me about your plan are; 1 that it sits at the bottom of the slope &2, clay soil. I'd say you could get away with one or the other, but not likely both. I'm gonna bet there are existing raised beds in there for good reason. In spite of resent conditions, it can really get to raining on the west slopes of the Sierras. It could be a plan for disaster.
Is it an option to grow your sativa variety's in your spring crop, when they won't have time to get huge? and concentrate on growing indica's in the summer? You have a better chance of keeping them under 12'.....good luck bro....
 
TokaLot

TokaLot

Well-Known Member
You can dig the trenches sloped with the greenhouse and trench them out so when you fill them and water they drain down and out.
 
B

BCJohn

Member
TokaLot has the right idea if you really want to do trenches in clay.
The only other mod I would look at is to drain to a "French Drain". You slope the trenches so that they drain out of the greenhouse into a Pit. The pit is lined with landscaping fabric and filled with Gravel. This pit fills with the excess water then slowly drains into the surrounding ground. This is used with houses that have problems with drainage. It takes a lot of manual work (shoveling) but it does work in many situations.

How thick and heavy is your clay?
Is it solid/pure clay or a clay soil?

I have lived in places that had thick layers of solid clay in the ground. It can be both a good and a bad thing. It also makes a big difference as to what you do. A layer a couple feet under the surface can be good for retaining water in the soil. It can also help you figure out where the underground water flows are, but it can also be a problem by directing water to the place you may want to use.

You also need to be careful when digging thru these layers because cutting a hole thru a layer can cause the water table to suddenly drop. You just pulled the plug and emptied the sink. Poked a hole in the balloon and out flows all the water.
 
L

LIBERTYCHICKEN

Well-Known Member
BCJohn said:
TokaLot has the right idea if you really want to do trenches in clay.
The only other mod I would look at is to drain to a "French Drain". You slope the trenches so that they drain out of the greenhouse into a Pit. The pit is lined with landscaping fabric and filled with Gravel. This pit fills with the excess water then slowly drains into the surrounding ground. This is used with houses that have problems with drainage. It takes a lot of manual work (shoveling) but it does work in many situations.

How thick and heavy is your clay?
Is it solid/pure clay or a clay soil?

I have lived in places that had thick layers of solid clay in the ground. It can be both a good and a bad thing. It also makes a big difference as to what you do. A layer a couple feet under the surface can be good for retaining water in the soil. It can also help you figure out where the underground water flows are, but it can also be a problem by directing water to the place you may want to use.

You also need to be careful when digging thru these layers because cutting a hole thru a layer can cause the water table to suddenly drop. You just pulled the plug and emptied the sink. Poked a hole in the balloon and out flows all the water.
Click to expand...


I have instaled french drains before in basements prone to flooding , A properly designed system will work , inside or out

Google it you should not have any problem finding examples of french drains installed on a landscape


In the OP's case the 'pit' would not even be nessary , just the drain pipeing the runoff to a lower point than the tunnel
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
LIBERTYCHICKEN said:
I have instaled french drains before in basements prone to flooding , A properly designed system will work , inside or out

Google it you should not have any problem finding examples of french drains installed on a landscape


In the OP's case the 'pit' would not even be nessary , just the drain pipeing the runoff to a lower point than the tunnel
Click to expand...
He said he was at the base of the slope, what if there isn't any lower point?
 
L

LIBERTYCHICKEN

Well-Known Member
doublejj said:
He said he was at the base of the slope, what if there isn't any lower point?
Click to expand...
Sorry I did not catch that ,

In that case then a pit would be nessary

But while we are on the subject , Even if he's on the base of the slop their still may be plenty enouth of a elevation change to not require it , all thats needed is enouth pitch for water to flow from point A - to point B , 1/4 inch per foot is actually ideal but less will work fine just when you start to get less than 1/8 inch per foot you will start having issues with sand accumulating in the pipe, even if you have less than the 1/8 the whole drain piping can be wraped in a landscape type of fabric to help, also sand traps at intersections can be placed to help clean out sand

Grade can be difficult to read by eye , Its best to go out their with stakes, mason line (cordage) and a line level to know for sure what you have where
 
Bongpullr

Bongpullr

Member
Hey thanks for the thoughts and ideas. JJ I'm if I started the sativas with my deps. They would not finish flower in and would have to Have supplemental light as to not g o back into veg. The greenhouse is on the bottom of the slope. I think we are gonna do 12in recessed with 12 in. above ground.. I think we will run pvc pipes with holes the length of the beds as well as a thin layer of rocks. The land is all clay and bedrock not just a layer. Sorry such a quik reply, heading out for work. :) B.p.
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
Bongpullr said:
Hey thanks for the thoughts and ideas. JJ I'm if I started the sativas with my deps. They would not finish flower in and would have to Have supplemental light as to not g o back into veg. The greenhouse is on the bottom of the slope. I think we are gonna do 12in recessed with 12 in. above ground.. I think we will run pvc pipes with holes the length of the beds as well as a thin layer of rocks. The land is all clay and bedrock not just a layer. Sorry such a quik reply, heading out for work. :) B.p.
Click to expand...
Actually you might have to pull a tarp over it for a few weeks at the end, to keep them in flower......
Might be easier than digging a ditch
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
Are sativas in high demand (pardon the pun) in your market? Why bother?
With a 12' height limit, I'd just stick to heavy producing indicas unless there was a specific demand for a sativa.
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
Hey BP, unless there is someplace 'downhill' from your greenhouse to drain into, your going to need to dig a pretty deep trench to be effective. You may as well just take your chances and dig out 3'. Try trenching around the perimeter of the greenhouse to keep the rain out & if by chance it fill's with rain anyway, you can quickly pump it out.
 
Bongpullr

Bongpullr

Member
Heyya J! Those kids are looking great and much greener! I knew it would work out that way :) Ty. Put draintile in all the way around down to a river rock pit on the lowest corner. Seems to me working well with the monsoon were getting. Much needed though. Sats are my personal daytime smoke J, so I grow one or 4 in full season each year. I love the way they grow as well. Starting on soil mixing once it drys up some. Enjoy a rainy day nap. Take care everyone. B.P.
 
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