Inexpensive Greenhouse Floorings
When you are buying a greenhouse, you are often left with one last question: What type of flooring should I install?

Posted Wednesday, April 5, 2006

What types of flooring are there available? The answers to these questions are totally up to you. When I built my greenhouse I chose a concrete flooring just because I wanted to add heat and water to my greenhouse in the middle of the spring months without the mess of mud or dirt. I just don't like big messes. To be honest when I use water I always make a mess! Like I said though there are many types of flooring that you can choose from, and it will depend on how much you want to spend in the greenhouse and what you are going to use the greenhouse for to help you choose what type of flooring you want. You could have a dirt floor, a stone floor, a shell floor covering, a brick floor, a concrete or wood floor. Here we are going to discuss dirt floors, stone floors and shell floors for your greenhouse, as they are the most inexpensive.

A dirt floor is the most inexpensive. You continually pack the down floor as you walk on it and put down objects in the greenhouse. There is an advantage to having a dirt floor- the water will absorb easily if you should spill or use misters. If you are putting the greenhouse a few feet into the ground you will also benefit from the natural heat of a dirt floor as well.

A stone floor requires a little bit of work but you could get all of your materials for free if you are a little creative. A stone floor is simply putting flat shaped large stones on the greenhouse floor into the dirt. You will still have dirt between the stones so water can easily absorb into the ground when you use watering systems. You can get free stones by going to a place where someone is building a home, you could go out into a wooded area that has a creek near by, or you could go to a major highway nearby that is built into the side of a mountain and pick rocks from the side of the road. Of course you need truck and a strong back, but these are viable options for getting stones for free. Do be wary of weeds that may grow up between the stones inside your greenhouse.

A shell floor in your greenhouse can be inexpensive if you use a little bit of your time and creativity in gathering the shell. Most all greenhouse kits are easily staked into the ground and you don't even need to build a frame for the greenhouse to sit on so when you are left with a dirt floor, you can add shell to keep the dust and mud down. Of course is you are making your greenhouse two or three feet down in to the earth you also will be taking advantage of the natural heating from the soil. In order to get free shell you would need to go along the sides of the road and scrape it up yourself. This is easy in the country, but in the city it might not be an option. You can also buy shell in bags from your local home store fairly cheap, but it will take many bags to fill the floor of your greenhouse.