Greenhouse advice

Lunnan

I moved to a house which has a large lean-to greenhouse and as I've never had one before I need some advice about what to do to the soil that is in there.  Do I need to part replace it with new compost, or loam or do I sprinkle some chicken manure pellets before planting? 

steephill

Do you have any history of how the greenhouse was used? If not then you could try soil testing using kits like this https://www.rhsplants.co.uk/product/_/soil-test-kit/classid.2000034638/ That would give you some useful information but wouldn't be any use in detecting blight spores. If the greenhouse has had previous problems with tomato blight then soil replacement would be the way forward if you intended to grow tomatoes.

I would recommend giving the soil a good digging over in any case to check for the presence of vine weevil grubs.

Pete.8

I agree - I'd just dig it over then dig in a few bags of rotted farmyard manure and plant it up.
If it looks awful though, then it's best dug out and replaced.
I wouldn't worry about fungal spores, but I'd give it all a thorough clean.
If you wanted to check the soil try sowing something that germinates fast (e.g. peas or mustard and cress) and if that grows then I think you'll be fine.

nick615

This isn't a sarcastic comment but, if there's a neighbour nearby who keeps chickens, borrowing a couple for when you dig it over will soon rid the soil of any unwanted live stock, and some seeds too!  Other than that, I'd plant a few of several different crops and watch for results.  Most will produce, and the ones that don't can be investigated later but, if the house has been left unused for some time, I imagine nature will have taken care of most problems?