Oh yeah, strawberries should do fine! Sounds like you are ready to go, and with those sizes of containers you ought to have a respectable harvest, too. Be sure to add the Lime, and don't skimp on the fertilizer, especially at the beginning and middle of the season. Josh

This is why the ReptiBark is such a good bet for my application... because it breaks down less quickly, I can go 2 or 3 years without having to re-pot... or with adding a top-dressing only. I don't have to worry that the ReptiBark will decompose right away. I find that if I soak the ReptiBark overnight before using any in a mix, it's much less likely to become hydrophobic. Plus, my pots aren't drying out that quickly... they're indoor, out of direct sun and any wind, as opposed to outdoor containers and the conditions there. Honestly, I haven't had any issues with the small bags, as used for my own applications. When I know a pot will spend time outdoors, I use a different bark in a medium closer to the 511. I found a few bags of some pine mulch at Lowe's or somewhere like that... no idea on brand names or anything... but it appeared a little darker in color, smaller in size, and perfect for using in a 511 type mix. This past spring, we actually added a bunch of composted wood chip mulch to our raised beds and even turned a bunch into the garden for aeration and whatnot... so far, so good! The basic concept is working well for us!

Monica, I wrote another tips message for you yesterday. but it hasn't appeared and I really can't remember what all I wrote. But I will try again. I don't have a sink in my greenhouse anymore just because I do not have room. I used to even have a small fish pond in there, but I just have too many plants and have removed that also as much as I enjoyed it. I do set up one of those black plastic rectangular mixing pans you see in HD and Lowes and use that to mix soil or use as a sink to soak used pots when I need a sink. I have a water spigot in the greenhouse with a hose and hot water. The fine misting setting on the hose sprayer comes in handy to provide humidity as well as to water the plants. I use a water splitter at the spI got so I can hookup multiple hoses that attach to humidifiers, fertilizer portioners, etc. I don't have any problem with moss, mold, algae, or weeds growing on my floor but I have a lot of air circulation with fans in each corner and an exhast fan in the peak. I have a weed barrier under the 8-10 inches of bluestone flooring. Keeping the air moving is essential to prevent disease and fungus. I do wash down the walls, roof and floor about twice a year to prevent disease, usually when I take most everything out in the spring and again before I bring the plants in again in the fall. My greenhouse came with built in benching, but I removed it after a few years as I can fit more trees in without it. The trees get too tall on the benches so now most sit on various height plant stands to keep them off the cooler floor like those in your picture or I make shelving using wire closet racks propped up on the plant stands or cement blocks so I can keep my configuration flexible as the size and variety of plants changes. Ask when you order your greenhouse about putting 6 inch support bracing bars up in the peak aong each panel as that will make the roof much stronger and you will be able to support lots of hanging plants without risking collapse of your roof, especially if there is snow load. I hang many of my higher light loving orchids up there. Hot air rises so it is warmer up there than down near the floor where I keep lower light and cooler growing plants there under the citrus trees. Your roof looks steep which is good as any snow will slide off right away. You also should order a dropped door kit so you can wheel your plants in the door without having to lift them over a foundation block or wall. I have a Freeze Alarm in my greenhouse which runs off a phone line. I think it cost about $200-$300 but it is very good as you can call in to monitor the temperature in your greenhouse when you are traveling or at work and also know the voltage of the backup battery if there is a long electricity outage. You can provide up to 3 phone numbers the system will call to notify you if there is a problem that the greenhouse is not maintaining its temperature or it is getting too hot in there. If you are away you can call one of your friends to go check on it for you. I think there are cellular systems available now too. If you are running pipes or electric line underground out to the greenhouse, that is the time to run the phone line out to the greenhouse in the conduit even if you don't plan to have the phone line out there. You won't have to dig again later if you decide you would like a phone line out there. There is also equipment you can add to your computer which will monitor humidity, temp, light levels, etc through a phone line. I guess that can be remotely done now too. There are also lower tech remote sensors that work wireless but are only good for about 100 ft, which generally works ok from your house if someone is always there to hear and monitor them. Those are only about $25 I think. I find that they are not always reliable when the temperatures get really cold though for some reason, and that is when you need it the most. It is always important to check the greenhouse every couple of hours on really cold nights to make sure everything is ok. I now use Aluminet shade cloth which really helps to keep the greenhouse cooler in the summer. I think it provides 60% shade. I originally had a black plastic knitted fabric which provided 70% shade but that seemed a little too dark to me and I think the Aluminet keeps it cooler even though it let's in more sunlight. To provide humidity in the greenhouse you may be able to provide enough by just wetting down the greenhouse floor in the morning. If that isn't enough, you can use that misting hosing that comes with mister heads spaced about a foot apart. If you put it on a timer you only need to mist for a few seconds every hour or so. Keep it low so it doesn't wet your plants leaves. You could also hook it up to a hgyrometer set to the humidity level you want to maintain to automat it more precisely. This is a relatively cheap way of maintaining a constant level of humidity. For about $350 you could get a centrifugal mister that provides a finer mist and hook that up to a hygrometer which costs about $100 and you will have a very fine humid atmosphere which I use for my orchids. I do not think the citrus trees would require that much humidity so just wetting your pea gravel floor might be all you need. If you put in electricity, put in a few outlets as you will want to put in a heater, or 2, some lights (even just to see in there if there is a problem), maybe a centrifugal humidifier, a couple of fans. I had to get more put in, and it is good to have them spaced at either end and maybe the middle of the greenhouse. I use UV bubblewrap on the inside sides and roof of my greenhouse. It saves a lot on heating costs. Many others throw a solar pool cover over the top, wrap it up like a gift package and tie it down with bungee cords, plastic deer fencing, wood strips etc. Again, it really conserves on heating costs and lasts for several seasons. I am trying to remember things that I had to learn about. Just ask if you can think of anything. Others will probably chime in with their experiences. You don't need everything at once, but it is good to start thinking ahead. Have fun! Cory

After reading through the thread, I agree that your plan to sub lava rock for perlite and a commercially prepared potting soil for the medium's peat fraction should work fine, as long as the size of the bark and lava rock aren't too large or widely divergent in size. I also stand on the side of Pam in her assertion that you cannot expect a soil you have to water in sips to regulate moisture levels to cooperate with you as fully as a soil you can water at will to beyond the point of saturation without having to pay a tax in the form of diminished root health or function. If we take interest in the growing experience of others to the extent we get a sense of satisfaction from knowing we helped, providing information that allows them to recognize or create soils they don't have to battle for control over their plants' root health is probably the most significant help someone could offer. So moving away from soils that demand micromanagement when that ability might be in short supply yields significantly more potential, even to growers with years of experience, for plants to realize more of their genetic potential. Al