Design in the Greenhouse

1. Design in the Greenhouse Bench Types Bench Arrangements This presentation is from Virginia Tech and has not been edited by the Georgia Curriculum Office.

2. Bench Types • Raised benches • convenient working height for employees • comfortable shopping level for customers • adjustable • Ground beds • built on floor • filled with a soil media • used mainly for cut flower production • hardly used today

3. Bench Types cont. • Moveable benches • designed to roll sideways, where legs and frame are stable but the bench top slides left to right • eliminate need for several aisles • most space efficient • commercially available • Ebb & Flow benches • raised bench • 3-6 inches deep and capable of holding water • crops absorb water, which is then dumped into storage tank underneath • important where waste run-off is not allowed • can have ebb & flow moveable benches

4. Bench Types Some operators grow their plants directly in the greenhouse floor Very unsanitary - poor plant growth, diseases Unappealing to customers Uncomfortable for employees

5. Material used for bench construction • Concrete blocks • durable • inexpensive • easy to move • Wood • most common • cheap and easy to work with • Redwood lath - rolled out over concrete blocks as a lightweight bench • Wooden pallets • can be obtained free of charge • strong bench top

6. Bench Arrangements • Parallel benching • run length of greenhouse • not space efficient • Peninsular benching • one major aisle in center of greenhouse • other aisles run perpendicular to center aisle • most space efficient