Wooden Greenhouse Staging
There's something very pleasing about the look of wooden greenhouse staging. But is it a practical material to have in your greenhouse? Well it is as long as you know what to look for.
Wood has one importance advantage over aluminium staging in that during the hot summer days the wood doesn't heat up. If you've got plants standing on metal staging the build up of heat can damage the roots of your plants standing on the top.
One thing to remember when buying wooden staging is that very cheap is often a very bad buy. The first thing you have to consider is the sturdiness of the staging. If the wood isn't thick enough it will snap at some point. Often in cheaper wooden greenhouse staging the uprights are of a reasonable thickness but the slats are definitely on the thin side that may not withstand having heavy things like bags of compost stacked on them.
General sturdiness is important. Wooden greenhouse staging that is made from cedar will be heavy and sturdy. Something made from softwood will be relatively light and if not well built could be rocky and unstable, something made worse by the fact that greenhouse floors are often not the flattest of surfaces.
You can get foldable wooden staging which has the advantage of being able to be folded up and removed at anytime. Because of this they do tend be of a light design and prone to being wobbly. They are best used for temporary staging that doesn't need to take any great weight.
Another thing is water. There's always a lot of it about in a greenhouse so if you go for wood always make sure it's cedar, treated or varnished softwood. If the wood's plain and untreated then you'll have to apply a coating or two yourself. Don't forget the bottom of the staging, especially the bottom of the legs. They'll probably come in contact with water quite frequently from spillages and general watering in the greenhouse. You don't want your wooden staging rotting from the bottom up.
You can buy staging that combines both wood and aluminium. These utilise the lightness and strength of the metal while using the wood for the slats. Many people like having slatted greenhouse staging because of the improvement in ventilation that will help prevent damping off.
The top of the range wooden greenhouse staging is staging made with Western Red Cedar. These are very heavy but very durable. The timber is rot-resistant and its resistance to damp means that has a low tendency to warp. It needs virtually no maintenance, just an occasional wash down and a rub with oil if you so wish. It is, however, expensive to buy.