Collection: Bench

What a Greenhouse Bench Is For

A greenhouse bench is a raised working surface, usually long and narrow, running along a wall or between beds. It lifts pots and trays to a height you can work at, keeps them off cold ground, and frees the floor beneath for storage.

The difference from a table is mostly shape and position. A bench is fitted to the run of the house and stays where it is. A greenhouse table is freestanding and can be moved or used for sitting at. Many houses have both.

Slatted or Solid

The surface decides what the bench is good at, and the choice is a genuine trade off rather than a question of build standard.

• Slatted tops let water drain straight through and air move under each pot. That keeps roots from sitting wet and reduces the still, damp pockets where mould starts.
• Solid tops hold compost, water and small parts where you put them. They suit potting up and seed sowing, where a slatted surface loses half the compost through the gaps.
• Mesh tops sit between the two, draining freely while holding small pots stable.

A common arrangement is a solid section at one end for potting work and slatted running the rest of the length for growing on. If you only have room for one, consider what you do most.

Materials

Aluminium copes most reliably with the conditions inside a greenhouse, where humidity is high and temperature swings daily. It will not rot, and it needs nothing doing to it. Treated timber looks warmer and is easier to modify, but it will need attention over time and untreated timber will not last.

Powder coated steel sits between the two: stiff, heavy enough to stay put, and durable as long as the coating stays intact.

Getting the Dimensions Right

Height matters more than people expect. A bench at the wrong height turns potting into a back complaint, and the standard around ninety centimetres suits most adults working standing up.

Width is limited by reach. Anything deeper than about sixty centimetres against a wall leaves plants at the back you cannot get to without climbing on something. And the path beside it needs to stay clear enough to pass with a watering can, which in a small house means measuring before ordering rather than after.

Building Up From the Bench

Shelving above the bench uses the space between the surface and the glazing, which is otherwise wasted. Wall mounted shelving fixes to the glazing bars, so check your frame profile first.

If you want tiered growing rather than a flat working surface, staging is the better answer. And for dedicated potting work with a raised back that keeps compost on the surface, look at the potting tables.