Ring culture in the GH

    This is an old photo of GH2 as pictures speak louder than words. GH2 has been there for 40+ years. 

Its on a concrete base - no soil. There are beds on 3 sides. 

Initially, the beds were lined with clear plastic to hold water, and topped with a layer of gravel.  I grow tomatoes and cucumbers in open bottomed, "ring culture" pots that sit on the gravel beds, sending their roots into the gravel for water. You add feed to the pots but water to the gravel. 
At the end of the season, I've been emptying the soil in the pots onto the gravel. At some point, I cleared out all the gravel and soil and started again, just using a plastic liner and a layer of compost (no gravel). After many years or emptying the old compost into the beds, they are about 6" deep, enough to grow beetroot, lettuce etc in. 

This year, for whatever reason, the tomatoes in GH2 have been very poor and there have been lots of ants in the soil. I've decided to empty the soil out of the bed on the right (the sunny side) and line it with the wool insulation that I'm collecting. This will hold the water. I'll put some coir & compost on top of the insulation then move the supermarket crates (with their seedling salads) into the GH over winter. In spring I'll start again with ring culture pots and hope for a better season next year. 

Does anyone else grow with ring culture?

Looked at it but never bothered, even in a bad year I've always had enough toms from the gh borders, so never saw the point of changing (I don’t do change) . I have some, about 4, 'whalehide' rings somewhere for ring culture purposes but never used them.

I've grown tomatoes in halos a number of times, but never the 'proper' ring culture way using gravel. I find them a pain to plant into, and the soil in the centre ring dries out quickly. The holes in the outer ring are too big and the water disappears. That said, I've had decent results using them.

Never used ring culture. Closest thing is the chilli grow pot. They’re just pots of compost with a wick that feeds from a reservoir underneath.

I've never had a GH on soil, always on a hard surface. In fact my first ever GH was on the roof of an extension, accessed through the bedroom window. It was during the big drought of 1976 and I watered the tomatoes with bath water (shared of course) from the bathroom which was also alongside the extension.
The tomatoes were my best ever and there was no problem with slugs or snails. For the record, its GH2, which has been moved 3 times.

This year, for whatever reason, the tomatoes in GH2 have been very poor and there have been lots of ants in the soil. I've decided to empty the soil out of the bed on the right (the sunny side) and line it with the wool insulation that I'm collecting. This will hold the water. I'll put some coir & compost on top of the insulation then move the supermarket crates (with their seedling salads) into the GH over winter. In spring I'll start again with ring culture pots and hope for a better season next year. 

I've had a change of plan! I'm emptying the old compost into 30ltr pots  and I'm going to try growing something/anything in these pots before I use it as mulch in the garden. I don't have much depth of soil in the garden and growing root veg like carrots is almost impossible. So I'm going to try growing carrots, maybe spuds and other roots in these pots. I'll still have room for the supermarket crates to overwinter in one of the GHs. 
I may scrap the ring culture growing system in this GH next year and grow solely in large pots that will sit on the wool insulation which, slugs are not supposed to like crawling over it. 

In my over active mind, I foresee each big pot being a little polyculture garden, each with its own character. I think there's room for about 12 pots on the 10' long side.

Slugs don’t like going over the fleece but they still do, I’ve discovered. It definitely helps and it’s good for stopping weeds and helping keep ground warmer, I think, I might be wrong. And any bits that need replacing can be fed to Mr greedy. He will like that.
Your carrots will like growing in 30L pots of old greenhouse compost. So how many varieties of carrot do you have to choose from? 

Slugs don’t like going over the fleece but they still do, I’ve discovered. It definitely helps and it’s good for stopping weeds and helping keep ground warmer, I think, I might be wrong. And any bits that need replacing can be fed to Mr greedy. He will like that.
Your carrots will like growing in 30L pots of old greenhouse compost. So how many varieties of carrot do you have to choose from? 

A new game! Winner gets a smiley face and an opportunity to gloat. Veggie  you can play but only before you count, and we may disqualify you if we feel like it 
Guess how many packets of carot seed  Veggie has to choose from:

My guess is 63.

Slow down, you two, I've only just surfaced and you're testing me! I need some clarification before I play.
Am I counting Varieties' of carrots, Number of packets, or In date packets as they're said to have a short life in the Viability stakes. - a year??

My vote goes for just packets.in date or out, all varieties all packets or envelopes. Keep it simple, hopefully no sorting or checking needed except counting.