Jack’s Guide to Greenhouses – How to chose the right greenhouse

Greenhouses are great for extending the growing period in your garden, not only does a greenhouse enable you to regulate temperature, humidity and water distribution they also provide a pest free environment for your plants to grow. Essentially a greenhouse gives you the ability to control your plants growing environment.
How does a greenhouse work?
Sunlight enters the greenhouse through the windows and is trapped as heat inside of the glass house. Anything growing inside of the greenhouse then benefits from the heat and light inside the greenhouse. This heat remains in the greenhouse for a long time and anything grown inside will remain warm overnight because of this. The temperature inside of the greenhouse can sometimes become too great for many plants so most models have opening windows to release some of the heat.
Regulating heat and water distribution in a greenhouse
You can water your greenhouse using a watering can, if however you are looking for a more automatic system then irrigation systems can be installed which use drip tubes to water your plants. You can set up monitors which will check the temperature and humidity inside of your greenhouse and will trigger a fan when the temperature becomes too hot.
Ideal location of your greenhouse

• Light – When planning where to house your new greenhouse try to find a spot in your garden that is open with lots of natural sunlight. Take care to remember that in the winter the sun will be lower so make sure that the site you have chosen still receives lots of sunshine in the winter months.

• Drainage – The area must have good drainage especially if you intend to use the ground for growing plants in pots.

• Shelter – Wind damage can occur on greenhouses that are over exposed to the elements. You can eliminate this problem by erecting your greenhouse in a spot that is sheltered from the wind.

Choosing the right Greenhouse for your garden
When choosing the right greenhouse for your garden, please consider the following:

• Size – Consider the size of your plot, what you intend to grow inside and allow for some storage space as well. One top tip is if you can opt for a greenhouse that is wider instead on longer. On wider greenhouses less room is taken up by a path giving you greater growing space at ground level.

• Glazing – Greenhouses are available with Horticultural glass, toughened safety glass or plastic glazing. Horticultural glass is the traditional type of glass used in greenhouses and is the cheapest. This type of glass is not recommended for garden with small children as if broken this type of glass will break into sharp shards. Toughened safety glass is what the name suggests. This type of glass is less likely to break and is far tougher than the latter. If toughened safety glass does break the pieces are relatively safe. Finally there is plastic glazing which is practically impossible to break. The downside of this type of glass is that the amount of light that passes through it is greatly less than the other glazing options.

• Frame – Greenhouse frames are made from either wood or aluminium. Wood framed models heat up and cool down slower than aluminium frames but do look now attractive in your garden. Another benefit for using an aluminium frame is that they are pretty much maintenance free and will not require staining each year like the wooden structures.

• Ventilation – Adequate ventilation is a must! Try to find a greenhouse with at least two windows which can be opened.

Good Luck
Gardener Jack!