A greenhouse is a structure that has a transparent roof and walls, which allows light to pass through. It is intended to grow plants in autumn and spring when the weather does not provide opportunities for harvesting. To date, many effective and affordable greenhouse models have been created. Each category has its own advantages and disadvantages that set them apart from other similar models.
In shape, they are small and large, rectangular, square, single-slope and gable. There is even a dome model. There are also projects with a removable roof, made in the form of an arch, a tent, attached to the house, and so on. Greenhouses are standard and non-standard. For their construction, you can use film, wood, metal, polycarbonate and other materials.
Note that the choice of a greenhouse project should be made depending on the goals that the person pursues, and on what he needs it for. If for growing, say, pepper, then this should be one design, and if you want to grow bananas, it is completely different.
Features and types
The market offers customers different categories of greenhouses. Moreover, their differences can be according to different criteria: size, price, features, type, and so on.
If we are talking about categories depending on the materials used, then the following greenhouses are distinguished:
- from glass;
- polycarbonate;
- based on film.
If we talk about the types of frames, then according to this criterion, models are distinguished:
- arched;
- in the form of a tent (house).
Greenhouses can be divided according to the material from which this or that frame is made.
As a rule, we are talking about such materials:
- polyvinyl chloride;
- wood;
- metal.
In addition, the greenhouse can be free-standing, or it can be adjacent to the walls, that is, wall-mounted. With free-standing models, everything is clear and there are no subtleties there. But in the second case, it turns out that one of the walls of the house or utility room acts as a supporting structure for such a greenhouse room. Usually they are non-collapsible, although they can be collapsible or prefabricated. Heating is often installed in them and is used even in winter.
An example of such a design is Ivanov's vegetarian.
This is the name of a greenhouse model made of polycarbonate, built at an angle, where the wall of the house is not only a building structure, but also acts as a reflector of the sun's rays. This type has shown its high efficiency in growing crops. Structures with vertical walls, models built with a double arc, in the form of a pointed arch, with sloped walls, with a mansard roof, and so on will be extremely popular.
There are winter and spring greenhouses. The former are usually used between March and November. The second category of models requires heating. Another criterion by which such buildings are divided is mobility: there are mobile, as well as stationary structures.
Requirements
Ideally, a greenhouse should have the following features:
- be of high quality;
- durable;
- resistant to various types of influences;
- reliable.
Much will also depend on what goals the summer resident himself pursues. For example, it is important for someone that the greenhouse looks great against the background of a country house. Others believe that the greenhouse is the basis of the backyard economy, and it can even become a way to create a business. For such people, appearance is not the main thing.
With a stationary greenhouse, everything is simple - just set it up and forget it. But collapsible can be assembled, disassembled and reassembled. But if the greenhouse is, say, in a summer cottage, where you visit only in the summer, then it is better to buy a collapsible solution due to the fact that summer residents often face theft of property.
The requirements for the greenhouse will also depend on what will be grown in it. The same cucumbers will require the same temperature, humidity and lighting levels, and tomatoes - completely different values according to the above criteria. There are plants that do not tolerate neighborhoods at all and can harm each other.
When you decide what you will grow, then you can already choose one or another model of a suitable height. We can say that these requirements are not absolute and can vary, and significantly, depending on the interests of the summer resident.
Materials: pros and cons
Greenhouses are created using different materials, each of which has its own special properties, as well as advantages and disadvantages.
If we talk about coverage, then greenhouses are:
- glass;
- polycarbonate;
- film.
If it speaks about the material from which the frame is made, then only three of them are used:
- wood;
- polyvinyl chloride;
- metal.
Frame
The greenhouse frame can be made of either wood, PVC or metal. The wooden version is now used less and less for the construction of greenhouses. Wood requires special care - it needs to be treated with special impregnations that will protect it from various fungi, rotting, and other negative phenomena. Also, wooden buildings cannot be buried in the ground, unless they are sheathed with waterproofing materials beforehand. If you don't, everything will just fall apart. In general, wood is not the best material for creating a greenhouse frame.
The PVC frame is also rarely used in the construction of greenhouses.
Among its advantages are:
- it is not subject to rotting, as well as the formation of rust;
- it is not affected by chemicals and various kinds of fertilizers;
- the material is practical to use;
- no special processing is needed;
- has an aesthetic appearance.
The most common are metal frames. They are considered the most durable, do not rust, do not rot, do not emit any toxins, and do not need to be painted. And if we talk about the biggest drawback, then it is the too high cost of aluminum fittings. This increases the likelihood that robbers can simply disassemble the greenhouse and hand over its elements to a scrap metal collection point.
Using metal to build the greenhouse frame is the best solution.
Coating
The film is almost the most common covering material. Its main advantage is affordability. An equally important advantage is the possibility of independent application.
To assemble a film greenhouse with your own hands, you will need a small number of devices, namely:
- screwdriver;
- furniture stapler;
- the film itself is made of polyethylene;
- rail.
This type of greenhouse remarkably transmits ultraviolet light, which is vital for the development of plants. In this case, no foundation is needed.
But this type of structure also has a serious number of disadvantages. The main thing is fragility. The film is very easily deformed under the influence of mechanical damage and rarely remains intact even after the second year of use. That is, for the next season, it is necessary to carry out a new covering of the greenhouse with film. The frame, if it is made of a rail or board, can hardly last more than two years. Moisture and warmth are the best combination for the formation of woody fungus.
There is also a reinforced polyethylene film that will have better strength characteristics. They are such due to the presence of a special reinforced mesh. Such a film can withstand not only the impact of gusty winds, but also rain and hail.
Another common material is glass. This material is significantly more durable and stronger than film. Its main advantages are excellent thermal insulation and the ability to transmit light. But glass solutions also have disadvantages. The air inside can overheat, which can be detrimental to plants. Another disadvantage is the high labor intensity of the glazing process. Considering the weight of the glass, a really high-quality and reliable frame is required. The glass itself is usually at least four millimeters thick. To maximize the lighting of the greenhouse, the size of the frames should be increased.
But this will cause an increase in the cost of heating such a room. And if such a large glass accidentally breaks, then replacing it will also be very expensive. Greenhouses made of fiberglass or glass base can deform not only due to various physical influences. Temperature extremes can also be the reason for this.
Recently, polycarbonate solutions are increasingly popular with summer residents and gardeners. This is not surprising, because they have a number of serious advantages over the two options described above.
More specifically, they have:
- Highest durability. It is about 200 times stronger than glass.
- Resistant to high temperatures and fire.
- Small mass. The mass of such polycarbonate will be 15 times less than glass, and three times less than acrylic having the same thickness.
- High thermal insulation performance.
- Low thermal conductivity.
- Excellent light transmission performance due to the highest transparency of the material. This material is excellent at diffusing light.
- Good performance of sound and noise insulation.
- Resistant to chemicals and various weather conditions.
- Durability. Its service life is 11-13 years.
- It does not crack or break.
- Has UV protection.
- Lightness and flexibility.
- Nice appearance.
Polycarbonate is very easy to install and can be used to create excellent and very unusual greenhouses.
But polycarbonate also has disadvantages:
- If the sheets are installed incorrectly, then their service life will decrease for an indicator of a couple of years.
- Almost all structures from this material require the creation of a foundation.
- Polycarbonate has a hollow structure inside, which causes dirt, dust and water to get inside. And this causes a drop in light transmission and a significantly faster heat loss. And the appearance of this material is deteriorating.
Forms of structures
There are different forms of structures of the structures under consideration. A lot will depend on this factor, starting with how much light will enter the room, and ending with the peculiarities of the formation of the microclimate.
Overview
Let's start with the arched model. It has a semicircular cross-section or a shape approximating it. It is usually made from arcs that connect to horizontal frame parts. This is the most common design. A large amount of material is not required to form the framework, which reduces costs. The strength of such a structure is high, it can withstand the effects of snow and wind quite well. And its arched shape allows the rays of the sun to fall in such a way that the plants always receive the maximum amount of light. The disadvantage is that it is very difficult to create such frame elements from metal or wood yourself. And not everyone will like their appearance.
A greenhouse in the form of a pointed arch will be similar in type to the one described above. It has the same rounded, but slightly more elongated shape, which slightly resembles the tip of an arrow. If we compare it with the type described above, then the resistance to the load from the snow is even higher. On such a steep roof, the snow simply cannot linger. But finding drawings for such a building is many times more difficult than even for a model in the form of an arc.
Another type is a greenhouse with a gable roof. Such models are called "house". Literally 20 years ago, such a building was the most common. It has good illumination indicators, there is a lot of space inside. It is also fairly easy to build. The frame of such a model is usually made of wood or metal parts. But there is also a minus - too much consumption of materials for its construction, which, of course, will affect the price of the entire structure. This option requires the creation of supports, which should protect the roof from being pushed through by snow, which will accumulate in winter.
The next type of greenhouse is a model with inclined walls, which is sometimes called Dutch. It differs from the models described above in that the walls located on the sides do not stand strictly at an angle of 90 degrees, but at a slight slope. For this reason, the light is refracted better and the plants are illuminated with better quality, which accelerates their growth. Such a model requires an excellent ventilation system, as well as a strong and strong frame.
The single-pitched model outwardly resembles a half of a house, where only one slope remains from the roof. This option is being built as an extension to a cottage, fence or utility room. Usually in such a greenhouse, early cultivation of seedlings is carried out before planting in an open area.
The next type is the A-shaped model, or, in other words, a greenhouse-hut. If it is located correctly, then the plants will receive maximum solar energy. Such a model must be necessarily equipped with vents or windows, because in the heat, the plants located inside will overheat. Building this type of greenhouse is quite simple. Although it also has a drawback - the useful internal volume is rather small. Often, a building can be located just below ground level.
The next type is the Mitlider greenhouse. It was created by the specialist in the field of horticulture, whose name it bears. It differs from the models listed above in that the parts of the roof are not on the same level, as in all models, but on different ones. A vertical wall is made between them, into which a number of vents are installed. This results in a simple but extremely effective ventilation and air circulation system. This makes it possible to significantly increase the productivity of plants.
The roof slope that faces north will usually be higher, and the one that faces south will be lower. Such a model is created to maximize the collection of solar energy and maintain a favorable temperature for the growth of various crops, even during the most severe frosts. To achieve this effect, the greenhouse is slightly submerged under the ground, which will be a kind of natural heat insulator. The main disadvantage of this solution is that it is necessary to dig a rather large pit. In addition, even before construction, it is necessary to consider a system for protecting the premises from the effects of ground and groundwater.
Another model that deserves special attention is a greenhouse with solid walls. If it is necessary to build such a structure, you should know that the northern side of such a building is made of timber or brick. After that, this wall is insulated from the outside. Inside the building, in addition to the plants themselves, bags are placed in which there is gravel. During the day, such volumes accumulate heat, and after sunset they begin to give it away and do this throughout the evening and most of the night.
As a result of such an uncomplicated solution, a greenhouse is obtained, in which you can grow plants and crops even in the winter season and not spend much money on heating the room. There are also unusual models. This does not include, for example, a square greenhouse. This category includes truly extraordinary models from a technical point of view. For example, a pyramid or a greenhouse-dome.
The price of their construction will be several times higher than that of buildings of the usual form. At the same time, they stand out for their unusual and interesting appearance, as well as rather serious characteristics in terms of accumulating and accumulating solar heat, as well as ensuring an optimal indoor microclimate.
There are many other types of greenhouses that are not built very often, but they exist nonetheless. Also today, it is extremely popular to build a greenhouse on an individual project. But such solutions can only be afforded by wealthy people due to the high cost of implementing the plan.
Comparison
The described categories of greenhouses are found most often today, but as already mentioned, the variety of designs is not at all limited to them. Each type has its own advantages and characteristics. Also, each model has its own purpose and may be more effective than another type for growing certain crops. When choosing the shape of the greenhouse, its structure, building materials for its manufacture, a large number of factors should be taken into account. Comparison of various models will help determine the selection of the optimal design in each specific case.
The central criterion in this matter will be what exactly you are going to grow. Some plants like lots of light and high temperatures, while others don't. So are the various designs: some are designed to simply let light in, while others allow you to let in much more and have an excellent ventilation system.
Today, new models of greenhouses that are manufactured using eco-friendly materials have become very popular. They make it possible to improve the performance of already known structures while reducing construction costs. But the effectiveness of such models has not yet been fully tested.
How to choose the right one?
Only the owner can decide which greenhouse to choose for placement in the summer cottage. But in order to make the right decision, you should take into account several recommendations. Firstly, the optimal parameters of a greenhouse are considered to be 2.5 m to the ridge, height - 1.5 m, and width - 3.5 m. In greenhouse structures of this type, it will be easiest to take care of plants. If you are using a greenhouse to grow flowers, then this would be ideal.
Of course, these numbers are not an axiom, they can change, as it will be convenient for the owner. The only thing that you definitely should not do is to stretch the greenhouse room in length by more than six meters. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to care for the plants. And it will be very difficult and quite costly to heat such a room. If you still need a long greenhouse, it is best to divide it into several compartments.
Choosing a greenhouse is better than the model with wide doors. As a rule, we are talking about a figure of one meter. These doors can be easily accessed with a garden cart or wheelbarrow.
If we talk about the form, everything will depend on what exactly you are going to grow. For some plants, the ideal solution would be a round shape, for others - rectangular, for others - a greenhouse-hut.
When choosing a frame, one should take into account the characteristics of the materials from which it can be made. The metal frame will be strong and relatively inexpensive. And the galvanized metal base will serve for a long time, as it perfectly resists moisture and corrosion, as well as fungus.
The wooden frame will serve significantly less. Moreover, even if you treat it well with an antiseptic, it will not help you too much. But on the other hand, it is easy to look after him and he is quite affordable. A frame made of plastic tubing will last the longest. It is not exposed to rot, does not need various impregnations or painting. But with prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays, it can begin to deform.
Heating
Any greenhouse needs heating. The heating system can be different - starting with electrical appliances and ending with bags of stones, in particular, gravel, which is a heat accumulator: during the day they will accumulate solar heat, and after sunset, give it to plants almost until the morning. The heating system can be designed in different ways. Everything here will depend on the purpose of using the greenhouse, the owner's personal preferences, as well as his financial capabilities.
The most common type of heating for various premises, including greenhouses, will be water heating.
It can be:
- individual;
- common with other buildings.
If we talk about the advantages of this method, then it should be called:
- uniform and fairly economical heating;
- lack of air drying;
- it is easy to place radiators at the bottom of the wall, which makes it possible to create the desired temperature, where the root system of plants is located.
But the mechanism also has disadvantages:
- the installation of such a mechanism requires knowledge and serious financial costs;
- such a mechanism cannot be frozen without first draining the heat carrier.
The price of the system is quite high, and this option often justifies itself only in cases where the greenhouse area is really large. At least when it comes to gas. If you use simple solid fuel boilers, it will be cheaper, but the presence of a person will almost always be necessary. A good option is to use electric boilers. They are available, easy to install and can be combined with any other type of heating.
Electric heating is not the cheapest option, but rather convenient.
It is interesting in that heating can be carried out using various types of heaters:
- infrared;
- heat convectors;
- heating cable.
The latter is simply laid in the ground, covering it with a sand pillow. The earth heats up and transfers heat to the air, which, in combination with other methods of natural heating, creates an excellent microclimate inside the greenhouse. Thermal convectors heat the air in the greenhouse. This option will be most effective in maintaining the temperature at night. But this method has a drawback - the air is too dry, which is a very undesirable moment for a number of plants.
If we talk about infrared heaters, they are usually installed from above. Moreover, they do not heat the air, but it is the objects and plants that are exposed to infrared radiation. And if temperature sensors are made at ground level, then an automated heating system can be created.
Another commonly used type of heating is biological heating. This method will be an excellent solution only in the south, where subzero temperatures are not too high and you can easily heat the entire greenhouse with biofuel. In northern latitudes, this method can also be used, but only as a secondary one. Biofuel will be organic matter, during the decomposition of which heat is released. This can be manure, straw, paper, cardboard, wood chips, and so on. It is easy to mix them in any quantity and variations. To speed up the decomposition process, you can add active bio-substances such as "Shining" or "Baikal" to the mass. They contain special aerobic parasites that promote the decomposition of organic residues and their rapid heating.
The last heating option that I would like to consider is solar. As the name implies, it means heating the air in the greenhouse with the help of the sun. The problem is that the air itself accumulates heat very weakly, and after nightfall it quickly cools down. Therefore, they resort to various tricks - either the walls are made of special materials that accumulate heat, then they put bags of gravel in the greenhouse, which give off the accumulated heat during the day at night.
Another option for such heating is the use of solar collectors. They are black metal coils, which are located in a glass frame on the southern part of the roof. They are connected to the storage tank and the radiator system, after which they are filled with water. The sun heats up the coil, and with it the heat carrier, which enters the tank and goes to the heating system.
Criterias of choice
To choose the most efficient heating system for a greenhouse, you should first focus on the design of the room, which is located on your site. For example, film solutions have much greater heat loss than polycarbonate structures. For this reason, they will require more heat generation. And polycarbonate ones, on the contrary, easily maintain the required temperature regime, since polymers have high thermal insulation properties.
There are other factors to be guided by:
- the type of heating used in the home;
- availability of the possibility for the installation of a particular system;
- heating equipment price;
- greenhouse area - some systems will be an excellent solution specifically for large buildings, and in small ones they will significantly lose their effectiveness, and vice versa.
Each of the options on the market has its own advantages and disadvantages, which is why you should first weigh the pros and cons, and only then make a choice in favor of a solution.
Accommodation: what should be guided by?
An important factor that has a significant impact on the cultivation of plants and crops in the greenhouse is its correct placement. The area where your future greenhouse will be located should be well lit. And it's not just about greenhouses where fruits and vegetables will grow. Flower greenhouses also fall under these rules.
The greenhouse must be built at a distance of at least five meters from trees and various buildings.so that there are no obstacles to the penetration of sunlight into it. In places where the cold is quite strong, the greenhouse must be protected from the effects of winds. This can be done both by using heaters and by planting special windproof bushes that have a dense crown. This should be done 5-10 meters from the building. It is not recommended to place them too close, because turbulent flows may begin to form, which will flow around the walls of the building and cool it.
If you decide to make a recessed version, then it is better for it to take the highest place where the groundwater level will be minimal. If you are building an extension greenhouse, then it is better to place it on the south side of the house, where the sun will be the most.
Growing and irrigation system: options
Now let's talk about systems for growing and watering plants for a greenhouse, and also try to understand a little about their features. The first type will be drip irrigation. This option is considered one of the most profitable. A special pinpoint mechanism can provide plants with the right amount of moisture, while preventing weeds from growing.
Such a system can be made not only by specialists, it can be easily implemented independently. To make a soil moistening system yourself, you should adhere to a clear procedure. First, you need to calculate what you will need for your greenhouse and buy it all.
To carry out the installation of such a system, you will need to have the following equipment at hand:
- droppers;
- drip tapes;
- tank;
- filters;
- main pipes;
- special fittings;
- hydraulic cylinder.
It is best to use a stainless steel or plastic tank. It must be closed at all times to prevent debris from entering.
To start automatic irrigation, a container with water is installed at a height of more than one and a half meters, after which a main pipe is connected to it. Drip tapes are connected to the main pipe, at the ends of which plugs are installed.
The second system that needs to be mentioned is called sprinkling. For some plants, it is better if they receive moisture in a way close to natural. And sprinkling is just that. In this case, water seems to be sprayed over the plants and falls in the form of small droplets, which will look like rain. One of its obligatory elements will be a fogger.
To mount such a system, it is necessary to ensure that the water pressure is constantly high. The disadvantages of such a system include the fact that a large amount of moisture can accumulate on the leaves, which can cause diseases for some plants.
The last system I want to talk about is subsurface irrigation. This option will be effective in areas with podzolic-sandy soils, since they do not retain moisture very well.
To install such a system, it is necessary to remove the top layer of soil and put a plastic wrap on the bottom. It is slightly covered with soil, after which plastic pipes are installed on it, which will be responsible for the supply of water. After that, the removed soil is returned to its place and the plants are planted.
Lighting and ventilation
Speaking about lighting and ventilation systems, it becomes clear that plants simply cannot do without it. But if there will be no problems with air, even without a particularly technologically advanced ventilation system, then what to do with lighting is a big question.
Are they needed or not?
Answering this question, let's say right away that lighting and ventilation systems for plants in a greenhouse are vital. Any light source will be good for the plants. It can significantly increase the yield of plants. And if we are talking about the winter period of time, then without artificial light sources in general, nowhere. All plants need light 12-16 hours a day, and in winter, when the daylight hours are less than 10 hours, the relevance of lighting systems increases significantly.
The same goes for ventilation. A number of greenhouse structures, as well as the materials used for their construction, have certain characteristics in order to let in as much light as possible inside such a room. But this can cause too much heating of the air inside, and, as a result, an increase in temperature, which can be fraught with a violation of the microclimate in the greenhouse, or even the death of plants. For this reason, if you do not even think over a too complex ventilation system, then it is necessary to install at least simple fans.
What are: analysis
The classic lighting option will be the most common incandescent bulbs. They also benefit from the fact that they warm the air a little.
However, there are also disadvantages:
- not too favorable color spectrum for plants;
- consume a lot of energy;
- their prolonged use can lead to leaf deformation.
Another option that is sometimes used is high pressure mercury bulbs.
This option is used for lighting, but you should be aware of its disadvantages:
- too fast heating of the lamps, which makes it impossible to use them continuously for a long time;
- too bright ultraviolet radiation, which can be harmful to plants.
The next option is fluorescent lamps. This solution can be called one of the best for use in greenhouses. They emit a favorable spectrum for plants. The service life of such lamps is quite long. But they also have a drawback - they have a low thermal efficiency, as they work on the principle of energy-saving lamps.
Another lighting option is high pressure sodium lamps. Their advantage is that they have a high luminous efficacy at a low power. In addition, they create light that is close to natural sunlight. At the same time, the blue part of the light spectrum, which is responsible for the vegetation of plants, is rather weak here, which will be a significant disadvantage of such lamps.
Another option that I would like to mention is metal halide lamps. They have a wide spectrum of radiation, as well as various power ranges. This option is considered one of the best for greenhouses, because the lighting from them is as close to the sun as possible. Their only significant drawback is their high price. Another disadvantage is restrictions on the position of combustion.
The last option is LED lighting. At the moment, it is considered experimental and there is no exact data on its effectiveness. The first results of its use indicate that it is very economical, and its efficiency is two times higher than all lighting models that are known today. But its price is also high.
There are two types of greenhouse ventilation:
- natural;
- artificial.
The first is ventilation using natural factors. The second is a system when efforts are required to move air masses. Here everything will rest on the structural features of certain greenhouses. For artificial ones, the use of fans is characteristic.
DIY construction from polycarbonate
After the location for the greenhouse has been chosen, the site is marked to create the foundation. This is done with a peg and rope. The width of the foundation should be about thirty centimeters. Next, a fertile part of the earth is removed, a trench should be deepened to a certain depth - by 30 centimeters, if we are talking about sandy soil, and by 50-60 cm, if about clay. Now you need to backfill the trench with sand with a layer of 20-30 cm.
The next step is to line the bottom of the trench with roofing material, which will serve as waterproofing. Next, a two-level reinforcement is carried out. For this, a 10 or 12 mm corrugated rod with a bandage is used. After that, the trench with the formwork is poured with concrete and the top layer is leveled. Now we leave all this to dry for a period from half a month to a month.
When the foundation is dry, it is necessary to lay a couple of layers of roofing material in order to carry out the foundation waterproofing from the masonry. We cover the lower part of the walls with a brick of a corpulent type with a height of 80 centimeters to a meter. To save material, you can create masonry with a polystyrene foam layer to give it thermal insulation. This material will provide quality wind protection. Now you can start assembling and installing. It is necessary to put a board or strapping bar on the walls. These materials are best secured with anchor bolts. Now, with a step of 66-68 centimeters, we install the racks. Thanks to them, you can make the polycarbonate fit snugly against the bar. In addition, this can be done for overlapping.
We put the upper strapping beam on the racks. To increase the strength of the struts, they can be reinforced with struts and braces. Now we form a gable greenhouse roof from the bar. Hanging rafters are installed on the top-type harness. To make it all strong, they are pulled together using crossbars. Then, in the right places, we make openings for the doors, put the box, and then we install the door itself.
At the next stage, the greenhouse is sheathed with polycarbonate sheets. They are fixed with special self-tapping screws, which are equipped with rubber sealing washers. It is best to seal the joints with a silicone-based sealant. When installing polycarbonate sheets, pay attention to the sides of the material. The fact is that only one of them has an ultraviolet coating. On the same side, a film with the name of the manufacturer is glued. To avoid deformation of this layer, the film can be removed only after the installation work has been completed.
After the greenhouse has been built, it remains to carry out communications:
- water supply;
- electricity;
- heating system.
At the final stage of work, the future beds should be filled with fertile soil and the greenhouse should be warmed up in a test mode, which will allow you to check the microclimate using a hygrometer and thermometers. If everything is in order according to the indicators, then you can start growing plants and crops in it.
Ready-made models and reviews
Today there is a wide variety of greenhouses, so it is difficult to determine which models are the best. We can say for sure that a summer cottage greenhouse should first of all fulfill its main function - to provide plants with everything necessary for them to bear fruit at any time of the year.
If we talk about the most popular models, then they are such as:
- "Largusha";
- "Botanist";
- "Leader";
- "Innovator";
- "Arrow";
- "Orange";
- "Very hard";
- Uralochka;
- "Tsarskaya".
All of these models can be found mostly positive reviews, which once again confirms the fact that these models are really the most effective and high quality.
Using one of them as an example, let's see why they are so good. The Botanik greenhouse is arched or gable. If you need a gable model, then it is better to make it glass, but then the weight of the structure will increase significantly and a foundation will be needed for it. Alternatively, you can use cellular polycarbonate. An arched version will be cheaper, more economical and easier to manufacture. This design is more airtight, it has significantly fewer seams. Specifically, it is better to make this model arched, because it has a simpler installation.
The advantage of such a model will be a frame made of aluminum, on which cellular polycarbonate or glass is simply installed. There are also models made of galvanized steel. This design is very stable and can be used for several seasons. Another advantage of the model is a pair of vents, which provide excellent ventilation inside the greenhouse. There is also a sliding door that can be converted into a sliding door.
Design advantages:
- lightweight aluminum frame;
- excellent supporting profile, which makes it possible to install the irrigation and ventilation system;
- the presence of shelves;
- plant tying devices;
- pleasant appearance;
- new glass fixing system;
- ease of assembly.
Due to the fact that there is a wide variety of modern greenhouse models, even the most picky gardener will be able to find exactly the design that will not only satisfy all his needs, but also make the cultivation of various crops as efficient as possible.
In the next video, you will see how to make a greenhouse with your own hands from A to Z.
