Own greenhouse on the site allows you to successfully grow greens, vegetables, mushrooms and even flowers. DIY crops are environmentally friendly and safe, which cannot be said about products from the store or from the market. With proper organization of the process, the first crop can be harvested already in the first spring weeks.
What is a greenhouse for?
The greenhouse will reliably protect seedlings from frost, cold winds and hail. Artificial warm and humid microclimate allows to extend the period of productivity. Moreover, the greenhouse gives the gardener the opportunity to grow exotic thermophilic plants that the normal climate does not suit. And large greenhouses are successfully used in farms.
Disadvantages of purchased models
Depending on the size and materials chosen, the cost of finished greenhouses varies greatly and can reach impressive amounts. Building them with the help of third-party specialists will also cost extra money. Meanwhile, the independent installation of the greenhouse does not present any particular difficulties even for a novice amateur gardener, and the savings can reach up to 20%. However, there are no restrictions on the dimensions and shape of the structure. When buying a finished design, usually only the sizes of a standard greenhouse are available, which is not suitable for everyone. Some self-assembled designs are not inferior to factory ones, but in many ways surpass them, as they are more thought out.
Coating material
When starting to build a greenhouse, the first thing to do is to determine the location of the structure, as well as choose materials for coating. Most commonly used:
- polyethylene film;
- glass;
- polycarbonate.
Glass and film have long faded into the background in the arrangement of greenhouses. Low cost allows you to buy any film sizes for greenhouses, but this is only an apparent advantage. The film is removed for the winter. In this connection, every season you have to buy and pull it again. It is rare when you can carefully remove and then re-tension the film without damage. Moreover, it quickly becomes cloudy and dirty, and it is difficult to wash it.
Glass is inconvenient to install, breaks easily and requires additional sealing. Large hail is dangerous for glass.
Polycarbonate coating has the best performance characteristics.
Polycarbonate Benefits
Polycarbonate is a modern material suitable for a greenhouse, the dimensions of which can vary from very small to large farmers.
Its advantages:
- a light weight;
- high degree of transparency, not inferior to glass;
- UV transmission
- significant strength (withstands hail attacks);
- thermal conductivity is better than glass;
- allows you to make arched structures;
- fireproof because it does not support combustion;
- easy to clean from a hose.
Polycarbonate sheets consist of cells in the shape of a honeycomb, so that the light incident on their faces is reflected in different directions, which contributes to a more uniform lighting. In addition, the cellular structure gives additional strength to the sheet, which protects against hail or rubble brought by the wind. Upon purchase, after the required size of the polycarbonate sheet for greenhouses is measured and cut, it is convenient to roll it into a roll for further transportation.
And although polycarbonate comes at a price slightly more expensive than other types of coatings, the absence of drawbacks and a number of advantages have made it popular among farmers and summer residents.
When purchasing polycarbonate, you should pay attention to its thickness, 6-8 mm is considered the optimal value. Polycarbonate sheets have two standards: 2.1x6 m and 2.1x12 m. Also, in a quality sheet, the inner layer will be covered with moisture protection.
Greenhouse construction
After the location is determined and the materials selected, the dimensions of the greenhouse are specified. It is advisable to prepare a mini-project with a drawing, on which all dimensions, methods of fastening, and the roof structure will be indicated. The roof is of various shapes:
- flat;
- single slope;
- gable;
- polygonal;
- arched.
Optimal - in the form of an arch. Due to the fact that polycarbonate is easily bent, it is easy to give it a bent shape. As glass is less and less used as a coating, there is no need to arrange complex roof shapes. When using polycarbonate, there is no need to tightly seal numerous joints that are inevitable when using glasses. The large size of the polycarbonate sheet contributes to a small number of joints. Nevertheless, they should be repaired without fail, since otherwise heat will leave the greenhouse through them and the greenhouse effect will be lost.
It is recommended that you select the dimensions of the greenhouse so as to fit into an integer number of polycarbonate sheets. Otherwise, a lot of material will be spent on scraps, and this is wasted money. If the sheet still needs to be cut, then this is done easily with the help of a mounting knife.
Foundation
The construction of a greenhouse should begin with the arrangement of the foundation. Depending on the type of soil and the purpose of the greenhouse, one of the following types of base is selected:
The most durable are monolithic or strip types of foundations with high strength and reliability. However, polycarbonate greenhouses are quite lightweight structures, and if winter use is not planned, then an inexpensive point foundation can be completely dispensed with. In addition, attaching the frame to such a foundation is much simpler.
Wood frame
The next stage is the construction of the frame. When the frame of the greenhouse is assembled , the dimensions along the length and height are determined by the foundation, the optimal height is about 2.5 m.
But, before proceeding with the installation work, you should decide on the material for the frame. The most popular are wooden beams for the reason that they can be found for free. Among the other advantages of a wooden frame are ease of installation and environmental friendliness, since wood is a natural material. But there are also disadvantages: it should be remembered that the tree constantly needs care. Otherwise, in conditions of constant dampness, the slats will rot. Each season of operation of the greenhouse, the wooden frame must be painted or varnished again.
Metal carcass
These shortcomings have led to the fact that in recent years, metal has become an increasingly popular material for the frame. In this case, a profile or pipes are used. The second, although they are more expensive, but significantly surpass the profile in terms of strength characteristics. However, if you do not plan to use the greenhouse in winter, when a thick layer of snow is possible, you can limit yourself to the profile.
High strength is distinguished by the design of arcs. They can be purchased ready-made or a pipe bender can be used. There are also cheap plastic bent pipes of various sizes on sale, but buying them is highly discouraged. Such designs are designed for a maximum of one season, after which such pipes bend and crack.
Depending on the size of the arched greenhouses, a different number of arcs will be required. The frequency of their location is selected individually depending on their thickness and weight of polycarbonate.
The disadvantage of metal is corrosion, therefore, a primer and subsequent painting of all surfaces of the steel frame is required. If galvanizing is used, then there is no need for regular staining.
In order for the greenhouse not to be disrupted by a strong gust of wind, it is necessary to provide for additional weighting of the frame, as well as to strengthen the places of fastening of the frame to the foundation.
Coating installation
The polycarbonate sheets are fastened to the arcs using metal staples. The size of the polycarbonate sheet for greenhouses and the frequency with which arcs follow determine the number of staples, and the more they are, the stronger the structure will be. It is forbidden to drill through holes in polycarbonate, since this violates the integrity of the surface, cracks appear that can eventually destroy the coating.
Since polycarbonate is allowed to bend exclusively in the transverse direction, sheets should be fastened across the greenhouse structure to obtain an arch.
If you have not previously encountered a roof covering with polycarbonate, then it is recommended to choose material from the most famous manufacturers. The ends of the structure should be sealed with a special tape that can protect the material from water and dirt.
Greenhouse heating in winter
If winter use of the greenhouse is planned, then at the construction stage it is necessary to think in advance how to heat it so that it is economically viable. With a competent approach, heating efficiency will be high, which means that energy costs will be blocked by income from the sale of winter crops at prices traditionally high for this time of year.
Among the various methods of winter heating in greenhouses , infrared heating can be distinguished because of its high efficiency. Radiant energy is beneficial in that it does not heat the air, but plants and soil, which, in turn, giving off heat, already warm the air. This can significantly reduce the heat loss of the greenhouse, and consequently, reduce heating costs.
Another advantage of infrared heaters is an instant start and the absence of the need for prolonged preheating with a gradual increase in temperature. From the first minutes of operation, the emitters begin to warm up at full power. During installation, heaters should be placed at the top, directing the work surface towards the floor. In this case, heat will quickly warm the soil and, therefore, the roots of seedlings, too.
Depending on the size of the greenhouse, heaters of various capacities will be required. The larger the volume of the greenhouse, the more thermal energy is needed to heat it.
Beds
Having acquired a greenhouse and starting to plant seedlings, many gardeners are faced with the question of how to properly arrange the beds. The large distance between the beds will not allow rational use of space, but excessive crowding will not allow plants to grow and bear fruit due to mutual darkening and interweaving of the roots, which threatens crop loss. When planning the size of the beds in the greenhouse and the distance between them, you should calculate everything in advance.
The beds can be classified into two types: soil and those on the shelves. The former are more widespread.
It is important to correctly orient the beds: most of the sunlight will give the west-east direction.
Depending on the size of the greenhouse, you can arrange two or three beds. At the same time, it is not recommended to exceed the maximum permissible bed width of 120 cm. Otherwise, the likelihood of trampling when trapping plants is increased. Soil beds are recommended to be made high, for which you can use straw, a wooden frame or brick.
For a greenhouse, the vertical dimensions of which exceed two meters, it is convenient to use a system of shelf beds. At the same time, the location of the racks should be selected taking into account their growth, otherwise caring for plants will be too troublesome.
Conclusion
Well-designed and well-assembled greenhouse will delight you with a long service life. A well-thought-out heating system will allow you to get a crop all year round. If you follow the tips given in the article, building a greenhouse with your own hands will not be a difficult task. Moreover, useful experience will be gained. In case there are difficulties with self-assembly of the greenhouse, photos, sizes and instructions can be found in the specialized literature.