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greenhouse position - spine on east-west line?
"Douglas" wrote in message ... "Amber Ormerod" wrote in message ... "kenty ;-)" wrote in message s.com... Hi, I have a greenhouse for growing orchids & having a source of rain water inside the greenhouse that is of inside temp is important,especially in winter when tap water is really cold & rainwater is a natural source for plants. is that any different than bringing it inside the greenhouse for a few hours to get to the same temp? ********* (In friendly tones (!!)....). - You will find you will have better and more important things to do, than wait, once the greenhouse building is completed. The raising of the temperature of water from its ambient temp is a slow process depending entirely on the extent of time and the heating applied, implying that much heat energy is expended to reach higher temperatures. We all know this, - don't we, - and anyway, what about Her Indoors calling for her chauffeur to take her to Asdas, - or the pricey dress-shops, just as you are breaking out the watering cans.! Reserve a corner inside the greenhouse for your potting table and underneath build 2 stands alongside each other comprising 2 cement blocks standing on their edges but raised about four inches underneath with house bricks. That height will be about 28 inches. These will support an oblong plastic butt from B&Q with a tap at the best useful place, That 28 measurement can be anything, just make it suit the height of the bucket and the height of the tap on the side of the but. I,f.t. (!!)...). - Anyone who digs a pit reservoir with the top at ground level should be taken aside and thrashed within an inch of his life. Why??.I will answer with only one word,- Children. It's the same with ponds. I have a small one but it is well and properly guarded. I have seen neglected allotments with sunken butts and the rotten wooden lids still crumbling after thirty years , -some with no lid at all, unattended and unrepaired. I,f.t. (!!)...). - For oblong greenhouse structures in this Country, (England). east-west or somewhere near that, is best. The sunshine rises shining through the eastern end or a corner , sweeps slowly across one side and sets shining through the western end or corner in the evening. When drawing up the plans I strongly urge you to consider designing the greenhouse with built-up beds inside. Mine are about 28 inches high from shoe-sole level, ( one brieze-block or cement block on top of another with house brick under to get the extra 4 inches on the height). How easy it is thereafter, to work at the plants without too much effort and not get sacro-iliac problems like the dreaded sciatica, of which I am a victim. If its a big house you'll have to design-in, - in the middle of each side, (I have only one side thus) for personal reasons, - I use the otherside for potting etc., etc.) design in entry squares because the length of the ends will make the middle portion too wide to reach the perimeter plants near the glass on the long side of the greenhouse. That square built there for standing on is lost for growing anything, of course. How to construct - build the low brick walls first, then fill the inside of the growing beds, i.e., rubble underneath and soil on top. But first knock drain holes in the wall, each side at ground level about two-to-three inches wide will do. Arrange slight slopes on the bottom of the bed floor to drain into the holes. (I have not bothered to make a cement floor, - I don't think it is necessary. I have only two holes at one end because the g/house is built in a slightly sloping hill. The greenhouse is level, of course. Fill in the bottom, up to about eight inches with broken pave slabs or such, very loose together then you will later fill in with stones or whatever about the size of your lightly-clenched fist, more or less, use your judgement and whatever you've got or can get. Building up the actual sides of the beds.:- Build up the beds to about four inches *higher* than two cement blocks laid lengthways standing on their edges, Those low walls will be about 28 inches above the floor you are going to stand and walk on, (Lower than that negates the whole job, - you will still have awkward physical back-bending problems. Higher tends to make the top of the soil bed difficult to work.) Now to fill in the earthy 'growing' compost, (which I have just replaced this years after three to four years use. (Tomatoes). I have already in another thread explained I mix in my trusty cement mixer The depth of final growing compost to the top of the inside wall is just nicely over a foot. (The "Growing Soil" is just above a foot deep.) I mix soil: - Lets' talk about that. If you buy it in it's expensive so you are growing tomatoes, plants, etc for a hobby. Nemmind, eh! there's always something to do, and that is very important. When you retire from the daily slog, a deadly enemy called idleness quickly saps your confidence and you wake up in the morning and you ask yourself what you are going to do. A person interested in gardening has already as good as beaten the enemy. We rise and eat, then wander out the back. Look at those roses! they've come on nicely!. The big poppies are in full bloom! .You reach the greenhouse and enter to open up. Look at those side-shoots,! I'll soon pinch 'them' out!. Its comfortably warm in there,- it relaxes you. Your mind is looking outwards , not inwards, and slowly you happily potter on. and forget all about diazepam. As I was saying before I digressed, the compost I use is (approx) 40% earth-soil, 30% peat, 5% coarse sand, 25% composted leaves. A handful of Phostrogen, two or three handfuls of bonemeal, a soupcon each of fish'n bone and dried seaweed granules. You can mix-up any sort of compost you fancy. The tomatoes are already as high as the second flowers and the cucumbers also doing well. I live in the Furness peninsular, by the sea , up North-west, South Cumbria. Doug. This post may repeat. I have had a small crash. Perhaps not, it's not in my Sent List. * ************* Addendum ************** I wrote all that stuff and forgot to explain "why the raised beds"?.. Quite simply you get more success with raised beds because there is a bigger mass of compost in them (more volume) then the normal ground level method, and this is because the greenhouse warm air during the day heats up to that mass temp and the mass retains the heat for some considerable time during the night. A small portion of the heat is dispersed into the inside air of the greenhouse, enveloping the leafage, - but best of all the level of heat is prolonged in the raised bed and the roots get the best of continued warmth for a longer time when the temperature outside has dropped considerably. Doug. ************* |
#17
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greenhouse position - spine on east-west line?
"Douglas" wrote in message ... Addendum ************** I wrote all that stuff and forgot to explain "why the raised beds"?.. Quite simply you get more success with raised beds because there is a bigger mass of compost in them (more volume) then the normal ground level method, and this is because the greenhouse warm air during the day heats up to that mass temp and the mass retains the heat for some considerable time during the night. A small portion of the heat is dispersed into the inside air of the greenhouse, enveloping the leafage, - but best of all the level of heat is prolonged in the raised bed and the roots get the best of continued warmth for a longer time when the temperature outside has dropped considerably. Doug. ************* oh right, kinda like soil warming but without the wires. |
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