Placement of greenhouse?
 

Those big winds last week (Vic.) blew my neighbour's (empty) greenhouse
over the fence even though it's big and heavy. He said I could keep it
if I want. I want!

I'm wondering about best places to put it. We have lots of room so have
various options. It has that very heavy clear plastic type covering.
What should I consider sun direction-wise and do you have any other
advice about where's best for them?

thanks,
L

Placement of greenhouse?
 

"Linda H" wrote in message
u...
Those big winds last week (Vic.) blew my neighbour's (empty) greenhouse
over the fence even though it's big and heavy. He said I could keep it if
I want. I want!

I'm wondering about best places to put it. We have lots of room so have
various options. It has that very heavy clear plastic type covering. What
should I consider sun direction-wise and do you have any other advice
about where's best for them?

thanks,
L

My thoughts are to align it east-west (that is the longest sides) so you
harvest as much sunlight in winter as possible.

Richard

Placement of greenhouse?
 

Loosecanon wrote:


My thoughts are to align it east-west (that is the longest sides) so you
harvest as much sunlight in winter as possible.

Richard


Thanks Richard - I thought maybe that but I wondered if it'd get TOO hot
out of winter times - I guess that wouldn't matter, huh, with the
humidity it'd create?

Placement of greenhouse?
 

People who run hot houses also cover them or spray a lime based
whitewash over them in summer time. Rain can remove it though.
Set it up in front of a north facing wall in winter time to stop the
cold winter blasts.
Try and prevent it being blown away by using those steel star pickets
used by farmers, or similar wood stakes.

Linda H wrote:
Loosecanon wrote:


My thoughts are to align it east-west (that is the longest sides) so
you harvest as much sunlight in winter as possible.

Richard


Thanks Richard - I thought maybe that but I wondered if it'd get TOO hot
out of winter times - I guess that wouldn't matter, huh, with the
humidity it'd create?

Placement of greenhouse?
 

"Linda H" wrote in message
u...
Loosecanon wrote:


My thoughts are to align it east-west (that is the longest sides) so you
harvest as much sunlight in winter as possible.

Richard


Thanks Richard - I thought maybe that but I wondered if it'd get TOO hot
out of winter times - I guess that wouldn't matter, huh, with the humidity
it'd create?

I have had people cover the structure with shade cloth in summer then put
the plastic cover over that in winter. It really depends what you want to
grow. Plastic and lime wouldn't appeal to me.

Cheers

Richard

Placement of greenhouse?
 

Yeah plactic and lime dont taste too good.
But for heat and cheap reflection it would work easy, and the advantage
of lime is it can be washed off. But probably best for real glass.
Lime is also great for soil. So they must know hat they are doing.
Len would know...


Loosecanon wrote:
"Linda H" wrote in message
u...
Loosecanon wrote:

My thoughts are to align it east-west (that is the longest sides) so you
harvest as much sunlight in winter as possible.

Richard

Thanks Richard - I thought maybe that but I wondered if it'd get TOO hot
out of winter times - I guess that wouldn't matter, huh, with the humidity
it'd create?

I have had people cover the structure with shade cloth in summer then put
the plastic cover over that in winter. It really depends what you want to
grow. Plastic and lime wouldn't appeal to me.

Cheers

Richard

Placement of greenhouse?
 

"Linda H" wrote in message
u...
Those big winds last week (Vic.) blew my neighbour's (empty) greenhouse
over the fence

that has happened to me :-) it's really the only thing wrong with plastic
greenhouses (sigh).

even though it's big and heavy. He said I could keep it
if I want. I want!

I'm wondering about best places to put it. We have lots of room so have
various options. It has that very heavy clear plastic type covering. What
should I consider sun direction-wise and do you have any other advice
about where's best for them?

the idea of placing it east-west for winter is good (and in summer you can
make sure you monitor the vents carefully and if there's no afternoon shade,
you can put a cane blind, some hessian, or something like that over it for
shade because they get VERY hot inside in summer & that can be disastrous).

having said that, though, ime the best place is one where the damn thing
won't blow away g. you also need some access to water and to be able to
include the greenhouse in your daily routine for watering, opening & closing
so tbh i think the best place is going to be somewhere fairly close by, &
well-protected from winds. i have a big big yard too but found it rather
difficult to find a really good spot! in the end i went with windproofing it
as my priority (because when it blew down in spring & all my millions of
seedlings tipped everywhere it was just a tragedy). so mine's against an
east wall & doesn't get sun after about 2pm now, but it's fine (and it's
cold here!!). i close it up early if it's been hot enough to have needed
opening.

we used 4 star pickets inside the frame for stability, & then i attached
ropes over the top & fixed them close by into the ground with tent pegs, &
another rope attached around. the plastic walls can really flap so it's
worth getting them stable if you are in a windy area. you could also
excavate a little bit in order to set it deeper into the ground, if you
want.

good luck!! i have found mine to be _excellent_, once you realise the
limitations & act accordingly.
kylie

Placement of greenhouse?
 

All good info.

Also it pays if possible to put a flat tray filled with water inside the
base of the unit (if possible) so it will keep the temperature stable
and provide humidity, watching for problems that humidity can cause.
The tray in my tiny hot house system also keeps it stable so it wont
blow away too easily.
Mine's only two foot by 1 foot by 4 foot from Aldi in melbourne. Its a
beaut for seedlings.

0tterbot wrote:
"Linda H" wrote in message
u...
Those big winds last week (Vic.) blew my neighbour's (empty) greenhouse
over the fence

that has happened to me :-) it's really the only thing wrong with plastic
greenhouses (sigh).

even though it's big and heavy. He said I could keep it
if I want. I want!

I'm wondering about best places to put it. We have lots of room so have
various options. It has that very heavy clear plastic type covering. What
should I consider sun direction-wise and do you have any other advice
about where's best for them?

the idea of placing it east-west for winter is good (and in summer you can
make sure you monitor the vents carefully and if there's no afternoon shade,
you can put a cane blind, some hessian, or something like that over it for
shade because they get VERY hot inside in summer & that can be disastrous).

having said that, though, ime the best place is one where the damn thing
won't blow away g. you also need some access to water and to be able to
include the greenhouse in your daily routine for watering, opening & closing
so tbh i think the best place is going to be somewhere fairly close by, &
well-protected from winds. i have a big big yard too but found it rather
difficult to find a really good spot! in the end i went with windproofing it
as my priority (because when it blew down in spring & all my millions of
seedlings tipped everywhere it was just a tragedy). so mine's against an
east wall & doesn't get sun after about 2pm now, but it's fine (and it's
cold here!!). i close it up early if it's been hot enough to have needed
opening.

we used 4 star pickets inside the frame for stability, & then i attached
ropes over the top & fixed them close by into the ground with tent pegs, &
another rope attached around. the plastic walls can really flap so it's
worth getting them stable if you are in a windy area. you could also
excavate a little bit in order to set it deeper into the ground, if you
want.

good luck!! i have found mine to be _excellent_, once you realise the
limitations & act accordingly.
kylie

Placement of greenhouse?
 

0tterbot wrote:
"Linda H" wrote in message
u...

Those big winds last week (Vic.) blew my neighbour's (empty) greenhouse
over the fence


that has happened to me :-) it's really the only thing wrong with plastic
greenhouses (sigh).


Thank you all so much for your terrific advice and thank you especially
to Kylie - yep, it gets horrendously windy here in Autumn and Spring -
it's the one drawback I've found living here. It howls like a bitch.

So yeah, your securing for wind tips are super handy. I think the place
I'd chosen so far might be a little too far away from our tank though
(we're completely on tank water) so a slight shift with all your advice
in mind will be good.

It's worth working on coz it's a big'un and it's FREE! The previous
neighbours who left it for the new ones told me they'd paid about a
thousand bucks for it.

Ta, heaps.

Placement of greenhouse?
 

Hi Linda,
I have a 3m x 6.5m plastic hot-house in the Dandenongs. Due to placement
limitations I have had to align it NNE to SSW. As far as over-heating goes,
I have found that if it is a cloudless day, it will on average multiply the
outside air temperature by 2.2. So if the predicted high for the day is 20,
I get a high of 44 inside. This is the maximum you should go to as most
veggies transperation rate above 40~44 exceeds the root moisture uptake
rate. Wilting occurs and the plants die if the temperature stays at that for
too long.
I open one end to allow airflow if the predicted temperature is 20 ~ 25.
Above 25 I open both ends.
Invest about $18 in a Min/Max thermometer, this way you can track the
temperature and get a feel for it.

BTW, if you prepare the ground inside properly, (get the Ph and dispersion
properties correct) and use plenty of good compost, you'll be amazed by the
bountiful harvest. I had tomatoes before Christmas last year. I got over 50
kilos from one grafted apollo I bought at Bunnings. Just on tomatoes, I
reckon
the hot house multiplies the yield by 10. The Fowlers Vacola preserving kit
has
worked overtime. I am still getting cucumbers and basil from plants that I
put in last year.I have spaghetti sauce and cucumber pickles to last all
through winter! Currently bok choi and spinach are sprouting.
Peas, zuchinni and pupkin are no-nos, they get powdery mildue.

If you enjoy gardening and go about using your hot house methodically,
you'll find that your fortuitous blow-in is one of the best things that
could happen.
Have fun!

Cheers,
Ed.


"Linda H" wrote in message
u...
Loosecanon wrote:


My thoughts are to align it east-west (that is the longest sides) so you
harvest as much sunlight in winter as possible.

Richard


Thanks Richard - I thought maybe that but I wondered if it'd get TOO hot
out of winter times - I guess that wouldn't matter, huh, with the humidity
it'd create?

Placement of greenhouse?
 

Ed Adamthwaite wrote:

Hi Linda,


Oh WOW, thanks heaps Ed. I'm going to print your post out to pin up for
reference!

Tops.




If you enjoy gardening and go about using your hot house methodically,
you'll find that your fortuitous blow-in is one of the best things that
could happen.
Have fun!

Cheers,
Ed.