Biggest tips
The biggest advantage of a greenhouse is that it allows you to grow plants and crops that need more shelter and higher temperatures than are found in the open garden. Greenhouses are season-stretchers – earlier springs and later autumns. For summer food, think tomatoes, peppers, aubergines. In winter, they can be filled with hardy oriental greens.
Sowing seeds, growing on plug plants, propagation, growing cut flowers and fresh food, and protecting plants on chilly spring nights are just some of the other advantages. It’ll also help you keep you (and your spirits) going in a tempestuous growing season.
2 Sky’s the limit
Buying a new greenhouse is the easy bit; deciding which one is harder. There are designs and styles to suit every taste and budget, from traditional to ultra-modern. Let a search engine do the legwork, but follow the golden rule: buy the biggest and best you can afford – you’ll never regret it. Cheap, flexible plastic greenhouses will just blow away in the wind.
3 Pre-loved bargains
If your budget’s non-existent, why not give a new home to an unloved greenhouse next door? Check local papers and websites for candidates; take photos of the existing structure before you loosen the first bolt. Mark existing glazing with tape/indelible pen, to help you piece the jigsaw back together.
4 Walk in, or lean-to?
A free-standing greenhouse usually has four sides (or multiple in geodesic dome types), with a door at one or both ends, and can go in any suitable spot. A lean-to sits against a sunny wall or building, its roof sloping away from the wall. You simply reach into a small lean-to, or walk into a large one.
5 Site in sunshine
Finding the optimum spot for a greenhouse is vital. Sunlight, as much as possible, on all sides, is crucial. For a long and narrow structure, an east-west orientation as ideal, but if you can’t, don’t fret. Avoid going near structures casting shadows such as walls/fences/hedges/buildings, and keep out from under trees.
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