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Greenhouse advice needed, please


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Somehow I thought it would come to this--it's time to buy a proper greenhouse!

When I started with CPs there were just a few which I put in an outside planter, having been assured they were winter hardy.  Sure enough, despite freezing solid for several days, they all came back.  Except for a P x wesser.

So then I bought a little 4ft x 4ft plastic greenhouse.  £36!  And, somehow, more plants arrived.  The plastic greenhouse barely survived the winter.  It's cover is now held together with transparent Duck tape and the frame is wedged upright against a handy lilac tree using a length of angle iron.

To quote my wife "it's all a bit amateurish, isn't it?"

It's time to get a proper greenhouse.  Your advice is needed.

The first bit of advice will be 'get the biggest you can'.  Sadly, this will be 6 x 6.  So advice about the 'house itself is needed.

Polycarbonate or glass.  Horticultural or toughened glass?  Straight onto a soil base. or bolted onto a low brick wall?  Perhaps sunk into a concrete surround?  If it's sitting on the soil how do I make sure it won't blow over if we get strong winds?  My little plastic one has tent pegs all round it and half a dozen bags of builders sand holding the base down (see my wife's comment above!).   Bare soil inside or a concrete floor?  Or perhaps some of the synthetic flooring some greenhouse companies sell?

Just been looking at this one.  But I've no idea if it's any good or not.

All advice gratefully received.

Thanks.

Guy

Edit  What about louvres and windows?  Should I have them?  Should they have automatic openers?  Forgot to ask this in the main post.

Edited by Guy
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You obviously get what you pay for. I've got 2 from the cheaper end of the market and they've been fine. Maybe a little difficult to assemble but just be careful and patient and it should go together OK. I would recommend buying one with a base. In my case the base comes with an aluminium peg for each corner. This can be concreted into the ground and will ensure the g/h remains fixed and stable. A top tip: when installing the base ensure the diagonals are the same length as this will result in right angles at the corners. Once the base is installed you just build the g/h up from it - nice and easy! I'd also recommend buying a g/h with high eaves, especially if you're growing sarracenia. Most suppliers will replace any broken glass you find during assembly, but there can be a time limit - in my case it was 2 weeks. So, if you're not erecting the g/h immediately may be worth checking the glass for breakages. I've only got horticultural glass and a few panes have needed replacing over the years. I've laid a base inside the g/h using compacted sand and cheap slabs finished off with dry cement dust in the gaps. It's a bit of extra work but does give a better look and possibly helps with stability. Else gravel will do on top of a weed membrane. I'm sure others can supply other tips and advice. You can see my 2nd greenhouse half-way down this thread.

Good luck!

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Concrete base or slabs make sure you seal good under the base frame before you

erect the frame and glass so you don't get rain inside. OK try and make your budget bigger

mine is 6x10 and was glad I went for the bigger unit, auto windows are a god send..

i made some of my tables out of free pallets I am going to this winter make legs

for my water trays so I can use the space underneath, and going to consecrate on Sarracenia 

so will be selling all my other plants, here is a image of my greenhouse it's a Elite.

 

IMG_1972.JPG.f615fa73d1b67d7db82c1e9d10f853d4.JPG

 

 

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It's my cats proof door and let in fly screen

21 hours ago, S Krelbourn said:

Looking good Deltatango, I particularly like the removable mesh ventilation insert for the door. 

Guy, might I recommend you try finding a secondhand greenhouse, usually as good as new and a fraction of the price.

Concrete base or slabs make sure you seal good under the base frame before you

erect the frame and glass so you don't get rain inside. OK try and make your budget bigger

mine is 6x10 and was glad I went for the bigger unit, auto windows are a god send..

i made some of my tables out of free pallets I am going to this winter make legs

for my water trays so I can use the space underneath, and going to consecrate on Sarracenia 

so will be selling all my other plants, here is a image of my greenhouse it's a Elite.

 

IMG_1972.JPG.f615fa73d1b67d7db82c1e9d10f853d4.JPG

 

 

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Thanks for the help and advice, very much appreciated.

Linuxman.  When you say 'high eaves', do you mean the ones with a curved roof as opposed to ones with a triangular shape?  Can't tell what yours is from the photos.

Deltatango, the problem isn't the budget (within reason!) but the space.  My 4 x 4 plastic greenhouse nicely fills the available space.  6 x 6 which could probably just be done, would require some reprofiling of the lawn edge.  Mind you, 6 x 8 isn't much bigger, is it.  Just practicing here for a conversation with Ann!

Thanks for 

Went to the Hampshire Carnivorous open day today.  Came back with 10 more plants.  Ann was very keen on the miniature Drosera and a P. cyclosecta.  There is hope!

Guy

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Guy  the eaves is where the vertical and the slope of the roof meet. An higher eaves will prevent to reduce the amount of bending you have to do to stop hitting your head on the glass also gives more room for the plants if they ere on staging.

Edited by tatter
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If you want to maximise your available space ( don't we all) why don't you consider a freestanding lean toward (?). I built the missing wall out of wood and polycarbonate and it is approx 8 feet tall at the highest point ( don't have a tape handy) and it allows me two full length shelves above the main bench (3 if you include the space under the main bench , which I'm sad to say is currently just storage). Re attached pic seems a little dark on the right  as I built it butt up to a beach hedge.

IMG_1890.JPG

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As a tip, if you're planning on heating it over winter, get twin wall polycarbonate and a decent amount of bubblewrap

When I was building mine in january (frostbite alert!) I put 4 or 5 tent pegs in the base so they went inbetween our patio slabs, i woke up on the 3rd day after completion to find the heavy gusts had blown it about half a foot, unscrewed some nuts/bracing and totally bent or pulled out the tent pegs. After that I screwed one corner in a few places into a concrete slab, set everything up and and it hasnt moved since.  Its protected on 3 sides by our conservatory and tall fence too, you'll have to go concrete, at least in the corners to screw the base into. As for the floor it'd depend on wherever or not youd want to put plants in the ground.

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