Building your greenhouse is not that difficult or expensive. Greenhouses allow the growth of plants in controlled climates inside them. Using a greenhouse is the best thing that a gardener can do. A greenhouse may be a temporary or permanent structure. The greenhouse is made from a translucent covering that allows sunlight to enter and heat the greenhouse. It uses a ventilation system to adjust the temperature inside the greenhouse on warmer or cold days. Sometimes it requires heaters in cold areas. Here is our article on how a greenhouse works.
Preparing the location for the Greenhouse
This is the most crucial part of building the greenhouse. It needs an adequate amount of sunlight, Proper drainage of water, and protection from strong winds should be considered.
It is better if morning and afternoon sunlight is falling on the greenhouse. Ideally, all-day sunlight is best for the greenhouse. But only morning sunlight is sufficient. But it is recommended to place the greenhouse where all day sunlight falls. In this way, it is easy to control the humidity and the temperature during the day. Because sunlight is falling into the greenhouse all day. So no need to adjust the ventilation to maintain steady humidity and temperature.
You can use this map to determine the plant hardiness of your location
Understanding the Greenhouse basics
Temperature and Sunlight Exposure
You have to wait for a long time to plant the seedlings than the expected time if your greenhouse is not heated well and sunlight exposure is low. Plants prefer warm climates to thrive. The greenhouse is useless if its temperature is low. But if you can heat the greenhouse using a heater or naturally. You can start planting the seedlings sooner. This will create a perfect climate for the plants to grow.
Humidity
Soil moisture and humidity control is the next most important factor in a greenhouse. If the humidity is low, the water will evaporate quickly and dry up the soil and plant. Because the greenhouse is already heated well. This is not a good condition for a plant to grow properly. But if the humidity is comparatively high, the water evaporation rate is lower. This will helps to maintain the soil moisture.
So Sunlight exposure, temperature, and humidity are the most important factors affecting plant growth. We control these factors in a greenhouse and make the perfect conditions for plant growth.
Build your Greenhouse
There are five basic structures in a greenhouse;
- Rigid-Frame
- A-frame
- Gothic
- Quonset
- Post and Rafter
They are prefab greenhouse kits available online. You can purchase one or find a suitable greenhouse plan for you.
Ventilating and Heating
Fix louvers and fan shutters on the roof or walls to get air when necessary. Always keeping these openings results drop in temperature. Louver the blinds properly to maintain a steady temperature. If you can not achieve the proper temperature, you have to use a heater. Choose a heating system that can provide a steady temperature and does not emit materials that are not good for plant growth. Steam, Hot water, and thermostat are used in most commercial greenhouses. You can choose one that is easy for you.
If the greenhouse is too hot and the area you live in is too hot, you may have to install a cooler to maintain the temperature. An air conditioning unit is good for this. Choose an energy saving cost-effective air conditioning unit for this purpose.
Watering and Drainage
Watering the plant is necessary for its growth. There are two ways of watering those are Overhead Systems and Subsurface systems
Overhead Systems
This is the most common method found in greenhouses. This includes hand watering from a bucket or a hose, Overhead Sprinklers. In overhead systems, the water is applied onto the surface of the soil and the excess water drains through a drainage track.
Subsurface Systems
When irrigation solution is brought into the root zone through sub-irrigation, it is placed in a water-containing structure that is flooded until the water level reaches the medium. The water then moves up through the container and the medium as the water molecules attract and move through it. The growing medium and its pore space are the factors that influence the saturation height and speed of the solution.
Controlling sunlight
If you are living in an area where you get very low sunlight. You have no option but to install artificial lights. Some greenhouses use these lights to provide light at night time. The recommended wattage per square foot is 25W. There are 4 basic lightings available for greenhouse use;
Incandescent Lights
This is comparatively cheaper. Although they do not require ballasts, Incandescent lights are not ideal for most greenhouse applications. They can provide light for nighttime accents or reading, though they do not provide enough light for most greenhouse setups. Incandescent bulbs can also be used in wall fixtures to illuminate greenhouse doorways. These are referred to as Spot Grow lights, which are 150W and 75W and provide supplemental light to small plants. However, they do produce heat and should not be placed too close to plants.
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lights
There are two types of HID. High Pressure Sodium Lamps and Metal Halide Lamps. These lamps need high energy and emit a strong light that is ideal for plant growth. As a result, these lights produce a large amount of heat and are not beneficial in warmer seasons. The light source should not be close to the plant as the heat from the bulb may destroy the plant. Moreover, these lights are expensive to operate and not energy efficient.
Fluorescent Lights
Fluorescent Lights are comparatively poor light sources even though these lights are easy to fix. These lights work for seedlings but are not good for big plants. But these lights are good for warm seasons because these lights produce low heat. These lights can fix closer to plants.
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
Best lighting solution so far. These lights require smaller energy and output a good light. These are energy efficient and cost effective. Most greenhouses use LEDs. Installing blue and red LEDs will increase plant growth more efficiently. LEDs use up to 80% less energy than other lighting methods. If you use LEDs only 6W of wattage is needed per square foot. That is nearly one fourth of the others.
Overview
If you follow these guides to build your Greenhouse, You can build a good one yourself. Building a greenhouse seems complex but if you identify the basics, it is not much difficult.
