Agriculture Information Bulletin No.357 U.S.DEPARTMENT of AGRICULTURE Ñcq' M: ARV Bvímím
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t fñv i^ e Agriculture Information Bulletin No.357 U.S.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ñCQ' m: ARV BvíMíM So you've finally decided to get You can get 1 the most green- that hobby greenhouse yoiCte al-i i house for your money by doing ways wanted. some of the construction work The first thing you have to do yourself. How much work you do is make a couple of decisions: depends on how handy you are How much money do you want to with tools. Be honest with your- spend? How much work do you self—don't take on a job that's want to do? too big to handle. A hobby greenhouse can range If you are good with tools, from a simple polyethylene cov- you can put up any plastic cov- ered framework that you can ered greenhouse, and almost any put together in an afternoon for prefabricated glass greenhouse. less than fifty dollars to a six- You'll have to hire a qualified thousand dollar fully automated electrician and plumber. conservatory. No matter which size or type of greenhouse you choose, con- TYPES OF GREENHOUSES sider how much time you'll have There are two basic types of to spend in it after it's built. greenhouses: attached and free Don't be over enthusiastic ; some standing. An attached green- new greenhouse owners find house may be even-span, lean-to, they do not have as much time or window-mounted. A freestand- as they thought for gardening. ing greenhouse is usually even- On the other hand, there is a span (symetrical roof). misconception that greenhouses require constant attention. By Attached Lean-To combining automatic controls and easy-care plants, mainte- A lean-to greenhouse is built nance can be kept to an hour a against a building, using the ex- week. Automatic controls are isting structure for one or more ideal for providing proper grow- of its sides. It is usually attached ing temperature, artificial light, to a house, but may be attached watering, humidity, and ventila- to other buildings. tion. Or if you have time, you can The lean-to is limited to single save a lot of money by not using or double-row plant benches with automatic controls. a total width of 7 to 12 feet. It PN-2698 Curved eave, slant side glass-to-ground lean-to greenhouse with roll-up slat shades and fin tube radiation heat. can be as long as the building it accommodate two or three rows is attached to. The advantage of of plant benches. the lean-to greenhouse is that it The cost of an even-span usually is close to available elec- greenhouse is greater than the tricity, water, and heat. cost of a lean-to type, but it has The lean-to has the following greater flexibility in design and disadvantages : provides for more plants. • Limited space. Because of its size and greater • Limited light. • Limited ventilation and tem- COST perature control. The lowest cost per square foot Attached Even-Span of growing space is available in the even-span greenhouse 17 to The even-span greenhouse is 18 feet wide. It will house two the standard type—the one peo- side benches, two walks, and a ple generally visualize when they wide center bench. think about a greenhouse. The lowest total cost green- The even-span greenhouse is house is the lean-to house 7 to similar to a free-standing struc- 12 feet wide with double-row ture except that it is attached to benches and a central walk. a house at one gable end. It can « amount of exposed glass area, Free-Standing the even-span greenhouse will The free-standing greenhouse cost more to heat. is a separate structure and con- sists of side walls, end walls, and Attached Window-Mounted gable roof. It is like an even-span A window-mounted greenhouse except that a free-standing will allow space to grow a few greenhouse is set apart from plants at relatively low cost for other buildings to get the most heating and cooling. This reach- sun. It can be made as large or in greenhouse is available in small as desired. many standard sizes, either in A separate heating system is single units or in tandem ar- necessary unless the greenhouse rangements for large windows. is very close to a heated building. Only simple tools are needed to The free-standing greenhouse is remove the regular window from more easily adapted to the build- the frame and fasten the pre- er's ideas of location, size, and fabricated window greenhouse in shape than attached greenhouses. its place. It also provides more light, but PN-2700 This 10 foot wide lean-to has ample room for two 36 Inch wide benches along each wall. Glass shelves and hanging baskets may also be installed. {Photo courtesy of J. A. Neorrng Co./ Inc.) " " ' ' " PN-2699 A free-standing greenhouse is set apart from othter buildings, witli a door at one end (or a door in both ends for long units). (Photo courtesy of Lord 8. Burnham) requires more heat at night due where it will be partly shaded to the additional glass. during the summer when light re- duction is not serious and may be LOCATING YOUR desirable. Be sure to take into GREENHOUSE account the possibility of falling limbs that can damage the green- After you have decided which house. kind of greenhouse you want, you will need to determine where Some plants will grow in a you are going to put it. greenhouse in any location. The first choice for a green- African violets and orchids, for house site should be on the south example, will grow with northern or southeast side of the house in exposure—but heating costs will a sunny location. The east side be high. You will limit the types is the second best location. That's of plants you can grow if you where it will capture the most don't put your greenhouse in the November to February sunlight. best possible location. The next best locations are the Sometimes you can place a southwest and west. The north greenhouse against a door, win- side is the least desirable loca- dow, or basement entrance of tion. your house. This will let you use You can place your greenhouse heat from your house to grow walks. Allow approximately 6 LOCATION inches for walls at either side An ideal site for your green- and 2 inches for an air-circulation house would be one that is well- space between the side walls and drained, nearly level, and has full the benches. exposure to sunlight. It would Side benches are serviced from slope slightly to the south and only one side and should be no have a windbreak on the side of wider than you can reach across. the prevailing wind. For some people this will be 2 feet, for others perhaps as much as 3 feet. plants, make your greenhouse Center benches are serviced more accessible, and save on con- from both sides and can be as struction costs. Your home heat- wide as 6 feet. They should be no ing bill, however, will increase wider than to permit you to work significantly. comfortably. If you have an L-shaped house, Determine the width of the you can save the cost of two walks in your greenhouse by how greenhouse walls by building the they are to be used. If the walks greenhouse in the "L". will be used only as a place to Whether your greenhouse runs stand while servicing the benches, north and south or east and west an 18- or 19-inch walk is suffi- is not as important as wind pro- ciently wide; if a wheelbarrow tection. Protect your greenhouse will be brought into the green- from winds by locating it so ex- house, the width must be greater. isting buildings will shield it, or Wide walks—24 to 30 inches— by providing it with a windbreak will allow easy passage for visi- hedge or fence. tors who may not be used to walking between rows of plants. DESIGNING YOUR Greenhouse Length GREENHOUSE Determine the length of your You will need to determine the greenhouse by multiplying the exact dimensions for your green- number of plants you can grow house before you start to build. across the benches by the num- Width is the most important ber of plants you want to grow. dimension ; it will not be changed Then round off the measurement during the life of the greenhouse. so that no glass will need to be Length can be increased if more cut to fill odd sash bar spacings. space is desired. (A sash bar is a shaped wooden or metal bar used in the construc- Greenhouse Width tion of a sash or frame and de- Determine the width of your signed to hold and support the greenhouse by adding the widths glass secure to it.) of the plant benches and the Standard glass sizes are 16 by 6 24, 18 by 20, and 20 by 20 inches. TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION (Larger glass sizes means few sash bars and less shadow inside Whether you build a glass, the greenhouse.) Most plastics fiberglass, or plastic greenhouse, are available in 100-foot lengths. it will pay you to shop around for When you figure the length of ideas. a glass greenhouse, allow for the Greenhouses have supporting width of the projecting part of framework made of wood, alu- each sash bar plus a fraction of minum, iron, or galvanized pipe.