Green house question

[leli]

Hi, gardening lover but newbie. I have a large North East facing back garden backing onto meadow land (and mostly mown meadow itself) so I guess beyond where the house shades the garden we can find a good South facing orientation that isn't overlooked. But it's a windy spot.

I'll probably get a bargain green house, place it on a slab base and if I love it and use it will upgrade at some point later.

I know you shouldn't site one under trees.

Can I place one with two sides next to something - I.e. back against hedge and side against summer house? Or does it need to be freestanding on all sides?

Any comments/ideas useful!

I've read the other green house threads and much admire the green houses shown. Love the Rhino one on order. Hope to see a pic when it's installed.

[NanTheWiser]

Much better to be free standing, that way you can access all for sides for cleaning and maintenance. Also, plants will grow better with light all around, and won't lean towards the light.

[leli]

Thanks Nan. I hadn't thought about the plants growing better with all round light. Obvious now you say it!

[MereDintofPandiculation]

Much better to be free standing However, mine is alongside the garage and things grow perfectly well. I reckon most of the light comes in through the roof.

Most important is which sides you're blocking - N and W would probably be the best, Blocking S and E would not be good. Mine has the garage blocking the E and and ill-advised bush blocking the N, oh, and a couple of branches of wisteria along the south, and the neighbour's 40ft silver birch to the W. It's not ideal! I grow cacti, tomatoes, cucumbers in there and use it to raise plants.

Maybe my plants don't lean because the only real light is coming through the roof?

[leli]

www.wayfair.co.uk/garden/pdp/palram-hybrid-6-ft-w-x-8-ft-d-greenhouse-pwf1319.html?piid=24797287

I am looking at getting the green house above. Mainly because it has 2 x 5* reviews and it comes in green. And we cannot go above about this price at the mo. Does it look ok?

Mmm thanks @MereDintofPandiculation. I was wondering about the light coming through the roof. Yours sounds pretty with bushes nd wisteria around it.

[Bombaybunty]

I have this one not in green though. It's very close to the neighbors fence but there's just enough room to walk along the side to clean it.
I love it!

[leli]

Hi Bombaybunty, thank you so much for your recommendation. Had a look and it's great. Was it OK for you to put up? Have you secured the base? What did you put it on?

[Bombaybunty]

It was quite easy to put up, I say that but DH did it! It didn't take long.

When we moved into our house there was an elderly, collapsing greenhouse. We dismantled it and put the new one on the original base.

[MereDintofPandiculation]

Things I'd be thinking about with that greenhouse are a) does it need a second opening window in the roof? b) could I replace a bottom panel with a louvre window to improve air flow? c) If it had a sliding door, I could leave the door partially or completely open in summer to improve ventilation, An opning door will need to be propped open so it doesn't swing in the wind - can I arrange that?

Yours sounds pretty with bushes nd wisteria around it. I wouldn't recommend it for an approach all other things being equal ;-) Actually, my greenhouse is a lot larger than yours, and as the size increases, the proportion of the total light contributed by the roof increases (I have a page of algebra to prove it ). So with a smaller greenhouse, you should probably try not to obscure your remaining two clear sides..

[MereDintofPandiculation]

I'd recommend an automatic roof opening vent. The mechanism can be bought separately and fixed to an existing window.
www.greenhousepeople.co.uk/products/51/classic-auto-opener-for-vent-autovent/