Many people love vegetables and fruits, besides they are very he althy. And how nice it is to grow these products yourself on your personal plot. A large number of vegetables are grown in open ground, but every year summer residents and gardeners are increasingly resorting to all kinds of structures in order to get a crop for a long time. Such structures include greenhouses, greenhouses, greenhouses, etc. In this article, we will consider a greenhouse. What is this design?
What is a greenhouse?
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia gives the following definition: "A greenhouse is a special room or structure coated with a material that transmits light. Such a room is intended for year-round cultivation of heat-loving crops."
This design can be purchased in specialized stores or make a greenhouse with your own hands. Greenhouse construction happens:
- Arched.
- With vertical walls.
- Walls that slope.
- Double slope design.
- Single pitch design.
- With mansard roof.
As we can see, the choice is large, and every summer resident can find the design option that will be convenient for him. The greenhouse cover is made from materials such as:
- Plastic film.
- Glass cover.
- Polycarbonate.
Let's look at the pros and cons of each structure to understand which greenhouses are best and which ones are right for you.
Glass greenhouse
The structure covered with glass is a classic among greenhouses. Many summer residents, for the sake of economy, make small structures from old windows. Well, if you start construction from scratch, then, given that glass is an inflexible material, the main structure should be single-sided or double-sided.
Pros of glass greenhouses:
- Glass does not enter into chemical reactions. This is an environmentally friendly material.
- The glass is transparent. It makes it possible to observe the growth of the crop.
- Good lighting, which allows the plant to develop well.
- This design is strong enough. Cracked or broken glass is easily replaced.
The disadvantages of a glass greenhouse are only in the large weight and fragility of the glass. Strong hail may damage the coating of the structure.
Polycarbonate greenhouses
This coating material is gaining great popularity among summer residents and gardeners. First of all, a greenhouse is reliability and convenience for growing heat-loving vegetable crops. The main task of such a structure is to create favorable conditions for growth. Polycarbonate performs almost all the necessaryfunctions.
The advantages of such greenhouses include:
- Material strength.
- Good light transmission.
- Good thermal conductivity.
- The material will last up to 15 years.
- These greenhouses are great for growing vegetables in the winter.
The disadvantages of such a structure include the high cost of material, the assistance of specialists in installation and the presence of a good and solid foundation.
PE-coated greenhouses
Polyethylene tent for greenhouses is the most common material. More recently, almost every summer resident in his backyard had such a greenhouse. But nowadays, even among simple polyethylene, there is a choice of several types of material.
A range of material is on sale, such as:
- Light diffusion film.
- Reinforced material.
- Cellophane wrap.
- Foam film.
- Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer material.
- Light stabilized film.
Any of these materials are suitable for sheltering greenhouses, but you need to pay attention to the characteristics of the material and choose the one that suits your climate.
Pros of film greenhouses:
- Acceptable option for beginners in this business.
- Low cost.
- Easy and without special skills, you can cover the frame of the greenhouse.
But such facilities have a fair number of disadvantages. These include:
- Seasonality of the structure. You need to stretch and remove the film every time, this may tear the material.
- The sun's rays are bad for the film.
- The film greenhouse is unsuitable for low temperatures.
The advantage of a DIY greenhouse
It is not difficult to build a structure for growing vegetables on your own. It can be both purchased designs, and according to your own design. With your own hands you can make unusual and very functional greenhouses. Before bringing the idea to life, it is necessary to work out some points:
- Choose a place on the site where the structure will be placed.
- Determine the size of the greenhouse and what material it will be covered with.
- What shape will the frame be.
- What function will the greenhouse perform. If this is a winter option, then you need to pay attention to the foundation.
As folk wisdom says: "The eyes are afraid, but the hands are doing." If you build a work plan correctly, then both the winter and summer greenhouses can be made independently. To choose a variant of the shape of the future structure, you can see sample photos of greenhouses in this article.
Winter option
Every gardener knows what greenhouses are for and what to grow in them. But many fans have a question: "Why a greenhouse in winter?". It turns out that it is possible to cultivate many crops in the winter. Atobserving simple rules for planting and growing certain crops, you can harvest several times. Many summer residents grow some plants for sale, thereby paying for the construction of a winter greenhouse. Grow plants such as:
- Bow on a green feather.
- Dill, parsley, basil and other popular herbs.
- Salad.
- Early seedlings of cucumber, tomato, eggplant and pepper.
Of course, a winter greenhouse has many aspects that make it different from a conventional structure. To design a greenhouse for the winter version, it will take a little more time, effort and materials. To build a winter greenhouse you will need:
- A strong foundation is a foundation.
- Massive wall structure.
- Strong frame. To be able to withstand the heavy snow cap.
- Additional lighting. After all, the days are shorter in winter, and for many cultures, light is an essential condition for growth.
- Heating is another element that a winter greenhouse cannot do without.
Without exaggeration, we can say that a winter greenhouse is a profitable investment in terms of commerce. Indeed, in addition to a facility for growing edible crops, a greenhouse can serve as a greenhouse for flowers. And by March 8, you can grow beautiful roses or tulips and make good money on it.
