Hobby Greenhouse Kits

There are some important considerations when you decide to buy one of the Hobby Greenhouse Kits. Planning for adequate bench space, storage space, and room for future expansion is an important step in building a greenhouse. While one may think a small greenhouse's climate is easier to maintain, in actuality, large greenhouses are easier because due to their increased air volume, their temperatures don't fluctuate as much as in small ones. Plan for a minimum of 6 by 12 feet.

Build your greenhouse where it will receive maximum sunlight, such as on the southeast side of a building or shade trees. Sunlight all day is best, but morning sunlight on the east side is sufficient because it allows the plant's food production process to begin early. North of major structures is the least desirable location.

Deciduous shade trees are helpful in protecting from summer's late afternoon sun, but your plants shouldn't be shaded in the morning. Also, be sure the shade trees are deciduous so that their bare branches in the fall and winter let in maximum sunlight.

Also, when considering location, look at drainage, your specific plant's requirements and shelter from winter wind, as well as accessibility to you and to heat, water, and electricity sources. Part two of this article gets into the nuts and bolts of the structures.

When you are looking at the various Hobby Greenhouse Kits you will notice that there are five basic shapes of freestanding greenhouses. These are Quonset hut, gothic, rigid frame, post and rafter, and A-Frame. As mentioned in part one, the greenhouses attached to homes are generally lean-to shapes. You can quickly reference pictures of each type online.

Your greenhouse frame can be wood, galvanized steel, or aluminum. Plastic pipe frames may sometimes be used in locations free of snow or strong winds.

Coverings

The frame can be covered with glass (tempered glass is often used because it is two or three times stronger than regular glass), rigid fiberglass, rigid double-wall plastics or plastic film.

The commercial greenhouse grade of PE plastic film protects against ultraviolet rays and lasts 12 to 18 months. Some of the film plastics block and reflect radiated heat back into the greenhouse, providing the advantage of glass without the expense and breakability factor.

The covering, or as its also called, the glazing, will be one of the determining factors in how far solar energy will go in heating your greenhouse. Depending on where you live, you may be able to rely completely on solar energy or in colder climates on as much as 25 percent of the daily heat requirement.

Optimal glazing materials allow the greatest amount of solar energy to enter into the greenhouse while minimizing energy loss. This process can get quite technical, but again this is just to give you a jump-start. It goes something like this: Good plant health requires a natural spectrum of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) to enter. While plants grow well with direct light, the direct light that enters through a clear covering divided by structural supports causes more shadows and uneven plant growth. Plants also grow well in diffused light, and the coverings that offer diffused lighting (such as rough-surface glass, double-layer rigid plastic and fiberglass) evens out the shadows, thus promoting more even growth.

If you plan to build a glass, fiberglass or double-layer or rigid-plastic greenhouse, you will need to also plan on a foundation, probably a poured concrete one similar to a house's foundation. However, Quonset hut greenhouses with pipe frames and plastic covers use posts driven into the ground.

Permanent flooring can be very slippery, due to the nature of a greenhouse. Instead, use a concrete, gravel, or stone walkway about two to three feet wide. Cover the rest of the greenhouse floor with several inches of gravel for good drainage. You can also spray the gravel for increased humidity. Part three of this article will venture into heating and ventilating the greenhouse.