Hobby Greenhouses

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So you want to build a hobby greenhouse? Then you have come
to the right place for some good advice and information.
Greenhouses are becoming increasingly popular and people all
over the world and from different walks of life are discov-
ering the joy, pleasure and benefits of greenhouse gardening.

For modern, busy and often stressed people a greenhouse is an
excellent way of escaping it all and to enter a peacefull
environment of colors and aromas. Imagine walking through the
snow to your hobby greenhouse to pick some nutritious homegrown
herbs or vegetables for your dinner and not only that but
maybe also some flowers for decorating your table.

Growing plants in a hobby greenhouse is also an excellent way
of teaching children about nature and how things grow. They will
love to plant their own seeds and watch them germinate and
develop into an edible plant or beautifull flower.

On this website we will regularly post informative articles
and also provide you with links to other websites of interest
for a hobby greenhouse grower.

The first thing you should consider is how you will use your Hobby Greenhouse and what you are going to grow there; to grow crops that need heating during winter, to grow cool weather crops, get an early start to seeds or cuttings or a combination of these.
Maybe you like to propagate and experiment with various plants as a hobby and even make new varieties of plants.

A Hobby Greenhouse gives you the ability to grow exotic flowers, vegetables or fruits that naturally grows in tropical areas because you are able to control heat and light inside a Hobby Greenhouse.

Chosing the right spot for your hobby greenhouse is very important and there are various things to consider doing so. Normally it's recommended to build the greenhouse in the southeast portion of your garden to maximize the effect of the sun in winter and also that your house will protect your greenhouse from cold winds from the north.

If you have a big tree in your garden try to position the greenhouse so the tree doesn't shade too much in the morning while giving shade for the strong afternoon sun is ok, also consider tall buildings in the neighborhood.

When chosing the place for your greenhouse also keep in mind that you will need electricity and enough power supply to support various electrical motors, electronic devices and supplementary lighting. This is very important in colder areas. A proper water supply is also obvious.

Measure the area you have available for a greenhouse. Greenhouse kits comes in many shapes, sizes and designs so it should be possible to find something that suits almost
any location. If you can't find any suitable greenhouse kit you can build your own to better utilize the space.

Don't build your greenhouse too small. Remember that you also will need a work area or maybe a storage area for overwintering plants inside so not the whole area will be for growing plants. If you for some reason want to build a smaller to start with you can chose a greenhouse kit that's possible to extend at a later time.

Building your hobby greenhouse. First you have to decide wether to build your own or to purchase an easy greenhouse kit. The advantage of a greenhouse kit is that it's fast and easy to assemble and in most cases you can do it yourself or with a little help from your friends.

A greenhouse build from a set of plans is much more difficult, takes longer time and in many cases also more expensive. A greenhouse kit can be delivered to your door and you don't have to go out searching for materials and transporting them to your place.

When it comes to installing various equipment it's far more complicated if you have designed your own greenhouse. In a greenhouse build from a kit you can usually get things that fits in exactly reducing your costs and headache considerably.

Basically there are two types of greenhouses. The "lean to" (attached)greenhouse and the "freestanding" greenhouse. The lean to greenhouse is an excellent choice if you only have a small garden and the space is an issue.
It's attached to your house, garage or shed. It should be designed so it fits together with the styling of the building which it's attached to.

It's also important to consider covering materials to be used.Glass,fiberglass and polycarbonate are the best when it comes to durability and conserving the heat and humidity in the hobby greenhouse but also the most expensive.

There are many things that can make your greenhouse gardening more convenient and easy. You will need a certain amount or level of automation to get the result you desire. Also bear in mind that sometimes one will not do without the other so you need to plan carefully and start with the basics first.
The basics are heating and ventilation. Without a proper ventiliation and heating system it's impossible to keep the desired temperature and humidity and your plants will suffer. A cold night can damage your plants and likewise too high temperatures during daytime. ventilation also provides air-movement, carbon-dioxide to the plants and oxygen to the grower.Greenhouse heating is maybe one of the parts that requires most planning and calculations. To determine how much heat and what heater you need you have to know what minimum temperature you require inside your greenhouse and approximately the lowest outside temperature you can expect in your area and the greenhouse surface area and type. You can put these values into a calculator that will make the calculations for you.
Greenhouses are designed to capture as much light as possible therefore they are not so highly insulated as other structures. The heat loss is biggest on cold clear nights, when it's windy or when it's sleet, snowing or cold rain.Normally you have a choice of heaters driven by gas, electricity or oil and you have to chose what's most economic and easiest accessible in your area. Be aware of the danger concerning using electricity and connection with water.
Greenhouses which are equipped with automatic sensors for opening vents when the temperature rises and close them when the temperature falls makes your life as a greenhouse grower much easier. In some cases circulating or extractor fans can be used to mix the air within the greenhouse or to transport hot air out.
To regulate and monitor heating and ventilation you can go high-tech and a computer will do everything for you integrating both heating and ventilation and also lighting and shading if you want to and can afford it. Another and cheaper options is to have a single termostat for heating and one for ventilation and they work individually but that's good enough. It's up to you, almost anything can be done.