Growing delicious vegetables under glass all year round or growing magnificent succulents and cacti is still a dream that many allotment gardeners have. However, there are a number of questions that need to be clarified when planning the greenhouse so that there are no unpleasant surprises afterwards.
What should you consider when planning a greenhouse?
When planning a greenhouse, location, size, materials, heating systems and possible building permits should be considered. Take time to assess sunlight, accessibility and utility routes and choose between prefab or self-build.
Greenhouses are different from foil tents, which are set up outdoors in just a few minutes over the course of a season. Planning a greenhouse is more complex, especially since it is often the first time in your life and you don't know the joys and sorrows of owning a greenhouse from your own experience. So that it stays fun,we would like to give our visitors some tips that have to do with the right project planning. There would be space on the property, the family council has set the reasonable budget and then the question is:
Which location is suitable?
It's not possible to start without a plan, because the new greenhouse (or will it even be a winter garden?) should ultimately fit harmoniously into the living structure without visually detracting from the ambience of the entire property. Important questions about this:
- Is there enough sunlight?
- Is there no disturbing and dense vegetation nearby?
- How long are the supply routes for electricity, water and wastewater from the residential building?
- Is the space easily accessible (for construction work or possible maintenance work on the new greenhouse)?
- What about the distance to the neighbors?
- Can the entrance be built facing the weather?
Plan a greenhouse and build it yourself or a prefabricated house?
While building it yourself will take several days, if not weeks, aprefabricated house set can easily be set up on your own and ready to go in one day. Assuming a little bit of craftsmanship, do-it-yourselfers have a much better chance of creating a very special, unique item that meets your requirements exactly than is the case with an industrially manufactured greenhouse in large series. And finally: Building it yourself is rarely more expensive than buying it!
Mini or maxi house and which material?
First, prioritize the type of crop you grow. Then take into account the winter quartering of frost-sensitive perennials from the outdoors and add an additional rate of xx percent in terms of size when planning the greenhouse. This means that your green oasis has a promising future, at least for the first few years and in terms of space. Wood or aluminum as load-bearing walls, glass or plastic for the windows? We present the most important facts about the material question to you in this article.
Watering and heating under glass
If you are happy with a cold house that is only built from March to October, you will achieve your desired goal without major investments. However,heating is absolutely necessary for growing vegetables in winter or raising exotic plants. It is worth considering whether a cost-effective expansion of the existing heating system in the house is an option or whether a separate heat supply should be provided, for example using oil, hot water, gas or electric heaters.
Tip
It is also worth noting when planning a greenhouse that, depending on the size, an official building permit may be required. The legal regulations sometimes differ considerably in the individual federal states. Therefore: Be sure to plan a visit to the local building authority before the groundbreaking ceremony.
