Page 21 - Simply Veg Issue 1 2016

The next decision is whether to get an aluminium or wooden house, I would always go for aluminium as they are low maintenance and I hate painting especially wooden glazing bars. Even if you re-paint the wood at regular intervals eventually it seems
to rot and then you need expensive repairs.
I accept that a nice white or cedar wood
house looks more attractive than aluminium
but it is not as long lasting and needs more
maintenance. There are also some nice green
powder coated metal greenhouses that look
good in the garden.
Another important consideration is the
amount of ventilation (opening windows) that
is tted. The area of the ventilation should be at least 15% of the oor area and preferable higher. Although you can open the door on hot days in the summer it can still get very hot in the greenhouse and
you do not have the control that you do with ventilators. If you are at home all day the ventilators can be opened and closed as required but if at work you should consider automatic ventilators which are
set at a certain temperature and then will open the ventilators when it goes above this. Where possible buy a greenhouse with a ventilator on each side of the roof and / or one in a side wall so that you can create a ow of air around the greenhouse. Also it means that a ventilator can always be opened whichever way the wind is blowing to avoid damage to the structure; the leeward side is opened in breezy weather.
If you already have a greenhouse which has insuf cient ventilation it is not too dif cult to t a set of louvre ventilators that can be opened and closed as required. These are usually tted at the base of the side wall so that when the top and lower ventilators are open it creates a
Melbourne Frame
Lean to greenhouse
type of chimney effect and cool air is drawn in at the base and hot air escapes through the roof ventilators. If tting extra ventilators is not possible consider a fan which will draw in cool air and circulate it
in the summer and in the winter will circulate the inside air that helps to reduce disease problems.
Most amateur greenhouses only have a door at one end and I prefer a sliding door as it is easier to leave it open in the summer knowing it will not blow about if the wind increases whilst you are out. Access also seems to be easier especially if you are changing the soil or wanting to barrow in compost or manure.
The area of the ventilation should be at least 15% of the
oor area
Owing to a shortage of space in this magazine I will cover cladding (glazing) in the next issue.
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Small greenhouse
simplyvegetables 21