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Having even a small plot of land, it is difficult to do without a greenhouse. Grow seedlings, get an early harvest, cover them from possible frost, from heat, make the plants in the flower bed bloom earlier – all this can be done with this device. Moreover, it is not difficult to make a greenhouse with your own hands. There are very simple designs, there are more complex ones, but the manufacture of any of them does not require special education.
The frame for a greenhouse can be made of wood (boards), metal (corner, profile pipe or fittings) or PVC pipes (round or square). Cover the greenhouse with the same materials as the greenhouse: film, spunbond (also called agrofibre or non-woven covering material), polycarbonate and glass. Since the size of the greenhouses is smaller (the plants in the greenhouses are served outside), the requirements for them are not so strict: even a strong wind is not afraid of them.
Greenhouse dimensions
Since plants are served outside in a greenhouse, its width is chosen so that it is comfortable for you to process plants planted closer to the middle. Determine this empirically: sit down, and try to reach out to some area with your hand. You measure the distance. Get the width of the greenhouse with a one-sided approach. This is if the greenhouse is located in such a way that it cannot be approached from the second side (near the wall, for example). If you can approach from two sides, this result is doubled.
The distance for each person is different: height and physical condition affect. Do not chase economy by making it wider than necessary. You will have to spend a lot of time on weeding, loosening, fertilizing, and other work. A couple of hours in an uncomfortable position, and no strength remains. Therefore, it is better to make the greenhouse a little narrower, but to make it convenient to work: while enjoying work, you spend less effort.
And the length of the greenhouse is chosen based on the layout of the site. She is arbitrary.
A simple greenhouse made of arcs under a film or spunbond
This greenhouse is made from several boards knocked down to the required dimensions, PVC pipe arcs, which are attached to a wooden base. The tops of these arcs are connected at the top with a beam or the same pipe. If it is a bar, it must be well processed, rounding the edges so that the film does not tear.
How to fix arcs
About how to fix the arcs of PVC pipes on the frame of the greenhouse. Fasten most often using a metal perforated tape. They take a small piece of it 5-6 centimeters, self-tapping screws and a screwdriver. And fixed on both sides. For reliability it is possible twice.
In exactly the same way, you can fix them from the inside, so that they hold tight, add bars.
Another option: drive in pieces of reinforcement near the frame, and put pipes on them and only then fix them with clamps to the frame boards. This option is more reliable.
How to make high beds (to get an increased yield) read here.
How to attach film
You can attach the film to PVC pipes with double-sided tape. But only if the film was used inexpensive polyethylene: it is impossible to tear it off without damaging it, and polyethylene lasts no more than a year. So for a seasonal greenhouse, this option is from the category of “cheap and cheerful.” The second way is special clips for fixing films and everything that can replace them – a piece of an old hose cut lengthwise, a pipe clamp that is used for installing pipelines, stationery binders, etc.
It also makes sense to fix the bar on both sides along the edges of the film. To do this, the film is cut off more than necessary in length, a bar is wrapped in excess and the film is fixed on it. Now you have a piece of film, on the short sides of which bars are attached. Leave one on one side, throw the other on the other. Now you do not need to press the film to the ground with stones: a bar holds it well. It is also convenient to open the greenhouse for ventilation with it, they wound the film, put it upstairs.
You can use small nails to fasten the film, but put washers under the caps. Faster work with a construction stapler with staples. So that the film does not tear at the attachment points, it is laid with something. It is possible – a dense braid or just a strip of fabric, and fasteners are already hammered into it.
More powerful option
If there is a need to make a greenhouse with PVC arcs more reliable, wooden racks are nailed to the base of the boards in the center of the short side. A board is attached to them on the edge, in which holes are pre-drilled with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the pipes.
During installation, the pipe is threaded through the hole. You can fix it on the sides as suggested above, or do it differently: pre-install the studs in the bars, and put the pipe on them.
The simplest greenhouse
What is good about PVC pipes is that they are easy to bend. Also, they weigh little. Ideal for a lightweight portable greenhouse, especially when paired with spunbond. This material can be sewn. Take a piece with a density of 30 kg / m2, in increments of 50 -60 cm, make drawstrings in it. For a drawstring, stitch across a strip of the same material about 10 cm wide (it is stitched on both sides). Inside, insert the pipes cut into the desired sections.
Now all this can be installed on the bed: stick the pegs in two rows on one and the other side of the bed, put a pipe on them. Immediately you get a ready-made greenhouse. And what else is convenient: you open and close the plants simply by collecting or straightening the spunbond on an arc. This is a very convenient temporary greenhouse: as soon as it is not needed, it can be removed and folded in a couple of minutes.
Read about drip irrigation systems for gardens, greenhouses and greenhouses here.
Triangular plank greenhouse
This greenhouse is good for seedlings, but you can do it for pepper, eggplant. A stand is nailed in the middle of the base. To it are two inclined boards. The cross section is a triangle. If you need a long greenhouse, about every meter install the same design. All tops are connected with a long bar or pipe. This greenhouse has a simple and convenient design.
Cucumbers are grown with it only until they begin to curl. Under the cucumbers, the covering material is removed, racks are nailed (screwed) to the sidewalls, between which the twine is pulled.
Greenhouse “Khlebnitsa” and “Butterfly” – photo
This design is called “bread box” due to the fact that one to one is similar to plastic containers for bread. Its lid also rises up, hiding behind the second half. If you look at the photo, you will understand everything.
There are two types of such products: opening from one or from two sides. If it is shallow, you can work with a lid that opens on one side. If the width is more than a meter, it will be easier to work if there is access from two sides. This design with two opening sides has its own name: “Snail”.
A film, spunbond is stretched onto the frame, but polycarbonate is more popular for this design.
The second design differs in the type of door opening. Its vault is also made on arcs, but it opens up on hinges (see picture).
They can be installed directly on the ground or on a prepared base of bricks or timber. In some cases, the covers do not open immediately from the ground, but there is a small side 15-20 cm.
How to make a beautiful garden (decorative and functional) read here.
From improvised materials
Turning unnecessary things into useful products – our people have no equal in this. They make greenhouses from things that you would never even think of.
For example, you can easily make a greenhouse with your own hands from old window frames. When replacing windows, do not rush to throw them away. They make a great greenhouse. Moreover, the designs may be different. The simplest is a body made of boards, to which a window frame is attached as a cover (with glass, of course).
In order for the plants to receive maximum light, one of the sides of the frame is made higher (which faces south or east). There are different frames, any of them can be used for these purposes. As proof – a photo gallery of greenhouses made of frames that were made by diligent owners with their own hands.
They make greenhouses from barrels. Cover with an old transparent film umbrella or cut plastic water canisters.
A homemade greenhouse can be made from a plastic or foam box. Although “do” is a strong word. All you need is to stretch the film.
Mini greenhouses for seedlings
For those who grow seedlings for their own garden or flower garden, large volumes are useless. We need small greenhouses. And many grow seedlings on balconies. All of the above designs can be used for a reduced size balcony. For very small plantings, you can generally take plastic egg trays. On the one hand, you get a container for the soil and, and the lid will be instead of a shelter. See photos for other ideas.
A greenhouse with your own hands can be assembled in a few hours. No complex structures will have to be built. Everything is very simple, economical and practical.