Roof Shading for Greenhouse?
CW
Posts: 4
Just having the garden (a.k.a. the jungle!) re-landscaped in good time for retirement. Putting in a few raised beds for veg, and a 6x10 greenhouse, first I will have owned.
Space problems mean the greenhouse ridge will be North-South, which I understand is not ideal. What does that mean for roof blinds as shading? Will I need to cover both sides of the roof as the sun will be overhead, or is one side enough?
How essential is shading in the SW of England?
Apologies for the list of questions, but am looking to get this right as I won't be landscaping the garden again.
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Hi CW, I have a 10x8 in the same orientation and only needed to shade the West side. Since then a 'family' dwarf apple tree planted directly to the south has grown tall enough to provide shade in the height of summer so no need now. Ventilation is probably more important - the more automatic roof vents and louvres you can get/afford, the better.
Last edited: 31 January 2017 23:11:59
Many thanks guys, very helpful. We have a plan for a tree of some sort to the South of it, so I can choose accordingly - good to hear it will help rather than hinder.
No point in me posting photos now - it's a mud bath out there, but I will put up few into the forum when it's ready (probably mid-April).
I'm drooling over a Rhino greenhouse, and as that size comes with 4 automatic louvres and 2 vents in the price I may just convince myself I can afford it.
They have small greenhouses like this on the Beechgrove Garden which is filmed up near Aberdeen. They have one which was shaded in the traditional way using paint on the inside of the glass and another using green mesh net rolled down over the outside.
The advantage of the latter is that you can roll it up pr down according to how bright the sun is on a given day and there's no faffing with washing it all off for winter. Either way, they still use shading all that way up north where it rarely ever gets as warm as in the sunnier south west.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
I suppose it goes to show that everyone has their own take and method on this, depending on their environment. I'll have to try and see what works for me down here in my circumstances.I work all day at the moment so I'll struggle to change anything midday in the Summer.
Best idea I suppose is to get a max/min thermometer to keep track of what's happening while I'm away in the day, and change my setup accordingly. I accept that in the first year I'm likely to suffer some failures while I find out.
For shading I paint on a substance called Coolglass a white powder added to water, and over the years have found it very good, what ever is left on the roof at the end of the summer can be cleaned using a dry cloth.
The trick, with or without shading, is ventilation to keep it aired and reduce the build up of diseases and moulds.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Thanks again guys. The frustrating bit is that the weather at the moment has stalled the landscape gardeners getting on with the work, so my new greenhouse isn't getting much closer :-(
I'll play at growing pea shoots indoors to keep my spirits up while I wait.