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Placement of greenhouse

lb191lb191 Posts: 80
in Garden design

Hi,

I have a south facing fence that has a 3' high drystone wall running N-S adjacent to it.

The intention at the moment is to place the greenhouse in that corner but it's almost time to receive the greenhouse so I'm having a rookie wobble.

I thought perhaps the wall might provide a cooler section within the greenhouse whilst it will still be exposed to a lot of sun, but then we are in Britain after all so perhaps I should aim for as much sun as possible and worry about finding shade on those rare heatwave summers?

Perhaps it would be better more centrally placed away from the fence too even though little sun comes from that direction?

Thanks

Last edited: 27 April 2017 07:36:00

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,051

    I believe you should run the ridge North / South so the East side gets morning sun, at noon, it's shining down the length of the house, and in the afternoon, the west side gets the sun. 

    You can always create shade, you can never "create" sun. I'd say,as much sun as you can get and add shading if and when required.

    Last edited: 27 April 2017 07:42:26

    Devon.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,269

    To an extent it depends what you want to do with your greenhouse.

    I had mine installed with the ridge East to West as I had with my previous one.

    image

    You can see the tomato bed inside which is on the North side and I have staging on the South side.

    The tomatoes will grow toward the sun so they'll grow toward the middle of the g/house rather than toward the glass. The staging on the south side is for seedlings etc and will have peppers/chili in the summer. I also have blinds on the South side

    If you plan to grow tomatoes or whatever on BOTH sides of your greenhouse then North to South as Hosta has said. If your only going to grow on one side of the g/h then I'd suggest East to West.

    Either way you'll have a great time with your new greenhouse

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,051

    I think, in reality, the size and shape of the plot tends to dictate where the greenhouse goes in most gardens. We don't all have the luxury of choosing the perfect site.

    My polytunnels run pretty much east / west. If they went north / south, they'd be running downhill. 

    Devon.
  • lb191lb191 Posts: 80

    Thanks for the input, I hadn't even thought about the orientation of the beds.

    I was going to try my luck at growing an exotic fruiting tree! Maybe lychee! Dabble with passionfruit or something... Recommendations and advice welcomed but don't dash my dreams just yet please.

    I suppose tomatoes too but it's the things that are still seasonal that interest me. Maybe some figs.

    I was going to have beds up either side with double shelving on one side too. I figured I could have a cupboard outside.

    I'm lucky with space. Open field to the east, lower ground to south and just the house several meters away to the west.

  • lb191lb191 Posts: 80

    Pete, did you do your hard standing yourself? I'm wondering if it's an easy enough DIY job? Dig a shallow hole, some cement and some slabs?

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,269

    I didn't attempt the hard-standing. The area is on a significant slope so had to get that leveled first, the base is on 4" steel reinforced concrete with paving slabs on top. I then needed 22 ton topsoil to fill the surrounding raised beds, as so much soil had been moved.
    It took the 3 or 4 of them 8 days to complete - and me another 6 months to do the easy bits :)

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • lb191lb191 Posts: 80

    Yikes! The land is fairly level here but been quoted £500 and making my eyes water for the want of a £1500 greenhouse.

    Last edited: 27 April 2017 17:29:55

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,269

    The landscaping cost 3x the cost of the g/house!
    It's partly an area in memory of mum who passed away last year. Normally I would have gone for something much cheaper, but as it was mum's money.....
    She worked in the tomato houses in WW2 and she used to recall those days over and over and over toward the end and she often told me to get a nice proper greenhouse when she went, so I did :)

    Thanks Mum!

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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