Why is it good to put a greenhouse in the fall?

1. You almost do not have to wait, you can choose any day convenient for you.
2. At this time, there are almost no plants left in the garden and you can not be afraid that during installation you will not be trampled on plantings around the greenhouse.
3. In early spring, in the installed greenhouse, the ground starts to warm up earlier, which means you can start using the greenhouse earlier.
4. If you postpone the installation of a greenhouse until spring, then you risk that the price of it may rise, since in the spring, at the beginning of the construction season, as a rule, prices for metal and polycarbonate, and hence for greenhouses, begin to rise.

how to properly position the greenhouse?

First of all, the greenhouse should be located in a well-lit place. Sunlight should hit it as long as possible. It is best if the greenhouse is located sideways to the south, since the side surface area is larger than the end face area. You should not place a greenhouse if it is gable or arched, close to buildings or a fence. In winter, this will prevent the snow from melting and can lead to the destruction of the greenhouse. And also a large mass of snow next to your greenhouse in the spring will melt for a long time, cooling the soil and preventing it from drying out.

What maintenance is needed in winter?

The soil is inhabited by a variety of microorganisms, both harmful to your plants and beneficial. The soil in the greenhouse in winter is not covered with snow and freezes heavily. This disturbs the biological balance and after a few years can lead to loss of soil fertility. Therefore, we recommend throwing snow into the greenhouse in winter. In spring, it will melt very quickly, much earlier than on open ground, but in winter it will not allow the ground to freeze deeply.

What coating maintenance is required in winter?

We do not install greenhouses with weak frames. Therefore, snow should be removed from our greenhouses only in exceptional cases. It's best to just tap the inside of the polycarbonate with your fist. Good polycarbonate, and we use only proven brands, it will not harm at temperatures up to -30. It is not recommended to scrape snow or ice from the outside with hard objects. You can scratch the polycarbonate and thereby reduce its light transmission and break the UV protection.

How to balance the difference between night and day temperatures?

If you want to extend the growing season and use your greenhouse in early spring and late autumn (which is what a greenhouse is for), then the problem of night frosts will definitely confront you. During the day on a sunny day, the temperature in the greenhouse, even with a negative outside temperature, can reach 20 or even 30 degrees, and at night it can drop to negative values. Therefore, I would like to stock up on warmth during the day for a cold night. To do this, you need to bring water into the greenhouse. Water is an excellent heat carrier and retains a lot of heat. Place a metal barrel of water in the greenhouse, or better yet, place plastic water bottles between the plants. Some of our clients dig them in along the path and get neat borders and a heat accumulator.

how and How to shade a greenhouse in hot weather?

On a hot summer day, when the temperature outside exceeds 30 degrees, and the sunlight makes the heat deadly, the temperature inside the greenhouse can go over 50 degrees. This can lead to the death of plants. Therefore, there is a desire to shade the greenhouse. This can be done in many ways. You can throw some covering material, such as gauze, over the greenhouse and attach the edges to the ground so that it does not blow away in the wind. You can fix such material inside. But there is a simpler and more original way of shading, which we saw in Turkey. It is necessary to "whitewash" the greenhouse by spraying it with chalk solutions. But you can not use any substances that can damage polycarbonate. When the heat subsides, you can clean your greenhouse by spraying it with a hose.

Why and how to use tables in the greenhouse?

The table in the greenhouse not only allows you to work more comfortably, but also allows you to take the plants out earlier in the greenhouse. In the spring, when the seedlings outgrow, and the boxes occupied all the window sills, I want to plant the plants in the greenhouse. But the ground is still cold there, at night the temperature drops below zero. If you put a heater in the greenhouse, it "burns" the seedlings and does not heat the soil.
Tables in the greenhouse allow you to solve all these problems. If the seedling boxes are on the tables and the heater is on the floor, then the warm air heats the soil much more efficiently, and the plants are far from the hot air coming out of the heater. In addition, the higher the plants stand, the warmer they are in the air. So you can heat the greenhouse less.
The time will come, and you will transplant the seedlings from the boxes into the ground, and you will dismantle the tables and take them out of the greenhouse until autumn or next spring.

When and why is it necessary to till the soil after harvesting in a greenhouse?

The preparation of the greenhouse begins in the fall. After the last harvest, you need to thoroughly clean the greenhouse from plant residues, remove the top layer of soil by 5 cm, which contains a large number of pests and diseases. Remove the old twine (it is better to burn the twine for the garter). Plant residues can be placed in compost heaps, but it is better to burn them. Disinfection of the greenhouse is carried out by burning a sulfur block. Autumn digging of the soil to a depth of 25-30 cm. In the autumn it is necessary to apply organic fertilizers - humus or manure - 10-20 kg / m2. In the absence of organic fertilizers, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers: simple superphosphate - 20g / m2. potassium sulfate - 25-30g/m2. It is not recommended to treat the soil with pesticides.

Preparing soil mixture for seedlings!

Soil for seedlings is prepared in several ways:
1. Sifted peat + sawdust in a ratio of 3: 1, the finished mixture is moistened with a solution of Kemira combi
at the rate of 20g per 10l of water.
2. Field (turf land) + peat + sand in a ratio of 2:1:1.
Before sowing, add Kemira-universal fertilizer 50g / 10l of soil to the prepared mixture
or nitroammophoska 40 g / 10 l of soil, mix everything thoroughly.
3. Field (turf land) + humus + sawdust, in a ratio of 2: 1: 1.
The soil must be disinfected by prolonged freezing before use.
Soil from coniferous forests for growing seedlings is not recommended.

a favorable time for watering plants in a greenhouse!

Plants in a greenhouse are best watered in the evening or early morning. Watering during the hot part of the day can cause plant burns. However, it is still more desirable to water the plants in the morning; it is better not to water at night, because. this contributes to the appearance of diseases, in particular, peronosporosis, or downy mildew.
At low daytime temperatures, cucumbers can be watered during the day, at twelve o'clock. By this time the water will have warmed up. It is best to keep the container in a greenhouse.
Tomatoes are also best watered in the morning, they do not require such warm water as cucumbers. Morning watering will not provoke excessive moisture at night. And it is harmful - all sorts of rot can occur.
Pepper does not tolerate drying of the soil, but also does not like waterlogging. It is better to water it in the morning, also with warm water. This is especially useful if the nights are cold.
When the head curl begins, the cabbage needs a lot of water. During this period, she needs three buckets per day. Excess moisture is dangerous - the root system can rot.
If you grow plants in soil without impurities, they dry out faster and need more water. The bigger and older the plant gets, the more water it needs compared to younger and immature plants. During the dormant period in January and February, your plants need less water.

Often, future greenhouse growers face the question: when is it better to install a greenhouse - in spring or autumn?

And as the ancient sages said: the right question is half the answer. To get the right answer, you need to ask the right question.

And the right question is: what material to buy a greenhouse from?

If you know about the properties of greenhouse materials, there will simply be no questions about the installation time.

What kind of greenhouses when it is desirable to install?

• Greenhouse with omega profile frame

  Usually such structures are dismantled for the winter. And in many cases, the greenhouse does not even survive the summer season.

  Installing it before winter does not make sense. You run the risk of losing your greenhouse without even having time to grow anything in it.

  In winter, the greenhouse often needs to be supplemented with supports and stiffeners. Therefore, if you have not assembled a greenhouse yet and do not know how it is done, it is better to assemble it first in the “lightweight” summer version. Accordingly, do it in the spring. And if the greenhouse survives until autumn, then mount additional reinforcement.

• Greenhouse with painted pipe frame

  In winter, the weather is often unfavorable - increased dampness and humidity. If you install such a greenhouse in the fall, it is likely that rust will already sneak under the paint in the spring.

  It is better to put such a greenhouse in the spring and let it rust at least at work, and not idle.

  It is also convenient to install in the summer. Before winter, you will have time to collect your hard-earned harvest of the summer-autumn turnover, and with a clear conscience give the worker into the paws of rust.

• Greenhouse with galvanized pipe frame

  This coating is less susceptible to corrosion than a painted pipe greenhouse. But unlike paint, it is afraid of some inorganic acids, even their very weak concentrations completely remove zinc. If you have not applied acidic fertilizers to the soil during the season, you can put up a greenhouse in the fall. And if they made it, it is better to put it on the foundation.

  Also pay attention to the warranty load of the greenhouse. If it is less than 200 kg / m 2, it is better to postpone the installation until spring.

  Take a closer look - are there longitudinal reinforcements on the sides of the greenhouse? Otherwise, snowdrifts growing with each new snowfall will pile on the walls and risk crushing the greenhouse like ice hummocks.

  If there is, the snow load is at least 200 kg / m 2 and your soil is neutral, you can try to put a greenhouse in the fall. Just do not forget to come in winter to ventilate the zinc. He does not much favor condensation and ice. In case you want to spend this winter calmly and not fuss with the ventilation of the greenhouse, it is better to wait until spring.

  During corrosion of zinc, white spots (white powder) sometimes form on its surface, the so-called white rust, to combat which steel products coated with zinc should be placed in conditions that provide air circulation. It is necessary to avoid abrupt transitions from high to low temperatures, which can lead to moisture condensation on the zinc surface. In this regard, products after galvanizing are recommended to be stored in a dry room.

• Greenhouses with a welded frame

  If you put a greenhouse in the fall, something will have time to grow in it during the winter. And it will be rust at the place of the welds. It is better to have time to grow something more worthy in the greenhouse first.

• Greenhouse with anodized aluminum frame or powder-coated profile pipe

  If the snow load of the greenhouse is not less than 200 kg/m 2 and there are no welds, such a greenhouse can be installed at any time of the year, when it is more convenient for you. The frame is not afraid of corrosion and loads, and it does not matter to him whether it is winter or summer on the street.

  New greenhouse ready for winter

  By installing a greenhouse in advance, in autumn, in spring, you will receive the harvest as early as possible. While your neighbors will mount greenhouses, you will already transplant seedlings into closed ground. And immediately acquire the status of "honored agronomist"!

• Greenhouse where polycarbonate sheets are joined using a connecting profile

  Profiles "flow" very quickly. Winter winds, temperature differences - during the day the sun, at night the frost greatly contribute to their loosening. In the spring, you may find that the greenhouse has lost its tightness.

  When the polycarbonate in the greenhouse is joined in this way, it is better to postpone its installation until the spring.

• Greenhouse on strip concrete foundation

  If you plan to get a spring harvest in a greenhouse, it is better to prepare a foundation for it in advance, in the fall. Otherwise, in the spring you will have to wait until the earth thaws and dries up, and a stable positive temperature is established. And this is the time when plants can be planted in open ground.

  The foundation must be poured before frost, otherwise the water in the solution will not dry out, fixing the concrete, but will freeze, and the concrete will crumble.

If you plan to install in the spring

In spring, every day counts. It is advisable, if possible, to buy a greenhouse in advance, at least at the end of winter. Otherwise, you run the risk of discovering that the model you need has already been sold out, that you have to wait, search, call. And the seedlings outgrow... Some growers even allow greenhouses to be kept in stock free of charge until spring.

In autumn, try to clear the area for the greenhouse. Add half a meter to the dimensions of the greenhouse on each side. Remove bushes, construction debris, if the site has a strong slope, cut it off or make a foundation. In winter, it will be best to remove snow from this area. Then in the spring the soil on it will dry out faster, and you will start installing the greenhouse earlier.

If you plan to install in the fall

In winter, the greenhouse must be ventilated (or not closed), otherwise the polycarbonate begins to “bloom”.

But green mud on polycarbonate in a closed greenhouse is sometimes washed off. And in the case of a greenhouse made of painted or galvanized pipes, keep in mind that if you completely close the greenhouse for the winter, condensation will form in rainy weather and the frame will rust. And you can't wash away the rust. It is especially important for you to ventilate the greenhouse if it is not possible to leave it open for the winter. Otherwise, the manufacturer may tell you in the spring that you have operated the greenhouse incorrectly, and the guarantee is not valid.

Also, if you close the greenhouse for the winter, you should throw snow into it. It contains elements that feed on useful living creatures under the mulch. Without snow, it will die, and the soil will lose its fertility.

It is advisable to clear the snow around the greenhouse in winter. If you do not remove it, it will melt for a long time in winter, thereby delaying the heating of the soil in the greenhouse itself.

If snow less than ten centimeters thick collects on a polycarbonate greenhouse in winter, then it can not be removed at all. He won't do any harm. If the layer of snow is larger, then you do not need to remove it with a shovel or other sharp objects. It is enough to knock on the polycarbonate from the inside of the greenhouse with your fist. This will not harm the polycarbonate, but the snow will fall off.

In no case do not scrape snow from polycarbonate with sharp objects. You run the risk of damaging the protective layer and in the spring you will see that without it, the polycarbonate melts in the sun.

Have a great harvest in your new greenhouse!

On the advice of experienced and competent gardeners, the best time to install a greenhouse is not spring, as most amateur gardeners think, but autumn. There are a number of reasons for this approach, the main one being economic. It is no secret to anyone that with the advent of spring, prices for greenhouses increase sharply, and besides, some excitement begins for these facilities. And in the spring, as you know, every day is very expensive, because seedlings need to be planted. And it is impossible to plant it in the ground due to possible frosts. In addition, even if you are lucky enough to purchase a greenhouse on time, you can wait until June for its installation, when the need for this structure is completely eliminated.

Autumn installation of the greenhouse will save you from the extra spring fuss. In addition, in the fall, after harvesting the last crop, you free up a lot of space on the site, and you can freely start preparing the site for a greenhouse without fear of damaging the plantings.

The advantage of autumn installation is the possibility of early planting. The fact is that when the ground on the street still remains frozen by 1-2 meters, in the greenhouse it already gradually begins to warm up under the sun's rays, so you can start the summer season and start planting seedlings 1.5 -2 months ahead of schedule. . And while your neighbors are waiting for the positive temperature, you will already be eating salads from your vegetables.

FACT: A greenhouse installed in the autumn makes it possible to plant vegetables early.

The popular proverb says that it is best to install a greenhouse in the fall: never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. That is, if you prepare for spring in the fall, then in winter you can be sure of your future harvest. The best option and the best solution for the weather conditions of our region is a greenhouse with a frame made of a steel square pipe coated with honeycomb polycarbonate. Such structures can be installed both on the ground and on.

You don't have to worry about the fact that winter weather conditions can shorten the life of the greenhouse or ruin it. Firstly, a steel pipe frame is able to withstand even the most severe frosts and snowy winters, and secondly, cellular polycarbonate is an excellent covering material, surpassing glass in strength by almost 200 times. As soon as the first snow falls, it is recommended to throw it into the greenhouse, because in winter the snow will protect the soil from freezing, and with the advent of spring it will quickly melt and saturate the soil with useful melt water.

Many people think that it is better to install a greenhouse in the spring when the need arises. By postponing the installation until spring, you are doing what most gardeners do in our country. Therefore, in the spring there is a queue, you have to wait a long time, and at this time it is expensive every day, as the seedlings outgrow, and it is not possible to plant it in the ground due to possible frosts. Some have to wait until June for installation, when there is almost no need for a greenhouse.
Why is it good to put up a greenhouse in autumn or winter?

You almost do not have to wait, you can choose any day convenient for you. At this time, there are almost no plants left in the garden and you can not be afraid that during installation you will not be trampled on plantings around the greenhouse. In early spring, in the installed greenhouse, the ground begins to warm up earlier, which means you can start using the greenhouse earlier. If you postpone the installation of a greenhouse until the spring, then you risk that the price of it may rise, since in the spring, at the beginning of the construction season, as a rule, prices for metal and polycarbonate begin to rise, and hence for greenhouses. Cellular polycarbonate is a unique material that you can work with all year round, so we install greenhouses both in autumn and winter. How to properly position the greenhouse?

First of all, the greenhouse should be located in a well-lit place. Sunlight should hit it as long as possible. It is best if the greenhouse is located sideways to the south, since the side surface area is larger than the end face area. You should not place a greenhouse if it is gable or arched, close to buildings or a fence. In winter, this will prevent the snow from melting and can lead to the destruction of the greenhouse. And also a large mass of snow next to your greenhouse in the spring will melt for a long time, cooling the soil and preventing it from drying out.

What ground maintenance is needed in winter?

The soil is inhabited by a variety of microorganisms, both harmful to your plants and beneficial. The soil in the greenhouse in winter is not covered with snow and freezes heavily. This disturbs the biological balance and after a few years can lead to loss of soil fertility. Therefore, we recommend throwing snow into the greenhouse in winter. In spring, it will melt very quickly, much earlier than on open ground, but in winter it will not allow the ground to freeze deeply.

What kind of greenhouse maintenance is needed in winter?

We do not install greenhouses with weak frames. Therefore, snow should be removed from our greenhouses only in exceptional cases. It's best to just tap the inside of the polycarbonate with your fist. Good polycarbonate, and we use only proven brands, it will not harm at temperatures up to -30. It is not recommended to scrape snow or ice from the outside with hard objects. You can scratch the polycarbonate and thereby reduce its light transmission and break the UV protection.

How to balance the difference between night and day temperatures?

If you want to extend the growing season and use your greenhouse in early spring and late autumn (which is what a greenhouse is for), then the problem of night frosts will definitely confront you. During the day on a sunny day, the temperature in the greenhouse, even with a negative outside temperature, can reach 20 or even 30 degrees, and at night it can drop to negative values. Therefore, I would like to stock up on warmth during the day for a cold night. To do this, you need to bring water into the greenhouse. Water is an excellent heat carrier and retains a lot of heat. Place a metal barrel of water in the greenhouse, or better yet, place plastic water bottles between the plants. Some of our clients dig them in along the path and get neat borders and a heat accumulator.

How and how to shade the greenhouse in hot weather?

On a hot summer day, when the temperature outside exceeds 30 degrees, and the sunlight makes the heat deadly, the temperature inside the greenhouse can go over 50 degrees. This can lead to the death of plants. Therefore, there is a desire to shade the greenhouse. This can be done in many ways. You can throw some covering material, such as gauze, over the greenhouse and attach the edges to the ground so that it does not blow away in the wind. You can fix such material inside. But there is a simpler and more original way of shading, which we saw in Turkey. It is necessary to "whitewash" the greenhouse by spraying it with chalk solutions. But you can not use any substances that can damage polycarbonate. When the heat subsides, you can clean your greenhouse by spraying it with a hose.

Why and how to use tables in the greenhouse?

The table in the greenhouse not only allows you to work more comfortably, but also allows you to take the plants out earlier in the greenhouse. In the spring, when the seedlings outgrow, and the boxes occupied all the window sills, I want to plant the plants in the greenhouse. But the ground is still cold there, at night the temperature drops below zero. If you put a heater in the greenhouse, it "burns" the seedlings and does not heat the soil. Tables in the greenhouse allow you to solve all these problems. If the seedling boxes are on the tables and the heater is on the floor, then the warm air heats the soil much more efficiently, and the plants are far from the hot air coming out of the heater. In addition, the higher the plants stand, the warmer they are in the air. So you can heat the greenhouse less. The time will come, and you will transplant the seedlings from the boxes into the ground, and you will dismantle the tables and take them out of the greenhouse until autumn or next spring.

When and why is it necessary to till the soil after harvesting in a greenhouse?

The preparation of the greenhouse begins in the fall. After the last harvest, you need to thoroughly clean the greenhouse from plant residues, remove the top layer of soil by 5 cm, which contains a large number of pests and diseases. Remove the old twine (it is better to burn the twine for the garter). Plant residues can be placed in compost heaps, but it is better to burn them. Disinfection of the greenhouse is carried out by burning a sulfur block. Autumn digging of the soil to a depth of 25-30 cm. In the autumn it is necessary to apply organic fertilizers - humus or manure - 10-20 kg / m2. In the absence of organic fertilizers, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers: simple superphosphate - 20g / m2. potassium sulfate - 25-30g/m2. It is not recommended to treat the soil with pesticides.

Preparing soil mixture for seedlings!

Soil for seedlings is prepared in several ways:
1. Sifted peat + sawdust in a ratio of 3: 1, the finished mixture is moistened with a solution of Kemira combi
at the rate of 20g per 10l of water.
2. Field (turf land) + peat + sand in a ratio of 2:1:1.
Before sowing, add Kemira-universal fertilizer 50g / 10l of soil to the prepared mixture
or nitroammophoska 40 g / 10 l of soil, mix everything thoroughly.
3. Field (turf land) + humus + sawdust, in a ratio of 2: 1: 1.
The soil must be disinfected by prolonged freezing before use.
It is not recommended to use the soil from the coniferous forest for growing seedlings. Favorable time for watering plants in the greenhouse!

Plants in a greenhouse are best watered in the evening or early morning. Watering during the hot part of the day can cause plant burns. However, it is still more desirable to water the plants in the morning; it is better not to water at night, because. this contributes to the appearance of diseases, in particular, peronosporosis, or downy mildew.
At low daytime temperatures, cucumbers can be watered during the day, at twelve o'clock. By this time the water will have warmed up. It is best to keep the container in a greenhouse.
Tomatoes are also best watered in the morning, they do not require such warm water as cucumbers. Morning watering will not provoke excessive moisture at night. And it is harmful - all sorts of rot can occur.
Pepper does not tolerate drying of the soil, but also does not like waterlogging. It is better to water it in the morning, also with warm water. This is especially useful if the nights are cold.
When the head curl begins, the cabbage needs a lot of water. During this period, she needs three buckets per day. Excess moisture is dangerous - the root system can rot.
If you grow plants in soil without impurities, they dry out faster and need more water. The bigger and older the plant gets, the more water it needs compared to younger and immature plants. During the dormant period in January and February, your plants need less water.

The main advantages of polycarbonate greenhouses are their efficiency and safety. Lightweight structures will not ruin their owner, and the polycarbonate coating, unlike glass, cannot break and clog the soil with fragments.

When thinking about how to install a polycarbonate greenhouse, you should start by choosing a suitable site for it.

Best choice for greenhouse construction sunny, sheltered from the wind, located away from buildings, bushes and trees, an ideally flat place. Of course, not every gardener can boast of having such excellent conditions, therefore, after taking an inventory of his territory, it is necessary to build on what is available in choosing the design of the future greenhouse.

In the first place in importance when choosing a place is sunlight. If there is absolutely no way to select a site that is evenly illuminated by the sun from morning to evening, preference should be given to a place where the sun is available in the first half of the day.

The distance to bushes, trees and buildings should be at least 3 m. If this condition cannot be met, it would be more correct to move the greenhouse to the buildings, trying to move it away from plants with a powerful root system, which will subsequently draw nutrient juices from the greenhouse inhabitants.

If the site is located on a slope and it is difficult to choose a flat place on it, the greenhouse will have to be installed on the foundation, otherwise the inevitable distortion of the structure will negate all the advantages of its use.

cardinal directions

After the place is chosen, it's time to figure out how to properly install the greenhouse relative to the cardinal points. For a small structure, the dimensions of which do not exceed 3x6 meters, the correct orientation to the cardinal points can be omitted, as it does not have a significant effect on the yield. It would be wiser to place such a greenhouse with its end facing the prevailing winds in order to reduce their influence on the temperature inside the structure.

If we are talking about a large farm, it is necessary to correctly place the greenhouse on the site depending on the region:

• for regions located south of 60 degrees north latitude, the greenhouse must be installed with ends to the north and south;
• for those regions that are on the map above, on the contrary, the ends of the structure are oriented in the western and eastern directions.

Draft is the worst enemy of a polycarbonate greenhouse. Even a small breeze of 5-6 m / s is able to remove 5-6 degrees of heat from the coating. Therefore, if, after orienting the structure to the cardinal points, it turned out that it would be turned with its long part towards the prevailing winds, it is worth thinking about shielding the entire structure. Well proven in this field metal profile screen- it will not only protect the building from the wind, but also add heat to it due to the reflected sunlight.

Soil preparation

Now that the entire area has been explored, suitable locations for greenhouses have been selected and their location relative to the cardinal points has been determined, from all the available options, one should choose the one where the soil most closely matches the planned structure.

Sandy soil with deep groundwater is best suited for greenhouse farming.

To determine the type of soil, small pits are dug in all areas intended for the construction of greenhouses. The shaft is vertical hole, approximately 70x70 cm in size and extending 1 m 20 cm deep into the earth. If a handful of earth taken from a pit does not want to roll in your hand into a primitive tourniquet or ball, then everything is in order, you can install a greenhouse in this place. Otherwise, you need to check the next spot for the greenhouse, or if there is none, you will have to take measures to correct the soil before you install the greenhouse.

Simultaneously with the study of the soil, it is necessary to check whether water accumulates at the bottom of the dug pits. Regardless of the type of soil, the appearance of water means only one thing - drainage will have to be additionally built for the greenhouse, otherwise groundwater will nullify all the gardener's useful efforts.

If a suitable place has not been found throughout the territory, the driest site is chosen in order to avoid the laborious procedure of drainage if possible. A pit is dug in this area, about 70 cm deep, the bottom of which is filled with a layer of rubble by 10 cm, then a layer of sand 40 cm thick is poured, fertile soil is laid on the remaining space.

Only now, when the place for the polycarbonate greenhouse has been determined, based on its size, features and needs of the gardener, can choose the most suitable design. The basic rule here is the same: the more connecting elements the frame contains, the less reliable it is, but the easier it is to transport.

The material for the frame is selected based on the functional purpose of the greenhouse. Whether it will be a seasonal greenhouse, the main advantage of which is ease of assembly and freedom of movement from one place to another, or the construction of a fundamental structure is supposed - these are the considerations that should prompt the choice of a reliable, cost-effective and convenient material for the frame.

Foundation selection

The indisputable advantage of polycarbonate greenhouses is that they are equally well suited for use as a seasonal greenhouse, a light year-round greenhouse, and for creating a permanent fundamental structure for commercial purposes.

Based on the requirements imposed on the greenhouse, choose one of the options for the foundation for it.

without foundation

This option is only suitable for seasonal greenhouses used in the spring-summer period and not designed for winter time.

Advantages:

• low cost;
• the ability to move the greenhouse from place to place, which avoids the development of soil.

Flaws:

• weak stability, a strong gust of wind can sweep away the structure and ruin it;
• heat loss: direct contact of polycarbonate with the ground will lead to heat loss up to 10%;
• pests and weeds will be able to safely visit the greenhouse without a foundation.

To increase the stability of a light, foundationless greenhouse, you can bury the legs in the ground - the continuation of the supports and lightly dig the greenhouse around the perimeter, sprinkling polycarbonate sheets by 3-5 cm.

To increase the service life of the greenhouse, it is desirable to treat all frame elements in contact with the ground with bitumen.

point foundation

A slightly improved version of the installation, which involves digging blocks, stumps or thick timber into the ground only in those places where the greenhouse supports will be located. With the help of a building corner, the supporting pillars are attached to such a foundation that immediately increases strength and stability designs. For greater strength, a beam can be attached to the point foundation around the perimeter of the greenhouse, but it will not solve the problem of rodents, pests and heat loss.

Strip foundation

Such a foundation is a good solution for perennial greenhouses, a gardener can choose an implementation option based on his needs, skills in construction and budget. One of the advantages of installing a greenhouse on a foundation is that thanks to the plinth, it becomes possible to organize high beds inside.

Beam foundation

Inexpensive and easy to manufacture, the timber foundation can be moved to another location if necessary. The disadvantage of this solution is its fragility. To install the foundation from a bar along the perimeter of the greenhouse, a trench about 20 cm wide is dug, the bottom and walls are covered with roofing material, a bar 12x12 cm is laid on top of it, impregnated with a moisture-repellent agent, wrap it with roofing material, cover the free space with earth. They tie the corners of the foundation and, with the help of building corners, attach the frame of the greenhouse to it.

Block foundation

This version of the foundation provides good waterproofing. For its manufacture, they dig a trench along the perimeter of the greenhouse, 25 cm wide, deep into the ground to the freezing level. A gravel layer of 10 cm is poured at the bottom. Concrete is poured from above and, until it has hardened, hollow blocks are installed. The horizontal and vertical angles are taken out and poured from above with another layer of concrete. The foundation is leveled, the concrete is allowed to harden and, after that, the greenhouse frame is attached to it.

concrete foundation

It differs from the previous version in that a layer of sand is laid and compacted on top of the gravel cushion so that it does not reach the top by 20 cm. Formwork is made 20 cm or more above the soil level, laying reinforcing mesh and filled with concrete. After it dries, the formwork is removed and the frame is attached to the finished foundation.

Depending on which version of the greenhouse the gardener has chosen, the sequence of assembly of structural elements may differ. The manufacturer supplies purchased polycarbonate greenhouses with instructions, the simple following of which will provide the maximum benefit from the operation of the product.

The assembly of a self-designed and made frame is entirely dependent on the ingenuity, skills and experience of the gardener.

As a general rule, suitable for almost all types of greenhouses, we can consider the recommendation in the first place collect end planes. The second stage depends on the specific conditions - sometimes it is more rational to sheathe the gables with polycarbonate immediately and then proceed to assemble the rest of the frame, and sometimes it would be a more reasonable solution to assemble the entire frame before laying the coating.

Fastening the frame to the foundation also depends on the design features of the greenhouse. This is either a complete assembly of the frame and attaching it to the finished base, or a phased fastening: first the ends, then the arches and, finally, the longitudinal connecting elements.

Polycarbonate sheathing

When buying polycarbonate, it is better to opt for sheets with a thickness of 4 mm and above. The shelf life of the coating should be at least 10 years. Cheaper options for street use are not suitable.

It is best to do work on covering the greenhouse with polycarbonate at a temperature of 10 degrees above zero. This is due to the fact that polycarbonate in such conditions plastic enough to cover an arched frame with a whole sheet, it does not crack, as in frost, and does not expand, as at a higher temperature.

When mounting polycarbonate sheets on the frame, make sure that the protective film is outside the structure. After the installation is completed, it must be removed, otherwise it may behave unpredictably under the influence of the sun.

When installing polycarbonate on the end parts, it is easier to first attach it to the frame elements and only then cut off the protruding edges than to cut out the contour in advance.

Complete with factory greenhouses, fasteners are usually supplied that decide the method of mounting polycarbonate to the frame. For sheathing home-made structures, you can use self-tapping screws or screws, always with washers, or purchase special fittings for plastic.

At the joints of polycarbonate sheets, an overlap of 10 cm is made or they are connected using a special docking profile.

It is important to ensure that the skin fits snugly, without gaps, against the frame. To do this, use a purchased sealing profile or use double-sided tape. The gardener must decide for himself what is more important to him: saving on structural elements or the return on the maximum functioning of the greenhouse.

If the greenhouse remains to winter on the site, its arches must be supported with 40x40 bars and snow should not be allowed to accumulate on the roof of the structure. Otherwise, polycarbonate may crack under the influence of cold and stress.