Since ancient times, people have learned to protect planted plants from various unfavorable weather conditions, especially in the early spring. Even in the time of Catherine II, pineapples were grown in the greenhouses for the royal table. Now the stores have a large selection of greenhouses for different climatic conditions and different purses. But you can make a greenhouse with your own hands.
A greenhouse is a structure intended for the temporary cultivation of seedlings in it. And since it is temporary, for one season, then they build it more often without a foundation. For the winter, such a hotbed is dismantled and stored until next season. To create a greenhouse, inexpensive materials are used: metal fittings, bars and even window frames. More expensive greenhouses are obtained from galvanized profile, metal-plastic pipes. Greenhouse film, polycarbonate or thick spunbond are used to cover the greenhouse.
Greenhouse from the window frames
It's simpler and cheaper to make a greenhouse of old window frames. If you plan to place it on a clay soil, first of all, make a pillow of gravel and top it with a layer of sand at 10-15 cm. This should be done because the window frames are heavy and your structure can part on unstable soil. But it's better to make a foundation for such a future greenhouse. For this purpose, a bar or sleepers are suitable.
Then you need to prepare the window frames. The windows, which were in the frames, must be well corked and all cracks should be sealed. Before you make a floor in the greenhouse from the window frames, you need to select a layer of ground from it about 15 cm deep, and then ground it well and flatten. Top gravel layer of 10 cm and cover everything with tarpaulin or plastic. And then lay the entire floor with a brick, laying it very tightly to each other, and it's good to fill everything with building sand.
Then, above the greenhouse, we need to make a frame of boards, to which the window frames will be fastened. For the roof will fit all the same frames, polycarbonate or reinforced film (it will not sag).
Metal greenhouse
Modern metal hotbeds are much stronger and more convenient to use than all the others. They are more stable, they are easy to assemble and disassemble. Put such a greenhouse necessarily on the foundation. A metal greenhouse should have two doors from the ends for a good ventilation of the structure. The height of such a hotbed can not be higher than human growth, but it can be from three to six meters in length. The cover can be both film and glass. But the cost of such metal hotbeds is very high and not every summer resident can afford to buy such temporary protection for seedlings.
Plastic greenhouse
But a plastic greenhouse is a cheaper option, compared to a metal one. Conditions for growing plants in it are no worse than in an expensive summer cottage. The advantages of plastic greenhouses include:
- convenience in operation, they can be used even by a beginner gardener;
- compactness, reliability;
- At the same time, several plants can be grown.
With the onset of hot time, the plastic hotbed must necessarily be ventilated.
Greenhouse "butterfly"
Many summer residents liked the compact greenhouse called the "butterfly". His name he received because of the opening on both sides of the parts of the greenhouse for ventilation and convenient courtship for plants. The greenhouse has a strong frame made of a profile pipe, covered with honeycomb polycarbonate. It can be installed without a foundation. Use such a "butterfly" can be a very long time.
Each type of hotbed has its pluses and minuses. Therefore, choose the best option and build on your site a summer garden for growing seedlings, which will help you to obtain an excellent harvest.