help siting greenhouse ... please !

[m2gdh]

Hi, I have just found this forum while surfing for articles and veg magazines.

I'm veggie and intend to grow my salads, veg and and fruit.

Plan is to have a potting station at the back - a 2 tier bench down one long side for seeds and things i can grow in pots / trays. The other long side will be for toms and other taller crops in grow bags / containers.

I am a complete GH newbie, [cos I didn't listen to my dad when I was a kid http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...lies/frown.gif ] and have finally splashed out on a new 12 x 8 greenhouse and would appreciate some advice on how to orient it.

The GH has 5'5 eaves and an 8'5" ridge.

The books say to run it E<>W - whereas others say with a small greehosue it doesn't really matter. Due to space I really only have two options.


1) run it sort of N <> S along alongside the neighbours 6' conifer hedge,
N gable level with the huge conifer.

This means the roof will get the sun from sun rise. The gable end at the South end will get full sun from 11:00 ish - 15:00 ish - then the long side will get full sun until it sets [ slightly dappled as it comes via a cherry tree ]

Option 2 is to run it E<>W with the gable against the huge conifer. Now the long side gets full sun instead of the gable as above.

Option 1 is the easiest from laying teh base and least intrusive as far as the rest of teh garden goes.

My concerns:

Does option 1 have any merits ?

Option 1 - would I able to use the bottom staging tier since that side is only 3 feet from the hedge and wont get much light.

Option 2 - Will it get too hot and I'll have to start messing about with shading ? I am assuming in option 1 as only the gable gets the mid day sun the GH will be cooler ?

As I have bought a fairly robust model I'm hoping the wind isnt a consideration even though it gets v windy here.

I hope this is clear and makes some sort of sense ! ANY help gratefully appreciated. I attach [ hopefully] a photo and a rough sketch.

Thanks
Graham

[singleseeder]

I think that one of the reasons N/S is recommended is because of the way the light falls on and is directed by the roof more than the light hitting one of the sides.

If the GH is E/W the light only falls on, and is directed into the GH by, the S facing half of the roof. I hope this makes sense.

I'm sure if you google this you might come up with diagrams which I'm not able to draw on here.

[Capsid]

Neither position is ideal, but I don't think you will notice a big enough difference in results between the two options. So I'd go with option 1 because it doesn't intrude into the garden so much. The lower staging tiers are useful for germinating seeds and then can be moved onto higher shelves when the seedlings need light.

Greenhouses will get hot so it is important to have adequate ventilation. I recommend investing in some automatic vent openers and some louvre vents for the sides. This should help control the heat.

Any chance your neighbours might remove the conifer?

[teakdesk]

In the UK anything south facing gets the most light so an E-W orientation will give most light to the long side.

If you have a row of tall tomatoes then they will get most light if that row is E-W ie facing south.

However, that doesn't account for shade from trees. I have a huge oak tree over my greenhouse that shades it until the afternoon so I have mine N-S.

If I've understood your description your sun is similar.

As Capsid says, either way will give a good crop so, personally I'd put it where it looks best.

[m2gdh]

many thanks for the replies: I have decided on the NS option. I chose the model I am getting cos it comes with 3 automatic roof vents and 2 manual louvres. I am working on trying to get rid of the conifers.

Your replies prompted me to find this article Greenhouse Light - having been a serious amatuer photographer for 30 years I feel a bit dumb now as it brought back memories of my dad lecturing me on how its about light not heat and that's why we are painting the glass white http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...lies/smile.gif

Graham