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If you want to grow early vegetables or greens in your garden, you will have to take care of the temporary shelter of the plants from the night coolness. A simple solution to the problem is to build a greenhouse. There are many types of shelters, but a polycarbonate greenhouse with an opening top is most often liked by vegetable growers. There is no need to allocate a lot of space for such a mini-greenhouse, and the building will cost several times cheaper.
Why do opening doors in a greenhouse
The greenhouse is intended for growing early greenery, seedlings and short plants. A disposable shelter is usually made of film or non-woven fabric, but the capital structure is sheathed with polycarbonate. The sun's rays pass through the transparent walls, warming up the soil and plants. But back from the shelter, the heat comes out very slowly. It accumulates in the soil and heats the plants from evening to morning, when the sun hides behind the horizon.
Most often, a greenhouse or polycarbonate greenhouse is made from above that opens. And why is this necessary, because the shelter is designed to keep warm? The fact is that the accumulated heat does not always benefit the plants. In extreme heat, the temperature inside the greenhouse rises to a critical level. Moisture is released from the leaves and stems of plants. Due to dehydration, the culture acquires a yellow color, after which it disappears. To save plants in hot weather, the flaps on the roof of the greenhouse or greenhouse open. Ventilation helps to normalize the optimum air temperature.
The second purpose of the opening flaps is free access to plants.
Usually, when making a polycarbonate greenhouse, they adhere to the following dimensions:
- length of the structure - 1.5-4 m;
- product width with one opening segment - 1-1.5 m, with two opening flaps - 2-3 m;
- height - from 1 to 1.5 m.
Now imagine that you have a greenhouse 1 m high. Polycarbonate is not a film. It cannot be simply lifted up to water or feed the plants. All these plant maintenance problems are solved when the top flap opens. A person gets convenient access to plants. The opening top allows you to make even wide polycarbonate greenhouses. To access the plants in such shelters, several doors are placed on both sides.
Varieties of open-top polycarbonate shelters
According to the shape of the roof, greenhouses and greenhouses with an opening top are divided into the following types:
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For covering a greenhouse with arched roof polycarbonate is the best, one might say, the only material. Transparent sheets are elastic. It is easy for them to give the shape of a semicircular arch. The light weight of the sheet allows one person to work with polycarbonate. The high strength of the material withstands snow loads, but due to the semicircular shape, precipitation on the roof does not accumulate. The advantage of the arched structure is that condensate flows down the walls, and it does not fall on the growing plantings.The disadvantage of a semicircular roof is the impossibility of growing tall plants. This is due to the impossibility of installing ventilation windows on the long sides of the greenhouse.
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Polycarbonate greenhouse with a droplet roof, is a subspecies of the arched structure. The frame has a streamlined shape. Each slope segment converges to the top, where the ridge is formed. The shape of the roof is very convenient in terms of low precipitation accumulation.
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Gable roof greenhouse resistant to heavy loads. The design allows for the manufacture of convenient rectangular opening sashes. Polycarbonate gable roofs are installed even in stationary greenhouses. In such shelters, crops of any height can be grown. The only drawback is the high construction cost. This is due to the complexity of manufacturing a gable roof.
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Greenhouse with a pitched roof resembles a box or chest, the lid of which opens up. The construction of polycarbonate is made free-standing in the garden or adjacent to the house. Of the advantages of the shelter, only the ease of manufacture can be distinguished. The sun's rays penetrate poorly, plants receive little light and develop poorly. At any slope, a pitched roof will collect a lot of precipitation, which increases the pressure on the polycarbonate. In winter, snow accumulations must be constantly cleaned from a pitched roof, otherwise polycarbonate will not withstand a lot of weight and will fail.
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Dome shape a greenhouse or greenhouse is made up of triangular segments. Each element, sheathed with polycarbonate, creates a refraction of light rays, which ensures its diffusion inside the greenhouse. The sash can be made so that the roof is fully, if necessary, open or partially ajar.
A shelter with any shape of the roof can be made independently and sheathed with polycarbonate. Opening doors are made on hinges or buy a factory-made mechanism. If desired, a ready-made polycarbonate greenhouse with an opening top can be bought in a store. Its frame is quickly assembled according to the attached scheme and sheathed with polycarbonate.
The most popular among vegetable growers are the following factory-made models:
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Name "Bread box" greenhouse acquired due to its shape. The arched structure is made with one sliding sash upwards. Some models are sometimes equipped with two opening sashes. The shape and principle of opening the sash are made like a bread bin.
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Shelter model called "butterfly" the shape resembles a "bread box". The same arched construction made of polycarbonate, only the doors do not move, but open to the sides. When raised, the roof resembles the wings of a butterfly. The video provides instructions for installing a greenhouse "butterfly":
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A polycarbonate greenhouse in the shape of an opening chest is called "Belgian"... When closed, the structure is a rectangular structure with a pitched roof. If necessary, the fold is simply opened up.
Most often, the frame of factory greenhouses is made of aluminum elements. The finished structure turns out to be mobile and, if necessary, it can be disassembled for storage.
Advantages of polycarbonate greenhouses with opening sashes
Buying or making a polycarbonate greenhouse yourself will cost a little more than just installing arcs on the garden bed and pulling on the film. However, this has its advantages:
- The compactness and mobility of the product allows it to be carried anywhere. The materials used for the manufacture are lightweight, which will allow two people to rearrange the structure. Due to its small size, the greenhouse fits into the smallest summer cottage, where it is impossible to install a greenhouse.
- Polycarbonate and aluminum are inexpensive, strong and durable materials. As a result, the grower gets a cheap shelter that will serve him for many years.
- A greenhouse with opening doors allows you to use the entire usable area of the garden. Moreover, the grower gets convenient access to the plants, which makes it easier to care for them.
If the arguments for the usefulness of a polycarbonate shelter are convincing, it is time to choose the optimal installation location.
Where is the best place to put a greenhouse
Small shelters made of polycarbonate are most often in demand in small summer cottages. In large yards, it is more profitable to set up a greenhouse. Returning to small areas, it is worth noting that it is usually not necessary to choose a greenhouse installation location according to all the rules. The owner is content with the minimum free space.
When there is no desire to put a stationary greenhouse on a large suburban area, then they are competently approaching the choice of a place for a greenhouse:
- The optimal location for installing a greenhouse is the southern or eastern side of the site. Here the plants will receive a lot of sunshine and warmth. It is better not to put a polycarbonate shelter on the north or west side of the yard. The work will be in vain, and the vegetable grower will not see a good harvest.
- Maximum illumination is an important factor in choosing a location. It is undesirable to place a polycarbonate shelter under trees or near tall structures from which a shadow will fall.
- To keep the warmth in the greenhouse longer, it is placed in a place protected from cold winds. It is advisable that a fence or any other structure should be as close as possible to the north side.
After choosing the optimal place on its site, it is prepared for the installation of a polycarbonate shelter.
Site preparation
When preparing a site, it is immediately important to pay attention to the terrain. It is optimal if it is a plain. Otherwise, the hills will have to be cleaned up and the holes filled up. If it is not possible to select a site on a hill or the high location of groundwater interferes, it will be necessary to organize drainage. He will drain excess water from the garden.
The site is cleared of any vegetation, stones and various debris. It is immediately necessary to decide whether it will be a stationary installation or a temporary one. If the greenhouse will be permanently installed in one place, it is reasonable to build a small base under it.
The procedure for making the foundation
The polycarbonate shelter is very lightweight and does not require a strong foundation. When performing a stationary installation of the structure, you can make a simple base from a bar or red brick.
The simplest base is made using the following technology:
- using stakes and a construction cord, markings are applied on the site;
- to the depth and width of the bayonet shovel, dig a trench along the markings;
- a third of the depth of the trench is covered with sand;
- red brick is laid out with bandaging, even without mortar;
- if the foundation is made of timber, the box is pre-treated with impregnation, roofing material is fixed from below and sides, and then installed in a trench;
- the gap between the brick or wooden foundation and the walls of the trench is covered with gravel.
The installed polycarbonate greenhouse, together with the foundation, is attached to pieces of reinforcement 70 cm long, driven into the ground. This will prevent the light structure from overturning in strong winds.
The procedure for assembling a polycarbonate store greenhouse depends on the selected model. An instruction and diagram are supplied with the product. Usually all elements are connected with hardware. Homemade frames are most often welded from a tube, angle or profile. Fragments of polycarbonate cut from a large sheet are fixed to the frame with special hardware with a sealing gasket. The assembled greenhouse will only have to be fixed to the foundation and you can equip the beds.
For acquaintance, this video shows the greenhouse "Clever" with an opening top:
