Baccatum
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Need tips for Greenhouse wall (see pics)

Hi
I'm thinking of putting up a small greenhouse on my porch
The type of greenhouse that seems most suitable is a leaning greenhouse, that is, I need to put it against a wall. (the greenhouse has no back part)

Unfortunately, my house walls are occupied, so I'm thinking of building up one of the short sides of my porch fences and make a wall that can serve as the "back" of the greenhouse.

The greenhouse type I'm thinking about is: https://jengo.se/sv/hem-och-tradgard/vax ... -to-09-kvm

And this is a skecth of the porch right now (with size of greenhouse added for reference): Image

My question is:
What type of wall do I need to build?
I'm thinking of raising the part of the porch fence where the greenhouse will be , like this:
Image

But how should the wall be constructed?
Right now the fence is just wooden planks with space in between, so the wind blows right through.
Should I insulate the wall? If so, with what?
Any suggestions and tips are most welcome

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rainbowgardener
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We need two more pieces of information, before anyone could say much helpful. Where are you located? What is the climate like?

AND

What direction will the greenhouse face? If there is any way you can arrange it, what you really want is for the greenhouse glass to face south (assuming of course you are in the northern hemisphere) and the solid wall to face north. Then you would want to really insulate that north wall.

Baccatum
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Thank you, I forgot to add that.
This is in Stockholm, Sweden. So, pretty cold climate.
I will be trying to make chile peppers and tomatoes survive in this greenhouse :)

The greenhouse would in this case be facing South South West. The wall, therefore, North North East.
However, the sun disappears behind the house at about 14:00, so no afternoon sun.

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rainbowgardener
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That's not a bad orientation and yes, I would insulate the north wall. You should be able to get sheets of something, dry wall or foam board, etc.

But no sun after 2 PM is not good for tomatoes and peppers , which need minimum 6 - 8 hrs a day of direct sun for fruiting. You have a couple choices - grow things that don't fruit and don't need as much sun, like any leafy greens (lettuce, spinach, chard, etc) and a lot of herbs (chives, parsley, mint, lemon balm, chamomile, cilantro, etc) OR find a way to provide some supplemental lighting.

Really.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you will be very disappointed in the results if you try to grow peppers and tomatoes without enough light. The plants will grow, but the fruiting will be next to none.

Baccatum
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Thank you - I will try to find a suitable sheet material for insulation.

As for the choice of chile peppers, I'm afraid that's the main thing I want to grow here. I'm a complete chile pepper nerd, and I've been growing dozens of different varieties on my balcony for the last ten years or so.

(see some of my pictures here: https://googledrive.com/host/0B4v5OUreZ ... /index.htm)

Now that we've moved to a new apartment, I of course want to continue doing that - and will go to great lengths to make it happen.

At my last apartment, the balcony was facing west, and got sun from say 1 pm onwards. The plants were not in a greenhouse though, and it could be a bit windy on the balcony. Not ideal either, but some years I got quite a lot of fruit nevertheless.

I think I will try this anyhow, and if no fruits appear, I will figure out a way to install lighting in the greenhouse between say, 14:00-18:00. Would that work do you think?

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applestar
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I'm a little bit confused -- but I'll form an opinion anyway :wink:

I suspect you might get more sunlight during the longer daylight months. If this is a new residence, maybe you don't realize it? I think the greenhouse might be great for spring and fall and possibly summer if you can control how hot it gets inside.

For the darker/shorter days and darkest months of the winter, I think you'd be better off growing the peppers and tomatoes under lights inside the apartment -- perhaps convert a small closet or a corner into a grow room.

One other thing -- will your neighbor be OK with you raising the fence and blocking the sun from *their* porch? You may have a better response if you used clear greenhouse plexiglass for the raised portion of the back wall. You could fashion something so that the raised portion could also be opened for ventilation. (What occurs to me actually is a sliding window 8) )

Baccatum
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Thank you Applestar - good points.

I don't think I'll have to worry abot raising the fence - -I have no neighbours that way.

And as for the sun - It disappears behind the house at approx the same time in summer as in winter - mostly it's the vertical angle that changes drastically up here in the north.
During winter, the sun sets at about 3pm :(
On the other hand - during summers here in Sweden it never goes dark!

I'm planning on using the greenhouse, say from may to november. The rest of the time it's way too dark and cold.

valley
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Greetings, What you plan sounds good. If you have a window south facing, you might also consider a greenhouse window.

Greenhouse back wall: The wall can be made with 5cmX10cm lumber. Two or Three uprights with a top and bottom plate. This will provide a 10cm space that can be filled with your choice of insulation, this this can be attached to the porch railing with simple metal cleats. Please let us see how you go about making and using what you have in mind. Thanks

Richard



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