If someone makes seedlings and grows vegetables, he / she knows how helpful a greenhouse is. Mine has dimensions of 2.3 x 3.2 m and was made of purchased ready-made elements for assembly. Here's how it was created.
Location of the greenhouse
I read a lot about it and decided to place my greenhouse on the east-west line. There are many theories of placing this type of buildings in relation to the directions of the world, but for me two factors were decisive. First, my greenhouse is heated in early spring and late autumn. So I didn't want it to be warmed up by the sun. Secondly, in such a location it heats up less in the summer than in the north-south system, and it is still too hot in it.It is shielded from frequent and violent western winds by the body of the building. The place for the future greenhouse cannot be waterlogged - snowmelt puddles or the high level of groundwater will not serve the plants.
Foundations
After choosing the right place, I started digging for the greenhouse foundation. The 70 cm deep and 40 cm wide groove was dug up to 20 cm high and poured with thin concrete. Then I made reinforcement from the waste rods and poured concrete mixed into the ground in a ratio of 1: 4 (i.e. a cement shovel and 4 shovels of gravel). Then I made a foundation from concrete blocks and plastered it with mortar (a cement shovel and 3 shovels of gravel plus a bit of lime to increase flexibility).
Heating installation
After the foundation had hardened, I chose 30 cm of soil from the inside of the future greenhouse and started to install the heating. For this purpose, I made an excavation from the foundations of the structure to the wall of the house.I led two wires (supply and return) with it. On the one hand, they are connected to the central heating furnace, and on the other, they form a spiral-shaped heating of the greenhouse. I covered the excavation and installation with soil. I used 60 m of installation cable with a diameter of 25 mm for the whole operation.
Greenhouse interior
After installing the heating, I filled the greenhouse with soil to the height of the foundation. In the center I left a porch framed with boards. Thanks to this, I have easier access to plants. Then, for the sake of convenience, I added stairs - two external and one internal.
Greenhouse assembly
Thanks to the precise and clear instructions, supported by drawings, the installation of the greenhouse was not a problem for me. I attached the frame to the foundation with pegs and screws, then mounted the panes and the greenhouse was ready.
Construction cost
I bought the greenhouse at OBI for PLN 1500. The remaining materials cost about PLN 500. Total PLN 2,000 with my own labor, thanks to which I saved about PLN 1,000.
Application
I gave the greenhouse to my wife Ania, who uses it according to her current needs. It grows spring vegetables and fresh greens, makes seedlings of flowers, vegetables and bushes, and stores some of the plants for the winter. The temperature of the earth here is about 3 degrees higher than outside. This enables earlier crops and a longer period of cultivation of thermophilic vegetables.
Eugeniusz Witkowski
