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Rexburg, Idaho

Drew up the plans for the new patch a month or so ago. They have been sitting around waiting for spring so I can do something about them and it occurs to me that my cloches are all set up to be going north-south. In theory an east-west cloche may be warmer as more surface is exposed to the sun and the sun will strike the plastic at a better angle. But is this difference really noticable? Has anyone run their greenhouses north-south and if so how did they heat?

2/7/2005 8:43:17 AM

Montoursville, PA

Your answers here may be interesting. I believe in running the vine North South because the East to West sweep of the sun has the best chance for maximum sunlight all year long.

2/7/2005 9:18:39 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

My biggest concern in orienting the greenhouse layout is to
minimize the surface area facing the wind! I would not want
to put the "end" (opening) of my greenhouse to face the
southwest, from whence my 50mph winds come.

So with my cylindrical shaped houses, the axis of the cylinder
is pretty much perpendicular to the south-west gradient. With
my dome shaped houses, it doesn't matter except that the
opening is on the north side. I do believe the dome shaped
houses stand up to wind better, and they don't get as hot
because they are a little smaller.

2/7/2005 11:32:11 AM

Colo.Spgs.CO. Pikes Peak Chapter @ [email protected]

Last growing season I had two hoop houses going north to south, and two going basically east to west. the N to S cold frames had a much better success with the vigor of the plants, as the ones that were E to W got tooo hot and cooked the plants, and the soil temp was way too high in the E to W frames, which I feel caused the roots to be partially damaged. The other factor in this situation is which Mil and quality of plastic you are using, as thickness and the transparency of the plastic makes a big difference...JK.......

2/8/2005 2:56:22 AM

[email protected]

I don't believe orientation will make much difference (temperature wise) after a certain hour of the day. Maximum exposure to due East might benefit in the early morning, but I think that advantage would soon be lost as the sun rises.

Wind exposure might very well be the greatest concern in some places. For temperature extreme & cloche destruction concerns.

Having to change our 6 mil plastic every year is getting old. Has anyone used those new rigid corrugated plastic panels for cloches yet?

2/8/2005 7:22:11 AM

White Plains, NY

If you have a true cloche ( a bell shaped glass cover ) I would think that any placement would be equal. Yes, I had to look the word up.

2/8/2005 7:28:00 AM

Litchfield N. H. 03052

If you are changing plastic every, go with 4 mil construction. In our former bedding plant busniss, we we would 4 mil, put on in March and taken off in July. You don't need the extra expense of 6 mil on something tempory.

2/8/2005 4:35:19 PM

Joliet, IL

my 3 portable 6'x 10'x 7'6" greenhouses were placed
both N-S and E-W with no difference in the plants
growth. they all kicked in gear fast with the warmth
and protection. i did find the heat build up in them to
be excessive on days over 75 degrees and used a simple
misting system and timer to cool them off 4 times a day.
they have plenty of vents and the front door was left
open, but it can still get hot in there. the directions
that came with them said to orientate the door away
from prevailing wind directions to avoid damage in high
winds if door was left opened and have a sail effect
catching too much wind in the structure. i took extra
security measures with tie downs and also placing a 40lb
bag of store bought garden soil in each corner to weight
them down. i then used this soil later for burying vines.
sand bags would work just as good. all 3 held up great
and made it through 60 mph winds on multiple occasions.
they worked so nice, i bought a 4th one for this year.
i love tax returns.

2/8/2005 6:02:16 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

Shazzy, where did you buy your portable greenhouses and approx. how big is the price tag? Wayne

2/8/2005 7:28:18 PM

Joliet, IL

270 bucks a piece. here is the link to a picture and
the online catalogue at http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/portable-1.shtml
this same greenhouse sells for 350 at charley's greenhouses
on line.

they are not cheap, but worth the price to me
for peace of mind during the windy weather we get here
near chicago. the only alteration i made while using
them was to duct tape all the pole unions and to use
deep rebar arhchors and boat rope to secure them down.

my 2004 diary has them pictured in the patch also.
i was going to use the picture in the diagram as a model
to make my own, but decided to splurge on myself instead
with my tax returns cash.

i like them and would recommend them to anyone silly
enough like me who doesn't mind spending some cash
for what he or she wants.

shazzy

2/8/2005 7:48:21 PM

Joliet, IL

here is a link to a $99 portable greenhouse,
but i have not purchased one so i am not sure of the
actual quality.

2/8/2005 9:15:58 PM

Joliet, IL

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41334

2/8/2005 9:16:27 PM

Joliet, IL

after clicking that last link put in 41334 for the item
number

2/8/2005 9:21:25 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Lee Valley row greenhouse at 16 feet long and 5 feet wide $69.00 Canadian ($55.00 US) Check it out online at

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&cat=2,43224&p=46943

Direction? I'm going from North to South this year just because it is the north end of the patch's turn this year.

Glenn

2/8/2005 9:46:51 PM

Rexburg, Idaho

I'm probably going to stick with the north-south orientation just because it lays out in the available space better. I build the things with two doors on each end and that gives me the ability to vent the extra heat. I was more worried about them not warming enough. These will stand in almost any wind storm so I'm not real worried about the direction of the wind although if the doors are open to the wind it can let the wind in and beat the plants around a bit.

2/9/2005 8:58:40 AM

Montoursville, PA

I have a knock down and store for multiple year usage cold frame. It is 4 X 4 X 4 covered with six mill. Just checked it this week and find it ready, to use, for the third year.

No matter what you end up with remember the simple cubic feet,of air inside, sets your room, for error with temperature ballances. I slice windows into mine with a knife and close them back up with duct tape. They are shown ,in my Diarys. Looks like three to five years use will be possible with the original 6 mil covers.

2/9/2005 9:08:26 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

I'd like to use 4 mil... not disputing that it can work for
some. But to build a 12 foot long by 4.5 foot high hoophouse
that will stand up to 50mph winds indefinitely, and stand
up to 70mph for at least 5 minutes...... it's a constant
battle.

Fresh strong 4 mil could probably take it, except where the
wind finds a corner to pull on or a weak point... then tearing
starts.... then the whole thing comes down. On average, for
each hoophouse I build, I have to build it twice.

Sometimes I sit here at work, looking out over the valley
and feeling the wind shake the building, and wonder if my
hoophouse is in the Elm tree across the field, or in Wyoming.

Maybe in another 10 years my natural barriers will help.

2/9/2005 10:27:58 AM

[email protected]

I have 2 green houses, 20 X 48 each. Wind is not a factor, We have strong spring winds here also. I have a double layer of poly on mine, and I blow air inbetween the 2 layers, I end up with about a 12" cushion of air at the top. Great shock absorber for the wind.
You never need to worry about the green house getting warm, even on cloudy days, it can easily push 100 degrees F.
You biggest obsticle is cooling. I have 2 20" fans in each greenhouse, and that is marginal for cooling on hot days. And on cool nights I heat mine
When I bought the grenhouses, it was explained to me to orientate the green houses east to west. The reason being our prevailing winds are from the west. Generally the hotter the day, the windier it is, and I can open 1 or 2 doors to keep it cooler. There are several green houses in this area, and they go in every direction.

2/9/2005 11:37:45 PM