8 Steps to Planning Your Best Greenhouse

Many people place their greenhouse wherever they have the space and easy access to utilities. Others may plan a site that has the best light and exposure. When planning around the surrounding structures and landscape elements, there are several additional considerations. Trees and shrubbery will grow, affecting light, but you also want to plan for future beds to transplant seedlings to, and possible additions to buildings. You may even later add into your greenhouse, or add a barn or shade house!

Greenhouses don't have to be generic lookalikes, or simple working structures. They can be custom designed to reflect your home or business' style and taste. Custom knee-walls to match your architecture, roof peaks, finials, and more can add style and value to your property. Let Gothic Arch help you design the perfect greenhouse to suit your style and landscape.

Beautiful connections can be made between your greenhouse and home, your garden center and retail store, your farm market and production area—the possibilities are limitless. Use a gazebo, a porch, a shade house, or lean-to to create vestibules, sitting areas, potting sheds, or multi-use spaces that protect you and your plants from inclement weather. Gothic Arch can provide everything you need to create a blended-use growing area that is your perfect fit.

In retail use, "A rainy weekend at the end of spring can drop sales up to 80 percent," according to horticulture expert Chuck Sierke. "If you can cover more area with canopies and awnings, that is the biggest potential for up-sales even in inclement weather."

Entry and exit doors should be wide and easy to manipulate. When hands are full with tools, supplies, and plants, an easy-open door that can accommodate carts, wheelbarrows, and equipment will ease your day. Gothic Arch offers single and double swinging doors, sliding doors, and all widths of roll-up doors, and can place them in endwalls, sidewalls, or entry vestibules, ensuring the look you want with the access you need.

An easy way to create an open feel is to reduce the number of columns, using beams instead. Fewer posts increases growing space and allows for better bench layouts.  Planning hose bibs and utilities to keep walkways open and equipment needs managed can help take best advantage of your layout and available space.

Polycarbonate versus polyethylene gives long life, and a more permanent look. It lasts 20-plus years rather than four or five, though it is a greater initial investment. Glass improves further, with excellent light transmission and longer life still. Rigid coverings take far less maintenance than films, also, and have excellent R-value. Gothic Arch Greenhouses offers many different thicknesses and covering properties to help growers get the best energy efficiency for their budget.

Many growers prefer more natural ventilation as opposed to fans, utilizing open-roof designs, sliding doors or roll-up curtain walls. However, insects and pests are more difficult to keep at bay with open designs, and humidity extremes can also be more difficult to manage. A greenhouse professional can help you to decide what is right for you. In many cases, custom insect screening for your roof vents, ridge, or intake shutters can be added to your greenhouse design, helping increase your air-flow while limiting unwanted pests.

There are many options for water management besides traditional overhead watering systems. A sub-irrigation system with automated pump and tank can flush out salt buildup and allow better water absorption. Hydroponic systems also root-feed water and nutrients to plants, which results in losing water only due to evaporation, saves labor, and makes for a less-damp environment. Water conservation, effficiency, and plant health are all considerations that the Gothic Arch Greenhouses team can help you navigate to find your ideal watering solution.

Greenhouse growers large and small can benefit from considering these 8 things in when planning or refurbishing their growing space. Planning not just for today but for tomorrow's harvest can help you to choose the best greenhouse for how you grow and what your goals are. Gothic Arch Greenhouses' 75+ years of experience can help you plan, design, and grow, whether you need a simple backyard greenhouse kit or a 1,000 acre commercial agriculture range. Reach out to our experts today!