Greenhouse accessories

We often get asked by our customers what some of the key greenhouse buzz words mean, after all they can be a bit confusing especially if you’re just starting out buying your first greenhouse. So we wanted to take a moment or two to explain what some of the common buzz words actually mean. We’re sure you’ll have more as well, so be sure to leave them in the comments box below and share with your fellow gardeners!

Colour

You’ll normally be able to choose the frame colour of your greenhouse. The most common are silver (usually included as standard in the cost) green and black. Most frames are aluminium, some come with a matt finish rather than a shiny one depending on the greenhouse make and model you go for.

Glass type

There are often more choices to be made with the glass for your greenhouse. The standard glass is called horticultural glass and is the cheapest option available. It’s often a 3mm wide pane of glass which is adequate for your greenhouse, however if it breaks, it will break into large shards which can be quite dangerous so just be aware of this.

Toughened safety glass is normally 3mm or 4mm thick and will withstand greater levels of impact before breaking (it will normally withstand a football hitting it for example). If and when it does shatter, it will break into lots of smaller pieces which will be safer to clean up. Toughened glass is also heavier than standard horticultural glass, adding more weight to your greenhouse.

You will also see polycarbonate glazing as an option when looking at greenhouses. Polycarbonate is stronger again compared to toughened, and 200x stronger than standard horticultural glass. Therefore, it will withstand far greater levels of impact, making it an ideal choice if you have young children playing in the garden.

Lourve

Glass louvres allow for air to easily circulate around your greenhouse, helping with ventilation. They look a lot like a set a horizontal blinds – just glass ones! Louvres are often an additional extra which you can opt to include when purchasing your greenhouse.

Cresting

Cresting is the nice bit of patterned decoration found on the top of your greenhouse. It should be the same colour as your greenhouse frame and adds a bit of extra style to the top of your greenhouse. Cresting is normally an extra which you can opt for when buying your greenhouse.

Integral staging

Integral staging is the racks/shelves at working height within a greenhouse. These are normally the same colour as the frame of your greenhouse, however you can also purchase freestanding staging if you wanted to.

Shelving

Shelving refers to the small shelves which are found around head height in your greenhouse. They’re handy for storing small gardening accessories, packs of seeds etc. You can also use these to help get your plants or vegetables started before moving them into larger pots.

Auto vents

Vents are also important to help maintain a healthy air supply in your greenhouse and allow for ample air circulation, however if you don’t want to have to remember to open and shut your vents, purchasing an automatic system is a good option. They aren’t powered by electricity, rather they are powered by the sun as the metal cylinder containing a mineral wax expands when heated, causing the vents to open and when it cools again, the wax shrinks causing the vents to close again – clever eh!

Eaves

Many greenhouse retailers will refer to some models having high eaves. What they are actually referring to is the area where the greenhouse roof meets the walls of the greenhouse. Obviously the higher the eaves, the more head room available for gardeners

Zero Threshold Door System

This term is seen a lot when looking at Eden greenhouses. The Zero Threshold Door System is designed to have a smoother opening mechanism compared to other greenhouses and is not meant to jam. These door systems also don’t have a threshold bar so any wheelchair users can gain access to their greenhouse much easier

Threshold bar

The threshold bar is the bar which normally sits under the door to your greenhouse and is what your greenhouse door will slide along. Some modern greenhouses have done away with this threshold bar, making accessing your greenhouse easier than ever!

One of our favourite products at the moment which we saw in action at RHS Tatton a few months ago is the smart solar powered Irrigatia SOL-C12 and SOL-C24 Automatic Watering Systems. Designed to save gardeners a whole lot of time and effort and encourage plant growth, this automatic watering system is one not to be missed!

The Irrigatia Automatic Watering System is solar powered and comes with a water pump system which can be connected to any water system, most commonly water butts. It harvests the power of the sun to water your plants, so on hotter days where the sun’s power is greater, it will automatically deliver more water to your plants. Unlike other water systems, this system can also pump the water upwards if needed and the power of the watering system can be adjusted to suit the natural climate. The water supply system works by delivering a drip feed to your plants every 3 hours, allowing for regular watering throughout the day. This is really useful for allotment users or if you’re greenhouse or polytunnel is not located at home, as it means you don’t need to visit your greenhouse every day if you don’t want to. What makes this system so smart is that it can now detect when it is dark and will turn the system off during the night to prevent watering.

The other great feature about the Irrigatia Automatic Watering Systems is that they come with a SMART controller and water level sensor which monitors the water level in your water butt and will alert you if the water level falls below a safe level, therefore preventing damage to the pump.

The system is available in two sizes, the SOL-C12 and SOL-C24. The Irrigatia SOL-C12 Automatic Watering System is capable of watering up to twelve 20 litre pots or 5 large hanging baskets whereas the SOL-C24 Automatic Watering System can water up to 24 20 litre pots or 10 hanging baskets.

To make your life easier, you can also purchase various extension kits to help water more plants. The system comes with 12 drippers for use with pots and baskets, but you could also choose to add the likes of a seep hose or extend the length of the watering system by using one of the connector kits.
All in all, we think that the Irrigatia Automatic Watering Systems are a great product which would make a welcome addition to most greenhouses or polytunnels. The smart technology which sees the system turn off in the evenings and sound during daylight hours if the water level is low are great features which will help to protect your watering system and plants. And what’s more, not having to stand there and water your plants everyday will also save you time and hassle! We’re happy with that!

There are so many things to consider when looking for a quality greenhouse, but hopefully our handy points will help make the search a little easier.

Initial check list…

LOCATION – Where will you put it in your garden and how much space do you actually have? Is the area flat or can you flatten it and is the area free of overhang from trees, buildings etc.?

DIRECTION – Ideally an East-West direction would be best to help capture as much sunlight at possible.

WATER – Will you have easy access to water?

There are endless choices for customising your greenhouse, to ensure you get exactly the greenhouse you want. Options include;

GLAZING

Toughened safety glass has replaced horticultural glass as the most popular option in recent years mainly because its stronger, and if it breaks, it’ll break into loads of little pieces making it safer as opposed to horticultural glass which when broken, breaks into large shards. You can also opt for polycarbonate glazing with some greenhouses which is 200 times stronger than normal greenhouse glass and is less likely to be damaged compared to either glass option.

Halls Magnum 8ft x 12ft greenhouse

If you want a greenhouse with toughened glazing, we suggest you take a look at the Halls Magnum greenhouse range which is available in several sizes and comes with a choice of glazing options.

SHAPE AND SIZE

Firstly, buy the largest greenhouse that your garden and budget allows to try and ensure you don’t outgrow your greenhouse. There are several shapes out there including the traditional house shape, lean-to and wall gardens to name just a few.

The traditional house shape lets plenty of light in with full length glass panes and also allows for plenty of head room and ample growing space. These are available in the greatest number of size combinations and are the easiest shape to purchase accessories for.

If you’re considering a traditional shaped greenhouse, the Eden Burford greenhouse range is a good place to start, as this range has a choice of sizes available and it comes with a Zero Threshold Door System, allowing for easy access.

A lean-to greenhouse is handy if space is limited but you have a large wall area which catches the sun. You can often find plenty of accessories such as staging and shelving for lean-tos, however overall working space is slightly limited.

Eden Broadway lean-to greenhouse

The new Eden Broadway Lean-to greenhouse range boasts a lot of features including the Zero Threshold door technology, split sliding doors, high eaves and much more! There is also a choice of three sizes to choose from.

A wall garden is the perfect option if you only have a small area or if you are just starting out and don’t want a larger greenhouse at this time. Like the traditional and lean-to greenhouses, a wall garden greenhouse is often available in a choice of frame colours and glass types.

We’d recommend the Halls Supreme Wall Garden to anyone considering this option as along with all the normal greenhouse features, this one also comes with all the kit to get started including seed pots and shelving!

MATERIAL

One of the most important decisions in what will make a quality greenhouse for you, will be the material. Aluminium or wood are the two most common options for your greenhouse and each have their own advantages.

An aluminium greenhouse is normally powder coated so you can add a bit of personality to your colour choice! The aluminium frames are also very durable, lightweight and mainly maintenance free. However, a couple of things to consider include the overall quality. You will see that the prices of aluminium greenhouses vary massively, but it’s true what they say, you often pay for what you get. If you want a really robust greenhouse which will withstand the elements and the test of time, a Juliana greenhouse is manufactured of strong aluminium in Denmark and is the only aluminium greenhouses endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society for its quality. Another consideration is the option of adding a greenhouse base. These are often an extra cost but can help to add rigidity to your greenhouse.

Modern day wooden greenhouses are often made of high quality, pre-treated cedar wood which won’t need to be treated or painted. Over time the wood will become more silver-grey. Wooden greenhouses often give more of a traditional feel to your greenhouse and are often available with the same features as an aluminium greenhouse i.e vents. If you’re considering a wooden greenhouse, you won’t go far wrong with a Gabriel Ash cedar greenhouse.

ACCESSORIES

Like most things, you can now purchase many greenhouse accessories to enhance your greenhouse and gardening experience. A few accessories to consider including vents, water butts and staging. Vents help with temperature control and circulation of air. The Eden greenhouse range offer automatic vents as an added extra, so you won’t need to remember to go out and open and close them!

We touched on access to water earlier on during the initial check list, but it is also worth considering purchasing a water butt to connect to your greenhouse and catch rain water. Not only is this more environmentally friendly, but it will also save you time and money in the long run. The Eden water butt is a great choice and can be easily connected using the connection kit, and if you wanted to go one step further you could connect an automatic watering system such as an Irrigatia Sol C12 or C24 system.

Irrigatia SOL-C12 Automatic Watering System

Staging is always a good purchase when looking for more working and storage space as it will allow you to really captivate on your growing area. Check out the range of Halls staging accessories which include various tier heights and different lengths.

Now all is left is for you to decide which quality greenhouse makes the cut and get growing!