Greenhouse Preparation For The Season

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

The time for preparing film shelters for the season is approaching: what should be remembered for a gardener-summer resident

Most people cannot imagine their life in the country without growing their own vegetables, berries, fruits and other useful crops there. But in our unkind climate, you simply cannot do without a greenhouse. Seedlings, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers with eggplants grow in it, and someone nurtures elite early strawberries or rare plants there.

Greenhouses usually have a wooden, metal or polymer frame. The greenhouse can be made of glass, cellular plastic or foil. Glass greenhouses are now becoming less common, since a worthy replacement for it has appeared - cellular polycarbonate. Durable, warm, but expensive material.

The most popular material among gardeners is film, it is easier to work with it, and everyone can choose the film that suits themselves in quality and price - the assortment on sale is wide. Films for greenhouses are produced in a variety of ways: from cheap polyethylene films, which sometimes do not withstand the season, to copolymer films of complex composition. Such durable films are gaining more and more sympathy from summer residents and gardeners. Having bought, albeit more expensive, such a film, the gardener is spared many problems. First of all, it is economically justified, because the film will last more than one year. In addition, there is no need to stretch the film on the frame of the greenhouse or greenhouse every spring in the rain and wind. Time, so precious in spring, is saved. You can instead take care of berry bushes or fruit trees, strawberry plantations or flower beds. In addition, in such a greenhouse, the soil warms up faster, and you can have time to sow and grow a crop of some early ripening vegetables, for example, radishes, dill and watercress. And one more plus of durable films - every year you don't need to solve the problem of what to do with the worn out old film. No doubt durable films are sustainable films!

You just need to remember that long-term films also require more careful handling. Most people do not yet have enough knowledge about what to do after purchasing such a film. Meanwhile, experts who have been studying the properties of various films for many years have accumulated a lot of experience in this matter.

In many ways, the durability of the plastic film will depend on how the grower has prepared his greenhouse. For example, the film ages faster in places of its contact with the greenhouse frame due to the high temperatures that occur on the supporting elements of the frame. The temperature of the film on a hot day on a dark frame can rise up to 70 degrees! The main way to lower the temperature is to paint the frame white. Film temperature on a white coating is almost twice as low as on a dark one! This means that the aging process of the polymer is much slower, and the film lasts longer. It is necessary to lay the polyethylene sheet on the well-dried surface of the painted frame so that the solvents and oils that make up the paints do not affect the film. The usefulness of painting is also evidenced by the fact that, as observations have shown,In a greenhouse with a white frame, the illumination is 5-10% higher, and this contributes to an increase in the yield of crops grown.

Gardeners also need to ensure that the frame surfaces are as flat as possible. If the surface of the frame is smooth, then the film will not deform and wipe on it. For those who re-install the greenhouse, we advise you to orient it so that the sun and wind affect mainly the end of the greenhouse. It is also desirable that the distance between the frame members for a 120 micron film be about 1-1.2 meters.

When stretching the film on greenhouses, the optimum air temperature is from 5 to 15 degrees Celsius. You need to try to stretch the film without sagging, then the wind will not flutter it, and rain moisture will not accumulate in places of sagging. At the same time, do not pull it too tight. Films produced in the form of a sleeve have a "weak" point - the place where the film is folded. This is due to the peculiarities of the technology of manufacturing tubular films. Therefore, if, nevertheless, it is necessary to lay the place of fold of the film on the "ridge" of the greenhouse, it is necessary to strengthen this place.

If the film remains on the frame for the winter, then it is very important that the greenhouse itself is strong and can withstand the snow load. Otherwise, the greenhouse may collapse, and the film will remain intact. If there is no confidence in its stability, then in winter it is necessary at least sometimes to shake off the snow from the "roof" of the greenhouse. Some skilled gardeners design their greenhouses in such a way that the film rolls onto the ridge for the winter and becomes stronger there.

So, if you want the greenhouse film to serve you for a long time, we advise:

1. Protect the film from scratches and tears when pulling and handling.
2. Make the frame as smooth as possible.
3. Paint the greenhouse frame white or wrap it with white plastic.
4. Pull the film over the frame well.
5. Stretch the film at an air temperature of 5 to 15 degrees Celsius.
6. It is better not to place the fold of the film on the "ridge" of the greenhouse or reinforce this place.