Is the blue rectangle a good spot for a greenhouse?
Any better options that you can see? Would like to be closer to the house for water/electric runs, but morning sun would be blocked by the house, and there's a lot of tree cover.
To provide an accurate recommendation, please provide the directional identification of North, South, East and West. That’s probably the most critical variable to provide you input.
Creepy-Team5842
Turn the greenhouse 180 degrees to maximize southern exposure? Good luck!
BabyKatsMom
If it’s rectangular in shape I would rotate it 90° so the longest side is facing south so it has the most exposure (vs the short side- if that makes sense, lol).
Chance_Assignment848
Up against a building is better if you want to hold heat like up north but your spot is right in the middle of the yard don’t you want it out of the way? Along the fence would also help hold heat.
railgons
This looks like a great spot.
As others have said, rotating 90° will help get the most sun exposure, especially on the short winter days.
Putting it against the house can help, but looks like in your situation, that would be blocking out a lot of the morning light in the winter. This isn’t ideal because just before dawn tends to be the coldest. We want to try to get the sun (and therefore heat) into the greenhouse as soon as possible.
A couple of other things to note:
Hop onto an online sun angle calculator and figure out the angle of your sun as of Dec 21. Make sure your south fence (neighboring trees, anything) won’t cast a shadow onto the greenhouse. For example, where I’m at, the sun only rises 27° off of the horizon on winter solstice, compared to 74° at summer solstice.
This is all depending on your goals and plans for usage. If you do plan to use it through all 4 seasons, it is important to consider insulating it, especially your northern side. Consider some seasonal insulation for the east and west walls too.
Tons of options, but good job getting ahead of things by carefully planning where it goes. Let me know if you have any questions. 🌞
Tymirr
Suncalc.org should help you.
Also, be aware that it barely takes any cloud cover at all for direct light to turn diffuse, so next to a building, even on the south side, is a big tradeoff.
_beracah_
Not sure how much flexibility you have with the yard, but the best spot I think is where that shed is located, so less trees will block southern light, and also not too close to the fence to block light. But also then it’s much closer to the building for heat power and stability. As others have said, orientation is dependent on what you are growing. For instance I keep my more cold and light tolerant plants on the side further from the sun. But also I use a shelf to raise them so the sensitive citrus aren’t blocking all the light. But then if I was growing veggies in rows, I’d orient differently.
I’m assuming the fence is permanent?
mudsuckingpig
Heck yeah, it’s gotta be better than no Greenhouse at all
t0mt0mt0m
Zone ? Greenhouse goals ? Heat/cooling plan? Pad/foundation plan ? I would throw down some rope or an old hose to create an outline of where you want your structure. Be patient and go thru a few seasons and watch the light exposure in that area and see it acts. Good luck.
The_Realist01
Yes but rotate it. Trust me lol.
HeftyJohnson1982
Good luck with everything 👍
Can’t wait to see what you get up to
12 Comments
To provide an accurate recommendation, please provide the directional identification of North, South, East and West. That’s probably the most critical variable to provide you input.
Turn the greenhouse 180 degrees to maximize southern exposure? Good luck!
If it’s rectangular in shape I would rotate it 90° so the longest side is facing south so it has the most exposure (vs the short side- if that makes sense, lol).
Up against a building is better if you want to hold heat like up north but your spot is right in the middle of the yard don’t you want it out of the way? Along the fence would also help hold heat.
This looks like a great spot.
As others have said, rotating 90° will help get the most sun exposure, especially on the short winter days.
Putting it against the house can help, but looks like in your situation, that would be blocking out a lot of the morning light in the winter. This isn’t ideal because just before dawn tends to be the coldest. We want to try to get the sun (and therefore heat) into the greenhouse as soon as possible.
A couple of other things to note:
Hop onto an online sun angle calculator and figure out the angle of your sun as of Dec 21. Make sure your south fence (neighboring trees, anything) won’t cast a shadow onto the greenhouse. For example, where I’m at, the sun only rises 27° off of the horizon on winter solstice, compared to 74° at summer solstice.
This is all depending on your goals and plans for usage. If you do plan to use it through all 4 seasons, it is important to consider insulating it, especially your northern side. Consider some seasonal insulation for the east and west walls too.
Tons of options, but good job getting ahead of things by carefully planning where it goes. Let me know if you have any questions. 🌞
Suncalc.org should help you.
Also, be aware that it barely takes any cloud cover at all for direct light to turn diffuse, so next to a building, even on the south side, is a big tradeoff.
Not sure how much flexibility you have with the yard, but the best spot I think is where that shed is located, so less trees will block southern light, and also not too close to the fence to block light. But also then it’s much closer to the building for heat power and stability. As others have said, orientation is dependent on what you are growing. For instance I keep my more cold and light tolerant plants on the side further from the sun. But also I use a shelf to raise them so the sensitive citrus aren’t blocking all the light. But then if I was growing veggies in rows, I’d orient differently.
I’m assuming the fence is permanent?
Heck yeah, it’s gotta be better than no Greenhouse at all
Zone ? Greenhouse goals ? Heat/cooling plan? Pad/foundation plan ? I would throw down some rope or an old hose to create an outline of where you want your structure. Be patient and go thru a few seasons and watch the light exposure in that area and see it acts. Good luck.
Yes but rotate it. Trust me lol.
Good luck with everything 👍
Can’t wait to see what you get up to
Use a sun calculator.