Lean-to greenhouse gardening
Lean-to greenhouses are just about the simplest greenhouse designs on the market, easy to fit into your back yard and easy to assemble. However, if you want them to enjoy a long and trouble-free life, there are a few things you should know.
Some lean-to greenhouses come with a back panel, but most attach directly to the wall of your house or outbuilding. It’s unlikely that wall will have been designed with this purpose in mind. Preparing it properly can help you to avoid problems with heat loss and dampness as well as make it a better support for your greenhouse structure.
Before attaching your lean-to greenhouse to a wall, be sure to read all the manufacturer instructions and precautions. There are so many different building materials; wood, vinyl, brick, stone, etc, it’s good to do a little research before you get started to see how extra moisture and heat might affect your building. Some suggest to treat that wall with a water-resistant coating. These are now available in a colorless form which won’t significantly change the appearance of the wall.
The protective coating will stop mold eating into the brick or stonework in the warm, comparatively humid atmosphere of the greenhouse. Use silicone rubber, available in tubes from your local hardware store, to create a strong seal between the edges of the greenhouse frame and the wall. Check this every six months and be ready to repair it if it’s cracked. This seal can be painted, or the rubber can be dyed (acrylic paints work well) before application, if you find that it looks unsightly otherwise.
Although their comparatively small size makes lean-to greenhouses easy to fit into practically any garden, these greenhouse designs need to be positioned carefully so that they get enough light. Remember to consider the way that the position of the sun will change over the course of the year. You may also want to use the wall you attach them to as shelter them from strong winds, so bear in mind the prevailing wind direction. Avoid placing them under overhanging eaves, even if these don’t obscure the light, as snow can build up on such structures during winter and then come crashing down all at once to break your greenhouse roof. Avoid positioning them beneath gutters where overflow may fall onto the greenhouse roof and block the light.
Lean-to greenhouses may be small, but they’re a great practical solution to many gardening problems. If you make the effort to set yours up properly, you’ll never regret it.
