New alpine house

[Mick McLoughlin]

I posted in the old forum about new greenhouse. Well it is arriving saturday. Will try and post a picture then, so Margaret will know why the artistic shape.

See this page on old Forum: http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/1078/42592.html?1162925533


Edit - apologies, the above link no longer works.

[Maggi Young]

Excellent, Mick, I look forward to that. Hope the weekend weather forecast is good for you. We've had a lovely sunny day here in Aberdeen though chums from around the country have told me it is wet and  'orrible in many places.

[Mick McLoughlin]

Weather stayed fine and dry. Just plunge bed to make now.

[Maggi Young]

OOH! Never  seen one like that before, Mick! Now your odd foundation shape becomes clear.
What fun you'll have filling it. Glad you are making a sand plunge, too, they are a MOST useful accessory. Hope the weather holds for that.

[tonyg]

I have seen an Alpine House that shape before!  An AGS member in North Norfolk used to have one.  Maureen was one of the people who fostered my interest in alpines and I remember her fondly.  I do recall that she had problems ventillating her alpine house, but it was in a very open site while this one looks more sheltered and perhaps shaded?  Good luck with it and let us see some of the plants too!

[Mick McLoughlin]

Plunge bed finished today. Just put in a few things to see how it looks.
 Thanks for the comments Tony, I'm new to this and any help will be appreciated. Is the ventillation required to keep the temperature down or the damp out?

[tonyg]

I guess the answer is that good ventillation does both the things you suggest ... but not at the same time!  Of course it depends a bit on what you grow as to how important this is.
From March to October sunshine can 'overheat' the growing space, even the plunged pots will be warmed.  If you cannot keep the air moving (some people use a fan) you may need shade netting (I drape it over the outside in summer) or a whitewash.
In winter damp can be a problem and better air movement helps alleviate this.  Robert Rolfes book 'The Alpine House'  is excellent in explaining all the dos and don'ts.
I hope you enjoy the challenge - there are so many interesting plants that will grow better with some protection and the best way to learn is to give it a go!  Good Luck.

[David Nicholson]

Hi Mick, just to add a little to Tony's post. I grow in a conventional 8'x6' aluminium house with two roof vents and two louvre vents (one each side) and found that in Summer, even with shade paint on it was getting far too hot. I also found in Winter that I needed to get more air movement even with the roof vents and louvres open day and night. I removed two panes of glass from my door and one pane from the opposite end of the greenhouse from the door and covered them with wire mesh. This has improved air flow and contributes to still high, but manageable, temperatures during Summer. I like your 'house very much but I think you are probably going to need to remove some of your glass to keep temperatures down even in a Hemsworth winter. (being a Yorkie I know your area well).

If you are new to Alpines there are a couple of Yorkshire Alpine Nurseries on the new Links pages that are in very reasonable travelling distance of Hemsworth. Both have a cracking selection of plants and the proprietors of both know their stuff and are always willing to listen and offer advice. Both have very good gardens as part of their Nurseries.
 

[Anthony Darby]

Not a problem we need to worry about in Scotland: we are nearly always in the shade (except when it's cloudy - then it's dark and I'm not talking about the winter either).

[tonyg]

I should have added above that I have taken the glass out at bench level on both sides of my 12 x 8 aluminium greenhouse.  Also a complete vertical at the opposite end to the door.  In full sun it still gets very hot in summer.  On a timber house it should not be difficult to hang shading outside, on mine I use clothes pegs to hold the netting in place.