A greenhouse is an excellent addition to your gardening spot, as it allows you to grow plants and flowers all year round. This practical structure protects your plants from the elements and allows them to grow year round.
Nevertheless, whether you’re building a greenhouse from scratch or buying a ready-made kit, there are a few tweaks that you might need to add to make sure that it’s built to last. No matter how sturdy it seems, your greenhouse might collapse if the weather conditions are too severe.
So, do you need a reinforced greenhouse? How can you reinforce your greenhouse to protect it from the elements? Keep on reading to find out.
Consider a Reinforced Greenhouse
This depends on the weather conditions. If you’re buying a reliable greenhouse kit or do the work on your own, you’ll probably end up with a sturdy structure that can withstand the occasional wind blows and rain showers.
However, most greenhouses aren’t designed to withstand extremely harsh weather conditions. Pouring rain, strong winds, hail, and snowstorms can damage your greenhouse as well as any other structure in your gardening space.
If you live in an area where you typically deal with harsh winters and strong winds, it would be a good idea to invest in a reinforced greenhouse. Not only will it maintain the structure for the whole season, but it will also protect your plants. Any reinforcement you add won’t affect the process of plants’ growth, and it’s a necessary protection of your investment.
How Can I Reinforce My Greenhouse?
Reinforcing your greenhouse can be done in several ways. Here are some simple methods to strengthen your greenhouse.
Set it Up in a Secure Spot
The best solution is to avoid the problem if possible. When you’re setting up your greenhouse, choose a spot that provides some shelter from the strong winds.
Choose a spot behind the garage or in the corner of the garden, where the other structures might block some wind. Stay away from big branches as they might fall down and break your greenhouse.
Fix Any Problems Before the Wind Blows
Before the windy season starts, you need to check your greenhouse to fix any potential problems. Missing glass panels or cut PVC sheets can damage your greenhouse in the long run. When the wind blows and gets into the greenhouse, it needs to find a way to escape it. As a result, air pressure will build up inside the greenhouse, eventually damaging the panes or blowing off the glazing clips.
Check out all the surfaces and corners in your greenhouse and use a silicone sealant or sealant tape to secure any openings. The door and all windows should close snugly to protect your greenhouse.
Use Pegs and Stakes
Pegs and anchor stakes will hold down a small plastic greenhouse and protect it from blowing away when the wind blows. Due to the lightweight nature of your plastic sheets, the pegs and stakes will anchor them down without affecting the way your greenhouse functions. However, if the wind is too strong, your PVC sheets might still fly away or get torn.
Bury the Cover Material
If you’re worried about your PVC sheets getting torn, use the weight of the soil to weigh your greenhouse down. Most greenhouse kits come with extra PVC covering, and you can buy extra material if you’re building yours from scratch.
Dig trenches that are 10 inches deep and bury the material, then cover it with sand or soil. This will help secure the structure, and the PVC sheets won’t move as the wind blows.
Weigh It With Rocks
You can use rocks, stones, or paving slabs to weigh your greenhouse down. Just stack the rocks at the bottom of the plastic sheets to prevent them from flying around.
Add Rocks to the Bottom Shelf
You can also reinforce the greenhouse from the inside by adding rocks or paving slabs to the bottom shelf. Just put two of them on each side to balance the weight, and they will prevent the plastic sheets from blowing away.
Secure the Greenhouse to a Fence
If you’re worried about the whole greenhouse blowing away, you can secure it to a fence in your garden. You can use a rope to tie the corners of the greenhouse or even drill a few holes in the frame to screw it.
Clean the Area
In addition to wind-proofing your greenhouse, you also need to protect it from any flying objects that might accidentally damage it. Clean the surrounding area of any tools, children’s toys, or big branches that might blow away with the wind. Tie down any plant pots or outdoor furniture pieces to make sure that they won’t damage your structure.
If you are preemptive in all this instead of reactionary, then consider also giving your greenhouse a deep clean while preparing for the strong winds.
Add More Shield
In some cases, you physically need to shield your greenhouse from the wind and objects that might get blown away against it. If this is the case, you can build some wind netting or use hedges to block the wind and any flying objects.
However, these methods also block the sunlight, so they will negatively affect the plants growing inside your greenhouse. Nevertheless, if your greenhouse is in an extremely exposed area, shielding it will be necessary.
Buy a Reinforced Greenhouse Kit
A reinforced greenhouse kit is an excellent investment because it’s designed to withstand harsh weather conditions. We recommend the Ohuhu Upgraded Large Walk-in Greenhouse because it’s designed with heavy-duty zippered windows and doors to block the wind, while the screen lets the sun in when the weather is good.
Thanks to the thicker pipe diameter and the screws, the frame won’t get blown away in strong winds. The polyethylene cover is designed to withstand the sun, rain, and snow without affecting the growth of your plants.
This kit features a sturdy rust-proof galvanized steel frame and comes with guy ropes and stakes to add stability to your structure. The greenhouse is also quite easy to assemble and can be easily transported to another spot whenever you want.
Wrap Up
A greenhouse is an excellent addition to your gardening space, but it might not withstand extremely bad conditions. If you live in an area with harsh winters and strong winds, you need to reinforce your greenhouse to protect the structure and the precious plants you’re growing.
There are several DIY methods to reinforce your greenhouse. You can also invest in a reinforced kit that comes with a sturdier frame and covering.
