Making a greenhouse for cucumbers with your own hands
Cucumbers are one of the most demanded crops. However, this plant is quite demanding in terms of growing conditions and climate. An excellent way out of the situation is a do-it-yourself greenhouse for cucumbers.
Making a greenhouse for cucumbers with your own hands
Greenhouse classification
The greenhouse is designed for growing heat-loving plants in small areas. A greenhouse differs from a greenhouse in a smaller area, plus, all of it is occupied by a garden bed. Greenhouses are classified by type of structure.
Arched structures
Arcs can be made permanent or collapsible. Collapsible shelters are placed only during cold weather, and then removed, and cucumbers grow in an open area. Capital buildings are installed on frames made of beams or planks.
Such constructions have been used for several years. Solid structures do not allow you to follow the rules of crop rotation, and collapsible ones can be transferred to any place with cucumber beds after the required period of time.
Gable and shed
Gable and lean-to shelters can be built from any materials at hand. The cover is made of film, polycarbonate or glass.
Recessed
Recessed greenhouses are designed for cooler climates. Winter mini greenhouses can be used without waiting for the snow to melt. At the joints, you can overlay the structure with straw, this will additionally insulate it.
What is required for work
Before you make a greenhouse for cucumbers with your own hands, you need to decide on the type of shelter and prepare the materials. For the construction of the frame, you can take wooden boards and beams, HDPE pipes, PVC, metal profiles. All kinds of films, spunbond, lutrasil, polycarbonate, glass are used as a shelter from the cold.
Any material has its own advantages and disadvantages.
- The tree is used quite often in such shelters. It keeps heat well, remains warm, even in the coldest winter, but quickly absorbs moisture, therefore it needs to be impregnated with antiseptic drugs. Not suitable for mini arched greenhouses at all.
- Plastic pipes allow you to quickly mount any structure, do not rot. However, pipes cannot be used in glass structures, because they do not have sufficient density, unlike wood.
- The metal profile is a durable material that is easy to clean. Metal structures require additional insulation and are not suitable for use with film. The material is quickly put on and off. There is a wide selection of films on the market.
- Polyethylene has insufficient strength, often breaks, does not protect well from frost.
- Polycarbonate provides excellent thermal insulation, is easy to install, suitable for all types of greenhouses. Among the shortcomings, a rather high price and fragility are noted.
- Glass provides good thermal insulation, durable, scratch resistant. Among the disadvantages are the complexity of the installation.
Calculations
The sizes will depend on the number of bushes planted
Before you start building a greenhouse for cucumbers with your own hands, you need to make calculations. The sizes will depend on the number of cucumber bushes. Up to 3 cucumber bushes can be placed on 1m2. So the plants will not oppress each other and will be able to fully develop. Depending on the characteristics of the variety, 5-10 kg of cucumbers can be harvested from 1 bush, which is an average of 7 kg.
Taking the average yield factor and the density of the beds of 3 bushes per 1m2, 80 kg of cucumbers can be harvested from a 1x4 m greenhouse. In addition to these parameters, it is recommended to focus on the standard dimensions of building materials, for example, polycarbonate sheets are 2.1 m wide. Accordingly, structures made of polycarbonate sheets are 4 m long. Not too much attention is paid to height. It can be any, often, sizes vary between 80-130 cm.
Preparing the site
Do-it-yourself greenhouses for cucumbers require careful selection of a place for installation. Usually they are located in an east-west direction. So the sun will fully illuminate the interior of the structure. It is important to be guided by the fact that the culture tolerates a little shade better than heat. This feature makes it possible to locate a greenhouse made with your own hands for cucumbers from north to south. Such localization in an open area allows the evening and morning rays to illuminate the structure from the inside, and the midday rays will not be able to fry the plants.
For a greenhouse with your own hands for cucumbers, you need to choose an area with a flat surface, with a slight slope to the south. The soil should be dug 5 cm deep. Then add organic matter, peat and sawdust. Such a soil composition will give a good start for the full development of plants.
To warm the soil, straw is added under the fruiting layer or hay with manure is mixed. This must be done 21 days before disembarkation. The best is horse manure. When rotting, a sufficient amount of heat is generated, and harmful bacteria are completely destroyed. An excellent substitute for horse manure is bird droppings, which can be applied 2 weeks before planting.
How to make
Consider how to make the simplest DIY greenhouse for cucumbers. A shelter made of arches, covered with a film, is assembled in 2 hours. Its advantage is that in the fall it will be possible to change the location, observing the rules of crop rotation. To design a greenhouse with your own hands for cucumbers, you will need:
- boards 15x4;
- antiseptics for wood processing;
- corners, nails;
- remnants of reinforcement 60 cm;
- PVC pipes with a diameter of 25 cm;
- insulated wire;
- 3 longitudinal ties;
- film.
To save material, it is better to take pipes 3-6 m long. Arcs should be placed at a distance of 50-100 cm from each other. To ensure optimal fixing, it is better to take a 4 m wide film.A homemade greenhouse for cucumbers can be depicted with a schematic drawing, indicating all measurements, so it will be easier to navigate.
Base
You need to start building a greenhouse from the base
First you need to make the base of the box. It is designed to support the fertile soil layer and strengthen the frame. The easiest way to do it is from 10x10 beams.
The boards are connected with iron corners. To extend the life of the structure, you need to treat the base with an antiseptic. If shelter is required for a short time, then the construction of the base will be an unnecessary waste of time.
Pipes and fittings
The fittings should be cut into pieces 40-60 cm long. If necessary, the pipes are also cut into 2.9-3 m segments. The height of the greenhouse will be 90-100 cm.
In advance, you should make a marking of the location of the pipes on the base. The reinforcement must be driven into the base.The main thing is that the fittings are at the same level around the entire perimeter. Then pipes are attached to the frame. Next, make a screed from 1 or 2 pipes.
The pipes are connected to the tie with a wire. This design avoids sagging of the film. The ends of the mini greenhouse can be closed with the overhanging edges of the film, fastening them with an elastic band or polycarbonate.
Securing the film
The cover for the mini greenhouse is cut with a margin of 3 m. Anchoring on the arcs can be done using a 15-20 cm garden hose cut into pieces. The pieces need to be cut lengthwise and put on the arcs at the places where the film is attached.
If you strengthen the film only along the ridge of the structure, you will only be able to open one side. This is very convenient for areas with unstable weather conditions. For example, when it is cool in the greenhouse, you can warm them by opening one side, but in a completely sealed structure, plants can burn out. Inside the structure, you need to install a support to which, subsequently, the bushes will be tied.
Greenhouse from plastic bottles
The advantage of this greenhouse is that it can be constructed from materials at hand. You will need about 2000 plastic bottles in 2 colors: transparent and dark. This will ensure optimal penetration of sunlight into the shelter. It is quite difficult to build a greenhouse for cucumbers with your own hands from plastic bottles, but the result will pleasantly surprise you.
Such a do-it-yourself greenhouse for cucumbers comes out warm and durable. Perfectly withstands even spring frosts, without additional insulation. In bottles, the top and bottom are cut off and the web is cut in half. The resulting blanks are sewn with an awl using a cord thread. When all the materials are ready, you need to build a vertical frame on which the plastic sheets will be attached.
Conclusion
Making a greenhouse for cucumbers with your own hands is a completely simple task. A simple homemade mini house is constructed at home in 2 hours. The disadvantages of a simple design are insufficient reliability in protection against frost and the rapid spread of fungus under improper care conditions. To protect the plantings from frost in the early stages of growth, you can build additional shelters from plastic bottles.
It is recommended to make an elementary ventilation system to avoid the spread of fungal diseases. In addition, fixing the film of 2 pieces allows you to give free access to the plantings and allows you to easily remove an additional cover from plastic bottles when the bushes grow up. This option is most suitable for growing cucumbers in a small country house.
In the country, you can build a mini greenhouse for cucumbers with your own hands from scrap materials, such as plastic bottles. Sheets made of pre-prepared plastic are attached to the vertical frame. The construction process is very time consuming, but worth it. In such a greenhouse, cucumbers will not freeze and will quickly yield a harvest.