4 Ways To Keep Your Greenhouse Cool This Summer

As the weather gets warmer, you may begin to worry about walking into your greenhouse to see all your plants wilting from the heat! If you are not careful, it is very easy to see your hard work go to waste, but thankfully there are a few ways to help with keeping the greenhouse cool…

It is always a good idea to keep an eye on the temperature of your greenhouse by using a thermometer. You can then use the below ideas to help you with controlling the heat and successfully growing a range of fruit, vegetables and flowers from seed. Ideally, the temperature should stay between 26°C to 29°C – although, this may vary depending on what you grow. Anything over 32°C is usually bad news for your plants!

 

Ventilation

During the warmer months of the year, ventilation is a good way to allow air to flow through the greenhouse however, you can end up spending lots of time walking to and from the greenhouse opening the windows, vents and doors every day.

Automatic greenhouse openers are a great way to save you time and effort as they are designed to open and close windows/vents for you! They work based on the temperature, giving you one less thing on your gardening to-do list. No electricity is needed as they are instructed by the sun, you can set the device to start opening the windows automatically at a temperature from 17°C - 25°C. Choose from the greenhouse louvre vent opener which fits most standard greenhouse louvre vents or the automatic greenhouse window opener

 

Greenhouse shading

When using shading netting or liquid, don’t forget about your plants need for light! It is a balancing act to get the right amount of shading and light. When used well, it can prevent sun damage to your plants and help to keep the temperature down.

greenhouse shade netting or a greenhouse shading liquid can be used to provide extra shade for your greenhouse and will help to reduce the amount of sunlight entering. The shading liquid works like a paint and is applied to the greenhouse, it can be easily removed at the end of summer. Always check a small area of your greenhouse first before covering it all, as on some materials the liquid cannot be removed. In these cases, a shade netting is the best option to provide extra shade.

 

Damping down

On hot days you can get the hosepipe out and dampen down all the hard surfaces in the greenhouse, like paths. How does it work? By raising the humidity of the greenhouse, helping the plants to better deal with the heat. As this will increase the moisture levels it also works as a natural method of pest control - bonus!

 

Water your plants more

If your plants are beginning to look wilted, it is probably because they need more water. During warmer periods, plants can’t get enough water! Regular watering will help the plants to stay cool and give them a better chance of making it through the summer.

 

A mix of the above ideas is a good way to you keep your greenhouse cool this summer and to give yourself the best chance of growing some lovely crops!