Autumn is upon us. The leaves are starting to brown, the trees are bare and your greenhouse plants are struggling to survive. With everyone suffering economically, it can be difficult to find the money to properly take care of your chilly plants and keep them warm throughout winter even with a greenhouse. Here's some tips to keep your green friends warm in their greenhouse during Autumn and Winter.

1.) Move Your Greenhouse (If possible e.g./ you haven't already set up your greenhouse). Move it to an area that will get a lot of sunshine and ensure it is properly constructed. A bent frame could cause gaps to show, consequently cooling down your outbuilding. A bad move with winter approaching.

2.) Weatherstrip Doors and Windows It is imperative to do this in Autumn- late Summer if you're exceptionally organised! Leakages around a greenhouse can dramatically lower the internal temperature. Gaffer tape will work just fine for this purpose.   

3.) Close Vents and Louvers If they are open just a little bit, your greenhouse can drop in temperature severely, especially overnight. Ensure hinges are oiled.

4.) Utilise Water Barrels A good tip is to fill black barrels with water and put them out in your garden during the day. The black colour will absorb the heat and any sun, warming  the contents. Come 4 or 5 o'clock in the late afternoon, move the barrels into the greenhouse and they will slowly radiate heat as they cool down. If you don't have black barrels, paint them. Blackboard paint is good for this as you can paint it onto most surfaces.

5.) Improve Thermal Storage Improving your thermal storage will radically improve the warm temperature of the greenhouse. Ensure you fill the greenhouse to capacity to help keep the temperature constant. Fill empty spaces with jam jars or bottles filled with water or extra plants. If you have a large area of space and nothing to fill it with, you could consider isolating the space by putting up a temporary wall until spring.

6.) Insulated Walls Insulating walls can hugely benefit your greenhouse plants. The North side of the greenhouse particularly will lose heat if left due to solar movements. Insulating at least the North wall of the greenhouse will help maintain a steady temperature within. Foil is a low cost method of insulating walls.

7.) Make Use of Your Tumble Dryer Hose It might sound strange, but if your greenhouse is next to your house and you have a tumble dryer, you could heat the greenhouse gently through the aid of your tumble dryers output. This recycles the warm air emitted and reduces your greenhouse heating costs!

If all of the above are still leaving your greenhouse chillier than you would like, you may wish to invest in a new greenhouse. View our greenhouse products: Polycarbonate Greenhouses, the Lean-to Greenhouse and the Pressure Treated Greenhouses.

For more tips on keeping your greenhouse warm, visit these websites:

http://www.greenhouses.net/greenhouse-gardening/2009/7/7/harnessing-the-value-of-heat.html

Please note: The views expressed in these websites may not be the views of Walton Garden Buildings.