I would like to set up an 8x12 foot greenhouse in our south-facing backyard. I've included an air photo of our lot. The red square is a roughly 30x30 foot square in which we could put it. There are deciduous trees growing to the south, just over the property line, which are about 10 meters high. They are not dense in terms of foliage and leaf out in April. To the west is a dense screen of cypress trees about 15 meters high. The hedge to the east is only 2 meters high. The ground in the red square is covered with lawn. Although out lot is on a hill (draining south and east about equally), the land in the red square is level. Where would you suggest we place the greenhouse? Thank you!
Building your greenhouse in the NE corner of the space would optimise the available sun and allow the sun to pass over the greenhouse from east to west if you align the 12-foot length on a N/S axis. (My picture gives a rough idea.) However, putting it there blocks access to the rest of the space so . . . maybe you could position it closer to the hedge where there will still be the minimum of 6 hours of sunshine a day. It depends on what you plan to grow in the greenhouse how much sun you really need; I know at the height of summer, greenhouses often need to be covered in shade cloth.
What kind of plants are you planning to grow there? I think, that this plot is not so good for sun light demanding plants (like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, okra, melons, citruses etc). What month the photo was shot? If in June or July, then during other months there is almost no direct sunlight on this plot. Of course, you can grow plants, that prefer some shadow there.
Sorry, I just got back from being out of town. Thanks for all of your input! I don't know when this photo was taken but judging from the length of the shadows, it was probably late July to late August. We'll focus first on the plants that are less light demanding and experiment with a few of the others. Kind regards John
