Prospiant focuses on designing commercial greenhouses that meet and exceed the needs of clients. They work closely with growers at every stage of the design process, ensuring a carefully constructed design that can be operated efficiently. Energy-efficient commercial greenhouses typically require a building permit and a multi-stage construction process. The process includes design, engineering, material orders, construction, and commissioning.
A master plan provides a framework for orderly construction of the buildings and should be based on a sound business plan. Commercial greenhouses vary in design and structure, influencing how plants are housed and how well the environment inside can be controlled, such as ventilation. Each type of structure offers its own unique characteristics.
To build a commercial greenhouse, production areas should be laid out in rectangular blocks of 1000 to 2000 sq ft, with 6′ to 8′ wide beds placed adjacent to 2′ wide walkways. A plot of land should be at least 2 acres, used not only for the greenhouse itself but also for other purposes like lighting, water access, and soil.
When building a commercial glass greenhouse, consider factors such as choosing the perfect location, selecting the best orientation, and setting up the greenhouse. It is essential to enlist the services of a reputable commercial greenhouse designer who can assess your needs and provide tailored solutions for your project. This guide covers three common greenhouse types and the essential steps for greenhouse construction.
📹 Building a Commercial Greenhouse? Watch this FIRST!
Chris has installed THOUSANDS of VersaTube Buildings in last 20 years. In this video, he breaks down EVERY aspect of this fully …
How to construct a commercial greenhouse?
The construction of a commercial greenhouse involves several crucial steps, including site selection, design and planning, foundation and framing, covering material, ventilation and heating systems, irrigation and lighting, and finishing touches. The selection process involves careful consideration of factors such as sunlight exposure, water access, and soil quality. Gakon Netafim, a reliable partner in greenhouse construction, works with the site to create a tailored plan considering crop requirements, local zoning, and building codes.
A sturdy concrete foundation is constructed, and a metal frame is erected to form the greenhouse framework. A translucent or transparent covering material, such as glass, polycarbonate, or plastic film, is installed over the frame to protect the plants from the elements and allow sunlight to penetrate. A ventilation and heating system is installed to regulate temperature and humidity, and an irrigation system is implemented to provide water to the plants. Finally, doors, windows, insulation, and other finishing touches are added to enhance functionality and efficiency.
What is the best orientation for a commercial greenhouse?
To optimize light and plant growth in a greenhouse, position one of its longest walls facing south or within 20 degrees of south. This orientation receives morning, mid-day, and afternoon sun. Standard Sturdi-Built Greenhouse features include exterior glazing, thermal option, bayliss solar vent openers, orchid gardening, cannabis greenhouse, and all ability greenhouses. Other options include Deluxe Glass-to-Ground, Garden Deluxe, Nantucket, Solite, Trillium, Tropic, and Tudor.
How long do commercial greenhouses last?
The greenhouse frame can last over 20 years, while the polycarbonate panels can last up to 15 years. After that, you can replace the panels and install them on the existing frame. To prevent high winds from lifting the entire frame, pin it to the ground and secure, level, and square the foundation before building the greenhouse on top. Contact customer service for individual polycarbonate panel purchases.
What is the best way to layout a greenhouse?
When setting up a greenhouse, consider creating a comfortable and easy-to-move space with wide aisles and a designated potting spot. Each plant should have its own microclimate to thrive, making the greenhouse a pleasant and peaceful garden retreat. Maximize your space by using shelves for vertical gardening, tiered benches for efficient plant organization, and hanging plants for depth and air circulation. These strategies can save floor space and create an attractive display of your greenery.
By arranging plants in a way that suits their unique needs, you can create a harmonious and enjoyable environment for both plants and you. By incorporating these strategies, you can create a dynamic and enjoyable greenhouse experience for both you and your plants.
Do commercial greenhouses use grow lights?
Philips indoor grow lights are used by greenhouse growers worldwide to enhance vegetable, fruit, and floriculture crops. These LED grow lights can be used in various setups, including standard benches, high-wire setups, and hydroponic systems. For vegetables, Philips GreenPower LED toplighting and GreenPower LED interlighting can produce high-quality crops year-round, while lettuce and leafy greens can improve taste, red coloration, and yields.
Custom light recipes can be combined with a GrowWise Control System to control crop characteristics like nitrates, vitamin C, and shelf life. These LED grow lights are suitable for various greenhouse setups and can be customized to suit specific needs.
Do commercial greenhouses use CO2?
CO2 in greenhouses is essential for utilizing crops’ photosynthetic potential. It can be added through burning natural gas or liquid CO2, or through the combustion of fossil fuels with air heaters or central burners. However, local variations in CO2 concentration may occur due to the decline from source to sink. The main goal is to maintain plant growth homogeneity and production. The greenhouse CO2 distribution system is crucial in ensuring this.
High CO2 concentration is found near distribution pipes and low concentration near ridges or open ventilation windows. In Dutch greenhouses, CO2 distribution lines are placed underneath the growing gutter, near the crops, allowing natural diffusion of CO2 to the top of the greenhouse.
What are the criteria for designing a greenhouse?
Greenhouses are essential for plant growth and development, providing optimal environments that consider local outdoor conditions such as temperature, humidity, solar radiation, sky clarity, precipitation, and wind. The design of a greenhouse includes factors like location, orientation, site selection, drainage, structure, foundation, flooring, glazing, ventilation facilities, and equipment to control the climate inside the greenhouse. The location and orientation of a greenhouse determine the amount of light that enters it, making it crucial to choose the best location for erecting the greenhouse.
Greenhouses can be classified as freestanding or gutter-connected, with freestanding having a Quonset, Gothic, or gable roof shape, and gutter-connected having a series of bays connected at the gutter level. Structural members must be strong enough to prevent structural failure during adverse weather conditions but minimize shading and light transmission. Framing materials used in greenhouses include aluminum, galvanized steel, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or woods like redwood, cedar, or cypress.
Glass is a traditional glazing material, but plastic films, fiberglass, or polycarbonate are increasingly used. This chapter covers various topics related to greenhouse structures and design, including site selection, microclimate, water availability and quality, topography, windbreaks, room for expansion, labor availability, infrastructure, market accessibility, legal considerations, greenhouse orientation, angle of incidence, types of greenhouses, free-standing, quonset, Gothic, gable, A-frame, gutter-connected, open-root, flat-root, low-profile, rolling-root, and more.
What is a good size for a commercial greenhouse?
A commercial greenhouse typically ranges from 3000 to 5000 square feet, depending on the type of plants you want to grow. For beginners, starting with a smaller greenhouse is often the best approach, especially if you’re starting a small business. These structures can range from a few hundred square feet to larger areas, but it’s crucial to select a size that provides enough space for growth without being too large for initial needs.
What is the best CO2 level for a greenhouse?
Carbon dioxide levels in new greenhouses, particularly double-glazed structures with reduced air exchange rates, can drop below 340 ppm, negatively impacting crops. Ventilation during the day can raise CO2 levels closer to ambient but never back to 340 ppm. Supplementation of CO2 is seen as the only method to overcome this deficiency, and increasing the level above 340 ppm is beneficial for most crops. The level to which the CO2 concentration should be raised depends on the crop, light intensity, temperature, ventilation, stage of crop growth, and economics of the crop.
The saturation point for most crops will be around 1, 000-1, 300 ppm under ideal circumstances. Lower levels are recommended for seedlings, lettuce production, African violets, and some Gerbera varieties. Increased CO2 levels shorten the growing period, improve crop quality and yield, and increase leaf size and thickness.
Sources of carbon dioxide include burning carbon-based fuels such as natural gas, propane, and kerosene, or directly from tanks of pure CO2. Each source has potential advantages and disadvantages. Natural gas and propane have low impurities, but it is important to notify your supplier of your intention to use the fuel for CO2 supplementation. Sulphur levels in the fuel should not exceed 0. 02 by weight.
Natural gas, propane, and liquid fuels are burned in specialized CO2 generators located throughout the greenhouse. The size of the unit and the degree of horizontal airflow determine the number and location of these units. Some manufacturers make burners that can use either natural gas or propane, as well as adjustable outputs. However, a potential disadvantage is that the heat generated by these units may have a localized effect on temperature and disease incidence, particularly in tall growing crops.
What are the four basic styles of greenhouse design?
Greenhouse designs exhibit a diversity of styles, including lean-to, even-span, uneven-span, ridge-and-furrow, retractable-roof, and shadehouse.
What are the three basic greenhouse design types?
There are three main types of greenhouses: lean-to, detached, and ridge and furrow or gutter connected. Lean-to greenhouses are popular among hobbyists due to size limitations. Detached greenhouses, such as the Quonset, stand independently and can be connected to work areas or access another greenhouse through a corridor. These houses, constructed from arched rafters and solid end walls, are suitable for most crops but have a restricted growing area near side walls, reducing efficiency and productivity. Quonset greenhouses are commonly used for commercial production.
📹 My New Farm! This Greenhouse Design Has Me EXCITED
In this week’s episode, JM Fortier presents an update on his new greenhouse at the Old Mill farm. *This system was co-developed …
congratulations on your new space. Do you heat the greenhouse water used for irrigation? Seems like an easy way to add energy to the system. Soil temp is in many ways more important than air temps. Once soil temps drop below 50 or so degrees soil biology goes wants to go dormant. A lettuce farm near me used piping to heat the greenhouse soils, it was not irrigation water tho. just a loop of water that got re-heated each pass.
Dude I love this heating system. Do you know what the wattage is on the heating tube system? I want to do this but I want to use a water distiller (all part of never seen plastic vegs, Side note my SS chaffing pans are in and are working great for soil blocks, especially the 4″ blocks.) Thank you for sharing JM.
Ce sont de très bonnes idées, mais – j’aimerais savoir pourquoi ne pas avoir installer une grosse thermopompe au lieu d’un chauffage électrique, car ça consomme bien moins d’électricité. – Une autre idée à évaluer est celle de remplacer le chauffage électrique par un système GAHT (Ground Air Heat Transfer), ça consomme encore beaucoup moins d’énergie. – Une autre possibilité serait d’orienter la serre Est-Ouest (similaire aux serres chinoises) pour avoir moins de surface et ainsi réduire les pertes thermiques. Le mur nord serait évidemment une masse thermique. Évidemment j’aimerais bien avoir les détails techniques de cette serre car j’aimerais bien m’en faire une semblable en version plus petite.
Salut JM, penses tu possible qu’une personne de France viennent travailler sur ta Ferme à Quebec ? Je suis en vois d’installation en Maraichage Biodynamic et je vois que cela t’interesses, tu es la personne qui m’a donné envi de faire ce métier et j’ai appris 3 ans dans des fermes Biodynamic en France, nous serions prêt a déménager pour cet occasion, à bientôt peut être ! 🙂 Jérôme
Food sovereignty but less sovereignty on the self sufficiency side of things needing electricity. See there has to be a better solution to this type of idea. You need propane which seems to be more self sufficient and sovereign than needing electricity from the grid to heat the secondary greenhouses…….. idk man. Paying the piper when the piper needs not be paid. Much love and I love what you’re doing. I don’t think going backwards is what you’re about tho. I think this did going backwards and becoming more dependent than your original idea of having kore freedom as a farmer and less dependent on outside sources.