Collection: Allotment garden greenhouse

Why an Allotment Greenhouse Works Differently

An allotment greenhouse has to cope with conditions a garden greenhouse does not. The site is usually more exposed, you are not there daily, and on most sites there are rules about what you may put up. Those three things shape the choice more than growing preferences do.

The payoff is real. Sowing can start weeks earlier under cover, the harvest runs further into autumn, and crops are protected from the late frosts that catch out open beds. On a plot you visit twice a week, that shelter matters more than it would at home, because you are not there to react when the weather turns.

Check the Site Rules First

Most allotment sites set a height limit, and many restrict glass entirely on safety grounds. Some require structures to be removable at the end of a tenancy. Find out before you order, not after delivery.

• Height limits often rule out full walk in models with a high ridge.
• Where glass is not permitted, twin wall polycarbonate is usually accepted.
• Some sites cap the footprint as a proportion of the plot.

If the rules are restrictive, a cold frame or a low mini greenhouse will usually pass where a full frame will not, and both still extend the season at either end.

Building for an Exposed Site

Wind is the main threat on an allotment. Plots are rarely sheltered by buildings, and a greenhouse presents a large flat face to whatever comes across the field. Frames intended for allotment use are chosen for stiffness rather than lightness, and the base matters as much as the frame.

Anchoring is not optional here. A greenhouse base and anchor kit fixed into gravel, slab or soil during assembly is what keeps the structure where you left it. Retrofitting one after a storm has moved the frame is considerably harder, because the frame is rarely square afterwards.

Security and Absence

You will not be there most of the time, which changes what you fit. Automatic vent openers handle ventilation without you, and that single item prevents most heat losses on plots. A water butt fed from the guttering means you are not carrying cans from the standpipe.

Polycarbonate glazing also has an advantage that has nothing to do with plants: it does not shatter, so a stray football or an act of vandalism costs a panel rather than a clean up.

What to Grow Under Cover

Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and chillies are the usual reasons for putting a greenhouse on a plot, since all four struggle outdoors in a poor British summer. Beyond those, the house earns its keep as a propagation space in spring, raising everything that will later go into open ground.

Through winter it can hold tender stock and overwintering crops, provided you have some frost protection. Fleece and bubble insulation from the protection range will do for most plots without needing power on site.