I want to learn about how to grow food year round on my off grid homestead. I live in an area that freezes every winter, so a greenhouse is a must. I came across this idea called a lean-to green house, so I had to check it out.
What is a lean-to green house? A lean-to is a greenhouse is a greenhouse that shares a wall with another structure. It essentially has the appearance of being half a greenhouse butted up against another building, which may or may not be used for purposes of growing. This style greenhouse has some very practical functionality over other designs.
There are several ways to design a greenhouse, but the more I read about this design, the more I’m interested in it. It just seems so appealing to step out of your kitchen door and have fresh vegetables within arms reach.
How Do I Design a Lean-To Greenhouse?
The best-designed lean-to greenhouses are built along a wall of your home that has a door. This makes it easier to get to all of your wonderful fresh vegetables without having to walk out into the wind, rain, snow, or other elements.
You’ll want to keep in mind though, the greenhouse only gets light for half of the day, because the other half of the day the light will be blocked from the shadow of the house.
Besides the shadow of the house, the optimal lighting, and therefore heat, is when the greenhouse faces the side of the building that gets the most light. Usually, this is toward the equator, regardless of where you are located.
If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, a lean-to will get the optimal light on the south side of your house. Likewise, if you are in the Southern Hemisphere, the optimal amount of light will be on the Northern side of the house.
If you haven’t purchased, or developed your land yet, you are in a great position learning about this type of greenhouse beforehand. With this bit of information, you can design your new off grid home with a lean-to greenhouse in mind.
The building materials you’ll need for a lean-to are identical to other greenhouse designs, however since this design will be attached to your home there maybe a few other things to consider.
A big thing you’ll want to think about is how to attach the greenhouse to your structure. You’ll want to make sure all the greenhouse supports holding the weight of the roof are attached directly to the frame of the house.
You could have a fair bit of trouble with the structural integrity of the greenhouse if the weight is attached only to the wood shingling for example. Sure, it might be ok during the summer, but you could have some major trouble when you have a few inches of snow on the greenhouse roof!
Since this type of green house is attached to the frame of your home, you’ll also want to make sure that it has a solid foundation. Stand alone green houses often have simple gravel foundations. You’ll want to have something more substantial than this to prevent it from sinking into the ground over time, and putting added stress onto your home’s frame.
What are the benefits of a Lean-To Greenhouse?
There are a few great benefits from a lean-to green house. A big one for me is being able to step into it without having to go outside in the elements, but there are also a few other practical advantages.
The main point of having a greenhouse is keeping your plants warm enough to survive the winter. A lean-to green house shares a wall with your home, and when you heat your home in the winter, the walls of your structure give off natural ambient heat. The heat from the shared wall will also help keep the greenhouse warm, even when it is not getting direct light.
So the home’s heat is beneficial to the greenhouse, which is great, but the heat from greenhouse is also beneficial to the home. When the greenhouse is in direct light and heating up, it also heats up the shared wall of the home. That means less stress on your heating source inside the home. Bonus!
Some people even like to include thermal mass radiant heat to increase these benefits. A thermal mass is any dense material that can store heat, for example, water barrels. During the day, the water in the barrels heat up, and overnight, the heat slowly radiates into the greenhouse. Think of it like a heat battery!
Another benefit to this style greenhouse is easier access to utilities. By not having to run additional electric, gas, and water lines, you’ll have a lot more flexibility in what you’ll easily be able to do. If you run into a situation where its abnormally cold and you need additional heat, having electric/gas lines available close by can give you an extra option to consider in times of need. Plus, add a little mood lighting and a nice spot to sit, and you have a romantic setting for a cup of coffee on a cold evening!
Are there any Cons to a Lean-to Greenhouse?
Unfortunately, there are a few cons to a lean-to style greenhouse. The biggest disadvantage over a stand-alone structure is lighting. Sharing a wall with another structure means that the greenhouse will not get as much light, and that’s why its important to plan for this obstacle before building, by building it facing the direction of optimal light.
While the heating benefits can be significant in the colder months, they can become a hindrance in the warmer months. The same benefits that make this great in the winter, also means that your home will essentially have a big heater on the side of it in the summer. You’ll need to plan carefully for ventilation to help mitigate that. If you can build a few panels that can be opened in the summer, and possibly add some out-ward facing fans for a cool breeze of fresh air, that will go along way to getting around this potential issue.
The pitch of your greenhouse roof is important. Basically, it needs to be slanted enough to insure that water, snow, and ice will run off of it, and not build up too much and put a bunch of weight on the support beams. If you are building against a one-story structure, getting enough pitch to do this might be a little tricky. Some people recommend a 5-10 degree slope for the roof, but do a little research here to make sure you get the best results.
Walking in and out of the greenhouse and home will mean an increased likelihood of tracking in dirt. Lets face it, growing can be dirty work, and that dirt will follow you around some. You can incorporate some gravel or brick paths to help cut down on this, but there is still a chance you will have to take some extra precautions to keep floors in the home clean.
Related Questions
What types of greenhouses are there? Some of the most popular greenhouse types are hoop houses, A-frames, lean-tos, gothic-arch, gutter connect, and walipini.
What can you grow in a greenhouse? Many different types of plants will grow well in a greenhouse, including greens, herbs, roots (carrots, potatoes) and brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower).
What temperature should a greenhouse be? The ideal temperature inside a greenhouse should be between 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit, or 26-26 degrees Celsius
