Greenhouse focus group

I am currently studying for my A-levels in Product Design and I am trying to encourage people to go outside and grow their own food. I have been tasked by my client to create a greenhouse but I need to conduct a focus group in order to gain further knowledge from people who enjoy gardening and who own greenhouses.

If anyone could take 5 minutes to answer these questions below to help me out, I would really appreciate it.

1)On an average day how long do you spend in your greenhouse?
2)What type of greenhouse do you own? (photos would be helpful but not necessary)
3)What is your greenhouse made from?
4)What features do you find useful in your greenhouse?
5)What tools and equipment do you use? (including chemicals)
6)How do you store tools and equipment for your greenhouse?
7)Are there any problems that you frequently face in your greenhouse?
8)Do you find that there is a lot of water wastage? (If not, please specify how there is minimal waste)
9)Do you use an external place to dispose of garden waste or is this done within the greenhouse?

 

1)On an average day how long do you spend in your greenhouse?

Between November and March, none as it is far too cold over here to economically heat them. Between April and last frost, quite a bit of time in the one that is heated (using a natural gas heater fed from the mains) setting up the watering and moving the seedlings into it -from my indoor area

2)What type of greenhouse do you own? (photos would be helpful but not necessary)
Three Palram greenhouses. 1 which is 6' wide by 8' deep and 2 that are 6' wide by 4' deep.



3)What is your greenhouse made from?
Aluminum and polycarbonate - clear - two were originally twin wall but purely for cosmetics I switched them to clear.

4)What features do you find useful in your greenhouse?
Automatic vent openers, louvers at the sides to draw fresh cooler air on hot days. The ability to hang things and the door is a swing door. Not a slide type door. Clear panels so I don't have to open the door to see that all is well.

5)What tools and equipment do you use? (including chemicals)
Each greenhouse is solar powered. Each has an overhead DC fan on a timer. Each has server fans to continuously stir the air. Each has low flow irrigation.

6)How do you store tools and equipment for your greenhouse?
They are in the greenhouses or on shelving in my cellar.

7)Are there any problems that you frequently face in your greenhouse?
No.

8)Do you find that there is a lot of water wastage? (If not, please specify how there is minimal waste)
Very little water is wasted as I have set up a capillary watering system for all of the plants down near floor level and these receptacles are fed by either low flow irrigation lines or when available, rain water from the rain barrel and pumped by solar water pumps to the receptacles. This is a picture from this morning showing I simply used wallpaper trays as receptacles.


9)Do you use an external place to dispose of garden waste or is this done within the greenhouse?
I always send out waste to the regional recycle/compost facility. No space for composting here.

And one very important question is WHY have a greenhouse? Aside from being a season extender, they are usually a delight to look at almost a landscape feature!

Hope you do well with the A levels, whatever that is..

 

1)On an average day how long do you spend in your greenhouse?
Depends on the season winter 15 minutes once a week to see how things are doing.
Spring 3 or 4 hours a week
Summer can be an hour or so a day with watering and harvesting.
All dependent on what needs doing, what the weather is doing. Also bear in mind many people like me only really get out in the garden, to do more than the mecessary, at weekends
2)What type of greenhouse do you own? (photos would be helpful but not necessary)
12ft812ft Rhino
3)What is your greenhouse made from?
Aluminium
4)What features do you find useful in your greenhouse?
Automatic openers on vents, double doors, louvre windows at low level
5)What tools and equipment do you use? (including chemicals)
Trowel, knife, watering cans, bucket
6)How do you store tools and equipment for your greenhouse?
I don't they go in the shed
7)Are there any problems that you frequently face in your greenhouse?
Temperature regulation
8)Do you find that there is a lot of water wastage? (If not, please specify how there is minimal waste)
No; water only when necessary, use capillary matting and trays
9)Do you use an external place to dispose of garden waste or is this done within the greenhouse?
All garden waste from greenhouse goes to compost heap.

 

1)On an average day how long do you spend in your greenhouse?
5mins in Winter
1 hour + in Summer

2)What type of greenhouse do you own? (photos would be helpful but not necessary)
Elite Lean To 8x6ft

3)What is your greenhouse made from?
Aluminium

4)What features do you find useful in your greenhouse?
Top Auto vents and Bottom Louver Auto vent

5)What tools and equipment do you use? (including chemicals)
Plant Snips and Secateurs
General organic Fertilizers
Some chemical Bug Killers for ornamental plants

6)How do you store tools and equipment for your greenhouse?
In the greenhouse, but locked when out.

7)Are there any problems that you frequently face in your greenhouse?
Aphids and similar bugs

8)Do you find that there is a lot of water wastage? (If not, please specify how there is minimal waste)
No, hand watering only.

9)Do you use an external place to dispose of garden waste or is this done within the greenhouse?
Previously own compost bins, but now paid for Brown Bin collection

 

All the best with your project.
1)On an average day how long do you spend in your greenhouse?
15 - 30 minutes
2)What type of greenhouse do you own? (photos would be helpful but not necessary)
Palram
3)What is your greenhouse made from?
Polycarbonate and aluminium
4)What features do you find useful in your greenhouse?
Auto vent
5)What tools and equipment do you use? (including chemicals)
Trowel, hand fork, dibber, secateurs, watering can, buckets.
6)How do you store tools and equipment for your greenhouse?
Box under potting bench, hooks on side of potting bench, shelving
7)Are there any problems that you frequently face in your greenhouse?
Not enough space for plants, too hot in sunlight, wildly fluctuating temperatures (Scotland), causing inconsistencies in temperature.
8)Do you find that there is a lot of water wastage? (If not, please specify how there is minimal waste)
No, I collect water into a water butt from the guttering on the greenhouse and then use it in a watering can in the greenhouse.
9)Do you use an external place to dispose of garden waste or is this done within the greenhouse?
Garden waste disposed of into council green bin.

 

I hope we will be able to help with your project.
1) On average day how long do you spend in your greenhouse.
Between 1/2 an hour and 5 hours. Much longer in the late Autumn and early Spring than at other times.
2) What type of Greenhouse do you own.
Rhino 20ftx8ft
3) What is your greenhouse made from.
Aluminium with safety glass for WHEN I fall over in it, quote from my Daughter
4)What features do you find useful in your greenhouse.
Excellent headroom so you do not feel cramped when working in it and unlike a previous greenhouse I have not put a digging fork through the roof. Double sliding doors so easy to get a wheelbarrow into and out of it. Automatic window openers, easy to access and operate louvred vents and shelving. Would love to have electricity to my greenhouse but it is sited a long way from my house so a very large and expensive undertaking to get a supply to it unfortunately.
5) What tools and equipment do you use
In the greenhouse, digging fork as I have soil beds either side of a middle pathway, trowel, hand fork, various secateurs, hand sweeping brush, canes, knife, watering cans plus an integrated integrated hose. Flowerpots of all shapes and sizes.
6) How do you store tools and equipment for your greenhouse.
I hang the small items on S shaped hooks ( home made from coat-hanger wire) through holes in the Aluminum framework designed for hanging baskets?. All the rest get stored in a summerhouse next door to the greenhouse
7) Are there any problems you frequently face in your greenhouse
Needs to be 4 times the size as always full to bursting. Temperature going too low in early Spring or LATE spring this year with not having heating in the greenhouse. Did try a paraffin heater for a while as no electricity supply but it was not that successful and a bit of a chore.
8) Do you find there is a lot of water wastage.
Not really. I have 2 large water butts plus a very big old cold water tank that are filled from run off rainwater from the roof of the greenhouse via guttering and down pipes. I tend to use watering cans rather than the hose until lately in the season when the demand for water is high. I do not use grow bags but plant most salad vegetables into soil beds which retain water much better than the grow bags or pots.
9)Do you use an external place to dispose of garden waste or is this done within the greenhouse.
No garden waste is kept in the greenhouse. The majority of waste is put on huge compost heaps and left to get on with it. Anything which is not suitable to go onto the heaps is burnt on the bonfire. Probably not very environmentally friendly but the alternative would be lots of weedkillers which I believe is much worse a “ crime”. The ash from the bonfire is used as a substitute for Lime on some of the vegetable beds so not wasted.I live in the countryside and do not get a council bin collection of garden waste service.