Sharing a Greenhouse

If you’ve always fancied having a greenhouse, but don’t have room for one in your garden, or you have a large greenhouse that has more space than you really need, then why not consider sharing a greenhouse?

There are many benefits to be had in sharing a greenhouse. For a start, it gives others people the chance to have a go at growing their own plants under glass, when they otherwise might not be able to. Sharing a greenhouse can also be a very sociable pastime, as you’ve got someone else to share your thoughts with, gain gardening tips from and swap plants and seeds. You can pool your resources and take care of each other’s plants, and share basic gardening equipment and accessories, such as compost, fertiliser and trowels.

But as with sharing any building or space, you’ll need a few ground rules and some basic organisation in order to get set up and ensure that everyone is happy with the arrangements.

Organisation of Space

In order to make sharing a greenhouse work successfully for everyone who’s sharing it, you need to ensure you’re carefully allocating everyone an equal space to start with. It helps enormously if you all have your own areas to work in, so you know how much space you’ve got to play with and don’t invade other people’s areas with your plants or pots.

If you do need to spread out your tools or equipment temporarily, then make sure other people know this and know that you’ll move things out of the way again when you’ve finished. Be considerate of your fellow greenhouse gardeners and life in a shared greenhouse should work smoothly.

Labelling

It may be an idea to label your equipment or gardening gear, so there’s no confusion of what belongs to who. It’s especially useful if you’re sharing a greenhouse with someone you don’t yet know.

It’s also advisable to label all your pots and planters when you plant new seeds. Even if you have an idea of what you’ve planted where, it would be easy to lose track if pots get moved around by anyone else.

Security

Depending on where your shared greenhouse is located, you may need to carefully consider security issues. For example, if you need to lock or secure the door after leaving, then all greenhouse sharers will need to know the arrangements and have a key if appropriate.

Finding a Greenhouse to Share

If you’re interested in sharing a greenhouse, then there are various ways in which you can advertise your need and find someone who might want to share their existing greenhouse space.

Advertising in local publications, such as parish magazines, county magazines or local newspapers is a good way of highlighting your desire to find a greenhouse to share. You could also put up a notice on local noticeboards or in shop windows, plus of course at any local garden centres. If you know of any local garden clubs, and they’d be a good bet to contact too.

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