Save on heating bills by insulating your greenhouse! Bubble wrap is very cheap online and can significantly prevent heat loss from your greenhouse. For those of you that are worried about the environmental impact of non-biodegradable plastic, maybe set it off against using a lot less heat energy generated from fossil fuels. Unfortunately the economics of actually double glazing a greenhouse with real glass are not feasible in the real world and bubble wrap is a cheap and re usable way of insulating that is well within the average budget. You can get a roll of 100m in length by 75cm in width for just £20 on ebay! You will also need a pack of greenhouse clips to help in attaching the wrap to the aluminium frame of the greenhouse but these are less than a fiver for 50 clips!
Before installing the insulation it is a very good idea to thoroughly clean your greenhouse. Use a 10% bleach solution to wash down the frame and glass. This should kill of any nasty bugs and diseases that might be lurking in the structure of the building. Thoroughly sweep out the floor and wash down. Go through any old pots, emptying any old unused compost and washing out the pots. A nice warm greenhouse is a great refuge for unwanted nasty bugs to overwinter in so a good clean is a great way to get off to a fresh start.
There are severaL different methods for putting up bubble wrap but I find just working off of the roll is the easiest way. Cutting it in to measured strips certainly looks neater but it’s time consuming and difficult to reuse the pieces in the future unless you have some sort of numbering system to remember what goes where when unpacking it the following year . Way too complicated for me!. I find that just pulling the wrap off of the roll in giant horizontal strips that go from the door right around the inside of the greenhouse and then cut it when you reach the other edge of the door is the easiest option. Use the clips to push the wrap into the frame gap to hold the wrap in place and then move on to the next strip. Obviously you are going to have to cut sections to size for the door and ventilation windows. The roof can be a bit more tricky as gravity works against you. It’s a bit like wall papering a ceiling, you eventually get a technique for holding and attaching as you go.
So is it worth the effort? Yes, definitely in my opinion. Your greenhouse will probably be between one and two degrees centigrade warmer with bubble wrap insulation than without. Quite a lot in plant survival terms!
