Greenhouse Accessories Guide

Greenhouses have a whole host of fantastic accessories available that allow gardeners to better customise their growing environment for their specific needs. With gardening gadgets to help make growing more efficient and more fun, you’ll be sure to find lots of ingenious ways to improve your plant paraphernalia here - devices to help regulate temperature, manage light levels, comfortably secure it as well as cool it down in hot weather. In this section, the expert team here at Rhino Greenhouses Direct give you an overview of some of the best accessories you may wish to invest in to optimise your greenhouse experience. 

Greenhouse Heating

With the UK weather known to drop well below acceptable greenhouse temperatures in the winter months, it is advisable to invest in a heating system. Even if you’re not planning to grow over the winter, overwintering tender plants using the greenhouse as a temporary home will also want to avoid the frost.  The ideal growing temperature for greenhouses is anywhere between 26°C and 29°C, though in the winter months you’ll struggle to achieve this temperature, so you should aim for anywhere above 15°C to keep your plants comfortable. If you leave plants and crops in your greenhouse during winter without any additional heating growth will be severely hampered, with frost damage likely to occur. 

There are several ways to ensure your greenhouse keeps the cold out and retains as much heat as possible during the winter, from investing in a trusty and reliable electric heater to insulating your greenhouse. 

Purchasing a greenhouse heater is a sure way to maintain optimal greenhouse temperatures, to ensure your winter crops can continue thriving despite the dropping outdoor temperature. We have several options online (depending on availability), all of which are proven to extend your greenhouse’s growing season whilst protecting your crops from colder temperatures.

You can find a more detailed look at all things greenhouse heating and insulation in our dedicated section on the knowledge hub.

Greenhouse Shading

There will be occasions during the summer where your greenhouse gets too hot Even in the UK, its surprising how quickly the greenhouse interior temperature will rise with a couple of sunny hours, so it’s essential that you have shading options available to you as and when you need them. Keeping your greenhouse at an acceptable temperature when the sun is soaring is essential to your crops longevity, as sustained overheating can have a devastating effect on any plants in your greenhouse. 

One of the most effective ways to keep your greenhouse at a suitable temperature on sunny days is to install greenhouse blinds. By simply adding external blinds to your greenhouse, you can vastly reduce the amount of heat and UV getting through to your crops, which is especially useful in the height of summer. Greenhouse blinds help to stop excess heat from entering your greenhouse, protecting your plants from harmful levels of sunshine. The importance of greenhouse blinds cannot be overstated, as they play a vital role in protecting younger plants from as early as March, right through to September.  

While other shading options are available (e.g. shading paint or interior netting) exterior blinds are undeniably the most practical option. They attach easily to the frame and retract when they aren’t needed. Scientific experiments have also shown that exterior shading is much more superior when it comes to heat protection.

Greenhouse Vents and Louvres 

Along with greenhouse shading, your greenhouse must have the ability to cool down if it does get too warm. Greenhouse vents and louvres offer you the peace of mind that your greenhouse can efficiently cool down in the event that it does get too warm. 

We have a great selection of automatic roof vent openers, including the likes of the popular Bayliss automatic roof vent opener, which enables your greenhouse to cool down effectively. In the winter, you can simply unclip the cylinder to ensure vents remain securely closed, which is especially useful during high winds and storms.  

All of the vents and louvres on offer on our website are fully automatic, so when your greenhouse reaches a temperature that is too hot, it will automatically open to cool down the indoor temperature. Once the temperature has reduced to an acceptable level, the vents and louvres will automatically shut to retain the heat. 

You’ll find that all Rhino Greenhouses come with several vents as standard, though you do have the option to add more vents and louvres to give additional ventilation if needs be. We have a selection of vents and louvres available, all of which are easy to fit and enable your greenhouse to cool down more effectively. 

Not only are vents and louvres an essential part of helping to cool your greenhouse down, but they’re also extremely useful for combatting condensation, which can cause a whole host of problems for your plants if left too long. 

If you want to find out more about how greenhouse vents and louvres work, then you should check out our dedicated section on greenhouse ventilation over on our knowledge hub.

Greenhouse Shelving & Staging

Shelving and staging are an essential part of any greenhouse set-up, as making the most of the vertical space available to you is vital. Having a variety of shelving options allows you to set up your greenhouse in a more methodical way, whilst providing more surfaces for plant storage. 

Gardeners also benefit from having a versatile growing environment that can be adjusted throughout the year as plants develop, so when designing the layout of your greenhouse, consider whether to get integral staging (permanently fixed to the framework) or movable staging such as our Rhino Tuff free-standing staging or seedracks that can be moved as needed.

There are several options when it comes to shelving and staging: 

Integral Staging - 

Integral staging is a popular choice for greenhouse setups because they create a long continuous workbench that’s strong and versatile. Integral staging is normally designed to run the full length of the greenhouse structure and is solidly attached to the framework for security. A positive of integral staging over free-standing staging is that it leaves floorspace free of supporting legs so storage is never beneath is never obstructed and you can easily get a chair  underneath for focussed work in the greenhouse.

Note - Integral staging can be ordered with any of our Rhino classic and premium greenhouses at time of order. If you would like to add integral staging to your Rhino greenhouse please get in touch with our sales team.

Free-standing Staging - 

All of our free-standing staging comes at 24 inches deep as standard and offers a great space for storage, as well as plants. You can choose from 4ft or 6ft long staging depending on your requirements. Coming in a variety of colours to match our Rhino greenhouses, you’ll also find that you have the option of choosing which style of tray you would prefer. 

Our staging is designed to work with lots of other accessories too that fit perfectly onto our Rhino Tuff staging with metal trays on the top:

• Potting Pal
• Water Reservoir
• Capillary Matting

Shelves & Seedracks - 

During Spring and Autumn, you’ll likely find that you have an abundance of trays sown with the next season’s plants that need space to breathe and receive adequate light. Seedracks are a must if you are sowing several seeds ahead of the growing season. Coming in two sizes to hold either 10 or 15 seed trays, Rhino seedracks make it much easier to store your sown seeds, whilst also saving space. 

Our range of Rhino shelves are designed to fit onto the back wall of your greenhouse to maximise the space available to you. Offering a sturdy space to sow seeds, store established crops or display plants. 

Alpine Staging - 

If you are looking to grow alpine plants in your greenhouse, you’ll want to invest in alpine staging. With alpine plants requiring a deep bed to establish themselves in, staging requires a lot of strength to deal with this weight. Our alpine staging is reinforced to support up to 160kg to be stored within the 7-inch deep top section. 

The lower tier comes with timber slats to provide an excellent storage option, meaning that you avoid wasting space in your greenhouse. Coming in at 2ft x 4ft, you’ll be surprised just how much you can fit in this staging. 

Rainwater Harvesting with a Greenhouse

Water butts and guttering are valuable tools for all gardeners, since you have a ready supply of clean rainwater for your garden. Some greenhouses will come with gutters and downpipes included, but not all so be sure to look out for this as an additional cost. If you’ve never had a greenhouse with gutters before, you’ll be amazed how quickly you’ll fill a water butt once it’s rigged up.

Our Rhino greenhouses have integral gutters and downpipes included as standard and a 2-into-1 kit can be purchased if you’d like to bring the flow of 2 outlets together.

Greenhouse Lighting

If you are planning on making your greenhouse suitable for year-round growing, then we would recommend investing in lighting for your greenhouse. In the Autumn and Winter months, the days are considerably shorter and light can be hard to come by, so it’s important to have adequate lighting within your greenhouse in case you want to do a spot of early morning sowing or late afternoon watering. Not only is greenhouse lighting ideal for those who want to light their greenhouse, but they are also perfect for helping plants grow that need extra light and heat. 

Thankfully there are plenty of greenhouse lighting options available including the likes of general-purpose lights which are perfect for use in all manner of environments, including warm and damp settings. These lights illuminate your greenhouse to allow you to work in the early morning and late at night, whilst also helping to promote plant growth in areas with insufficient natural daylight. 

If you are more focused on providing your plants with the perfect growing conditions based on their various growing stages, then you should definitely consider purchasing a professional grow light. This nifty piece of greenhouse technology helps to encourage flowering and green growth. 

Read more about lighting the greenhouse including safety tips and innovative ideas.

Finials & Cresting

Finials and cresting are aesthetic customization options for greenhouses that complete the overall aspect and enhance the traditional Victorian feel of the design style on which most greenhouses are still based. Finials are available to add onto our Rhino Premium range.