Hi readers, nice to see that you’ve been making the most of your greenhouses. With the UK’s predictably cold weather, there’s no shortage of all the fantastic benefits that come with a well insulated outdoor structure. But even with an over the top greenhouse, our lovely, frigid winters have a way of overwhelming the structure and killing off your plants. That’s why we looked at how to beat the cold with heaters designed explicitly for greenhouses.
Not only does adding more warmth in your greenhouse help create the ideal temperature for plant growth, but it also helps counteract an array of common issues such as poor or deteriorated insulation on the walls. Now that we’ve established that a heater can help extend your growing season way into even the coldest months, how do you make sure that you maintain just the right temperatures?
Well, with the best greenhouse thermometer of course. Whether you’re growing as a hobby or for commercial purposes, there’s one thing you need to understand to get it right. A greenhouse is basically its own private climate. So to create the optimal growing condition for your crops, you need to monitor an array of elements such as humidity, temperature, and many more.
To help keep track of all these, you need to get a great garden thermometer.
Top Rated Garden Thermometers in the UK
After researching dozens of thermometers for hundreds of hours in incredibly different temperature variations, I found out what the top gardeners are using. With the best-in-class designs, easily readable screens, daily lo and hi temperatures, automated functions, clocks and a whole lot other features, I know you’ll love these greenhouse thermometers.
1. Brannan Large Digital Max Min Thermometer
If you’ve got a generously spaced greenhouse and want to monitor the temperature even from afar, then you’re going to want to hear about this thermometer. The Large Digital Max Min Thermometer from Brannan literally stands out thanks to that spacious display that allows you to get a clear reading without straining.
But that’s not the best part; Brannan understands that greenhouses can get a little wet and humid. That’s why this bad boy comes with an IP65 water resistant rating. Brannan’s thermometer is able to get a temperature range of between 10 to over 40 degrees Centigrade and Fahrenheit with an accuracy of 1 degree C. And all it takes is the simple push of a button to change from C to F.
What I like about it:
- Incredibly affordable price range
- IP65 water-resistant rating
- Large, visible display
2. OutdoorHome Digital MIN/MAX Thermometer
Who says that a greenhouse thermometer has to stick out like a sore thumb in your structure? One manufacturer has managed to turn the simple thermometer into an integral and aesthetic part of your greenhouse. The OutdoorHome Digital MIN/MAX Thermometer is a lightweight, high sensitivity and high precision weather instrument that adds a decorative touch to your patio, greenhouse, conservatory, or garden.
Thanks to the weather resistant plastic construction, you can be sure that you’re buying a durable piece of equipment. Like all great models, this particular thermometer has a large and easy to read display. What’s more, the OutdoorHome thermometer automatically shows the latest maximum and minimum temperatures both in Celsius and Fahrenheit. And as a bonus, it even records the daily temperatures for future reference.
What I like about it:
- Adds a decorative, aesthetic touch
- Versatile and automatic ma and min temperature
- Incredibly high precision and high sensitivity
3. ETI Max Min thermometer with internal temperature sensor
Sometimes, nothing beats the simplicity that comes with products from ETI. Their latest thermometer might look simple, but you’ll be surprised at how many features ETI crammed in there. The ETI Max Min thermometer is engineered to measure temperatures over -40 to 40 degrees Celsius with an accuracy of give or take a degree.
But that’s not the unit’s selling point. Unlike most thermometers that use mercury to get accurate readings, the ETI Max Min thermometer uses absolutely no mercury. This makes it far more environmentally friendly than mercury-based units. In addition to displaying temperature readings in Fahrenheit and Celsius, the thermometer also displays the max and min readings on a small LCD bar graph.
What I like about it:
- Classic thermometer design with modern LCD graph
- Records max and min readings
- Completely mercury free
4. Brannan Indoor Outdoor Garden Greenhouse Wall Thermometer
Don’t you just love it when innovation meets convenience? Brannan is at it again with yet another ingenious temp monitor. The Brannan Indoor Outdoor Garden Greenhouse Wall thermometer is built to measure a range of between -10 degrees to 40 degrees Celsius with a resolution of about 0.1 Celsius.
This thermometer comes with the ability to simultaneously display the actual temperature while actually showing both the maximum and minimum temperatures of the day. Like the previous version, Brannan also made use of a tough exterior with an IP65 water resistance rating. As the icing on the cake, this unit comes with a keyhole slot for easy hanging on the wall.
What I like about it:
- Large display with a 0.11 resolution
- IP65 water-resistant rating
- Handy keyhole slot for easy hanging
5. Prem-I-Air Min/Max Digital Weather Station
Alright, so how do you know that your thermometer takes the cake? Simple, when everyone refers to it as a weather station. If there’s one brand that really goes all out when creating their products, it would have to be Prem-I-Air. Let’s just admit that the Prem-I-Air Digital Weather Station Thermometer is definitely the sleekest and most advanced looking thermometer on our list. But does it perform nearly as great as it looks?
You bet; this weather station boasts of an incredibly light, modern exterior that is surprisingly durable. The weather station definitely lives up to its name due to its unrivalled versatility. This bad boy not only measures the maximum and minimum temperatures of the day, it also gives you the time, date and goes the extra distance to measure the humidity in your greenhouse. The manufacturer didn’t stop there; Prem-I-Air also included a 24-hour temperature profile, an alarm, as well a blue backlight.
What I like about it:
- Sleek, modern, and advanced look
- The ultimate weather station (Monitors time, date, temperature, and humidity)
- Doubles as a watch and alarm clock
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How to position a thermometer in a greenhouse?
Greenhouses can get pretty hot in the summer months, so you should never put your greenhouse thermometer in direct sunlight, or you will get a false reading of how warm it actually is in there.
Similarly, don’t hide it away in the darkest, coolest corner or you may underestimate the heat inside your greenhouse.
The best position is at mid height on the wall, away from doors and windows and out of the brightest sunlight, to get the best average temperature inside.
Remember that because hot air rises the temperature above the thermometer will be higher, and below will be cooler, so bear this in mind when you are working out how warm it is on average.
Try to place your thermometer as close to the plants as possible, whilst keeping it away from the windows, so that you can accurately record how warm they are getting.
Q: How to read a greenhouse thermometer?
The first thing to decide is which type of thermometer you want – a traditional type thermometer with bar style readings, or a digital one with numbers on the screen?
A digital type is pretty fail safe; you just read the numbers and that’s your temperature reading (just make sure that you have set it to either Celcius or Farenheit so you don’t over or underestimate your temperature!)
A bar type thermometer with a large screen and big numbers is also pretty easy to read, but you may need glasses if you get one with very small numbers.
The digital type can be set so that you are reading either Celcius or Farenheit, so you can set it to whichever is easiest for you to read.
It is a sensible idea to keep a record of the temperature in your greenhouse early in the morning, mid afternoon and again in the evening, so you can work out when to open vents to allow cool air in, and when it’s best to shut it up to keep the heat in.
Q: Where to buy a greenhouse thermometer?
Any good gardening store will be able to sell you the perfect greenhouse thermometer for your needs. Failing this, the internet is a global marketplace; just type in the sort of thing you are looking for and you will be spoilt for choice.
