Greenhouse recommendations?

[littlelion]

I am wanting to purchase a greenhouse, reasonably priced. Any suggestions? Any pros and cons? And what to watch out for. Thanks in advance.

[Micah68]

We have a smaller RYON brand greenhouse (or is that RION?). It is 4 years old and we have had to replace some of the support beams due to weakening by the sun. Not a big problem, we fixed them with plastic pvc pipe peices.

We also have a clearspan tunnel type large greenhouse, with the double wall plastic that a fan blows air into? Anyway, the zipper on the side panel lasted a whole 2 months and the company would not replace it, so we put a solid end and a regular door on it.

The Rion brand is used to start all the plants. It has hard plastic panels and stays warmer than the other. We are in zone 4, and it still needs heated for winter plants, but less of an energy requirement than the big poly tunnel.

The big poly tunnel has a huge variance in temperature. At 5 a.m.this morning it was 50 degrees in there (35 outside). By 11 am it was 115 in there, as we had forgotten to roll up the sides. We do have heating/ventilation system in there, but it is very expensive for the propane to run the heating system, and the cooling/swamp cooler system only lowers the temp 10 degrees or so.

Basically, what we want to grow year round (salad veggies) we do in the small hard sided Rion house. What we just want to extend the season for: potatos, melons, etc, we use the poly tunnel.

Hope that helps a little. If you have specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

[Wahoo]

What size of greenhouse do you want? I constructed a small one a couple years ago. 10 x 20 I think. The one I have now is 10x48. You can get some major bucks tied up in one if you aren't careful. Here are just a few places to check.

http://www.hoophouse.com/index.html

htthttp://www.sherrysgreenhouse.com/pages/structures/greenhouses-build.

htmlp://www.growerssupply.com/farm/supplies/home

[Indigo]

What size are you thinking of? Do you want to grow year round or use it to get things started earlier?

I have a friend who build a wonderful greenhouse using discarded windows. They set poles (like you would for a pole barn or pole shed) and framed it in to hold the windows. It was tall enough she could have hanging plants and walk under them easily. It could be a little time consuming if it was a hot day to get the windows open, but ohhhh what a delightful greenhouse it was! She had a potting area and a little corner where she put in a comfy chair and a water fountain.

Indigo

[littlelion]

Thank you for the responses. The links are great. I am looking at something smaller (8x12) that I can extend my growing season with. I was hoping to find an easy put together kit, something solid that can withstand a little weather. I have been a backyard gardner for many years, but I find the weather to be changing enough that the last few years I have lost a lot of my produce. I can for the winter months, and with prices going up like they are, I can't afford to loose anymore.

[americancrusader]

http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/Extension/ExtPubs/PlanList97.htm#Greenhouse%20Plans

[Cascade Failure]

What size are you thinking of? Do you want to grow year round or use it to get things started earlier?

I have a friend who build a wonderful greenhouse using discarded windows. They set poles (like you would for a pole barn or pole shed) and framed it in to hold the windows. It was tall enough she could have hanging plants and walk under them easily. It could be a little time consuming if it was a hot day to get the windows open, but ohhhh what a delightful greenhouse it was! She had a potting area and a little corner where she put in a comfy chair and a water fountain.

Indigo

One of my projects once the semester ends is to build a greenhouse onto one end of an existing tool shed. I have a bunch of old windows that I intend to use. Not enough space for a comfy chair but plenty to include a potting area.

[Sunflower]

We bought a greenhouse a few years back. They said it was easy to install with simple tools. Not true. It was very difficult and required specialty tools. Luckily my husband had them. I would suggest you get a "hobby" greenhouse, otherwise it may be very challenging to assemble. You can get some great sites, just by googling greenhouses. That is how I found ours. Good luck....and happy gardening!

[Indigo]

Today I was at Menards shopping for some gardening supplies and I happened to walk through the lumber yard. (I can't resist!! I just LOVE lumber yards!) and I saw these nifty snifty frames that you would use for a garden shed. They had a number of different styles. The framing was the side wall and the roof and the floor joist. You can line up as many as you like, tie them together with your 2x4's and they you cover with plywood or whatever, put a roof on it, hang a door and you have a shed.

Well, really, why couldn't a person do something similar and put that ribbed white plastic roofing on it? I have also seen a neat product that looks like cardboard in cross section, but it's plastic made for greenhouses and you can roll it up. Perhaps there would be an issue with the floor, but the bottom part is treated wood...so you really could set it up on a gravel base.

Hmmmmmmm

Indigo