My little greenhouse is cram packed in April.
I built my 50 dollar greenhouse about 6 months ago and I thought some of you might be interested in what I’ve done with it and how it’s performed so far. I have not used any artificial heat in my greenhouse at all – so it does get cold in there – but the climate in the greenhouse is much more temperate than it is outside. I’ve found that even in the worst weather we have here in zone 6 cold hardy things like spinach and lettuce keep on growing all winter long – although at a slower rate than if it were warmer.
I haven’t installed any kind of automated ventilation system so far – I just watch the weather forecast and if it’s supposed to be a warm sunny day I open one of the doors in the morning, and close it in the evening. This has worked pretty well, but I must admit that there have been times that it was already in the 90s before I got around to ventilating. I’ve really been surprised that all of my lettuce hasn’t bolted because of it, but so far (April 15) none of it has. I must admit that during periods of moderate weather the greenhouse is almost like having livestock in that it requires a little bit of attention every day. Also, it should be obvious that you have to water in the greenhouse even if it rains outside – however your plants are protected from the trauma of snow, hail, and torrential rain.
In Middle Tennessee (zone 6b) you can’t grow tropical plants or produce fruits like tomatoes through the winter in an unheated greenhouse like this. There are growers in our area which do grow “hothouse” tomatoes so I know that it’s possible to do it, but I don’t see that as being practical for me. If you live in a warmer zone however it might be for you – check around to see what other people are doing in their greenhouses.
What I’ve Used My Greenhouse For So Far
Fresh salads all winter – Because I built the greenhouse so late in the fall I didn’t really get the salad greens cranking until after Christmas, but once they did get rolling I’ve had a steady stream of salad greens ever since. I grew many varieties of lettuce, Teton (F1) spinach, and arugula (planted in mid February – arugula planted outside on the same day failed completely while that in the greenhouse literally grew like weeds) and they have all done great – despite single digit temperatures on multiple occasions these crops continued to grow all winter long, and I’m still picking greens from seeds that were planted in November. Being able to eat home grown produce all winter long was one of my main goals when I built the greenhouse, and it looks to be easily doable.
Extra early broccoli – Broccoli is one of our favorite vegetables, so as soon as sets became available at the local farmers co-op I planted some in the greenhouse. Well, I am getting broccoli extra early, but the plants are also bolting to flower extra quick because of the extra heat units that they are getting. Next year I’m going to plant the spring broccoli under a simple poly tunnel row cover to get a fast start and then remove the cover when florets start to form. Broccoli as well as the other members of the cabbage family are not freeze tolerant so wont grow throughout the winter in my greenhouse, but should produce extra late in the fall – I’ll see in a few months.
Extra early tomatoes – I’m still working on this. I planted out celebrity and early girl tomato plants amongst the greens about March 15 – a month before our traditional last frost date – and they have grown very nicely so far. I don’t know if I’ll actually get early tomatoes out of this experiment, but I have high hopes that I will. I’ll let you know in a couple of months. Update – I am getting early tomatoes from the early girl plants that I planted out in the greenhouse, but they are only about a week ahead of others that weren’t in the green house. However, I removed the cover from the greenhouse in April and a few days later we had a cold front go through that might have been a factor – I think I should have waited a bit longer, but the weather had been really nice. I’ll try again next year.
Enjoy gardening on a cold winter day – This is one of the few things that you can do with a greenhouse that you can’t do in a cold frame. Even when the sun isn’t shining the complete shelter from the wind makes a remarkable difference in your comfort level, but when the sun is shining it’s like a trip to the Keys. I took this picture on a sunny day in January when it was 5 degrees outside -
5 degrees outside - 50 degrees inside.
Notice the ice on the inside of the greenhouse plastic – also notice the 70% relative humidity – on a 5 degree day the humidity outside is like zero. It’s amazing how good 50 degrees can feel when the sun is shining on you and you’re out of the wind.
Garden when it’s raining or snowing – even if all you want to do is pick some lettuce or plant a few seeds – you are always in out of the weather.
Grow out bedding plants – We grew about 6 flats of pansies from seed last fall, but because we got that bright idea a bit too late they weren’t ready to set out until late winter. The greenhouse was the perfect environment to grow out the tiny plants to a good size to set out. By the time we had spring bedding plants that we needed to grow out we were out of room in the greenhouse. Next year I’m going to try to plan for this a bit better.
Things I haven’t done yet
Extra late tomatoes – With some luck we should be able to pick garden fresh tomatoes until almost Thanksgiving.
New potatoes for Thanksgiving – Potatoes are a cool season crop, and I’ve read that you can have fresh new potatoes for Thanksgiving or even Christmas if you plan right.
Propagation – This year we had great success starting seeds indoors under lights by using a home made bottom heat propogating table. If you have electric service to your greenhouse (I don’t) you could start your seeds in the greenhouse using bottom heat in a cold frame, and you wouldn’t have to have artificial lights.
Forced flowers – This isn’t something that I’m into, but you should be able to force tulips and other spring bulbs into bloom much earlier than normal by bringing them into the greenhouse.
Force strawberries – This is something that I am into. Next fall when I transplant strawberry daughter plants I might put a few of them into containers so that I can try this.
Kiln dry lumber – in the heat of the summer, cover the floor to minimize humidity, stack stickered lumber, ventilate to remove humidity while elevating temperatures as much as possible. If you have electric service in your green house you could also seal it up and run a dehumidifier – almost all of the water will be coming from your lumber. I doubt if I ever do this, but it sounds like a good idea if you can’t use the greenhouse in the heat of the summer anyway.
I don’t know of anything that I would want to grow in my greenhouse in the heat of the summer (cacti?) and I intend to take the plastic off of the frame once the weather is reliably warm so that I can use the space for regular crops during the summer, and also to make the plastic last longer.
Weeds
It’s turned out to be a good choice to grow in raised beds instead of in containers – containers would require much more frequent watering, and would be much more likely to freeze than the soil in my raised beds. However, next fall I’m going to add a thick weed free layer of enriched soil to the top of the greenhouse beds to help suppress weeds. Weeds haven’t been a huge issue in my greenhouse because it’s relatively small, and fortunately most of them have been chickweed – which is quite tasty.
Pests
Fungus gnats – These little buggers hatched out in early winter for a few weeks every time the weather would warm up for a few days.
Fungus gnats look like tiny mosquitos and hatch out in the soil to feed on organic matter.
Supposedly they damage your tender young plants by feeding on the roots in the larval stage, but I couldn’t really see any evidence of this. They mostly just beat their selves to death on the inside of the plastic.
Moles – Our area has been experiencing a biblical type plague of mole for the last few years. Some areas of my yard are solid with mole tunnels, and they have done some damage in the garden as well. So far I haven’t found any way to control them that I’m comfortable with. I’ve seen plenty of evidence of moles inside of the greenhouse, but so far very little damage to what I’m growing.
That’s it – so far I haven’t really had any problems at all with insects, disease, or vermin in my greenhouse. I’m probably jinxing it by saying so.
Now that I have a little bit of experience under my belt using my small greenhouse I see that this is a tool that I enjoy using and that can extend the productivity of my garden throughout the entire year. I wish I had built it sooner.
Great diy project!I live on the olympic peninsula in Washington state and the winters are brutal.I used your plans but did some structure modifying just to add strength AND IT IS WORKING GREAT! Thanks for all the great help!
Hi, thanks so much for posting this design! I have everything ready (except the raised bed boards) but ran into the problem of the rebar not fitting into the end walls’ PVC because the screw is in the way. I got 1/2 inch rebar, should I have bought smaller? I was also curious how long regular non-treated wood would last for the bed walls. I don’t really want to have treated wood and I’m guessing it’s important to not put a plastic lining so the soil can breathe better.. I’m so excited to have a year-round growing space! Thanks again.
Jim
About the rebar – I used 1/2″ and I didn’t run into that problem, but my rebar stakes only stick up out of the ground a few inches. Also the pipes went over the rebars before anything else was done – so no screws at that point.
I use recycled non treated wood for beds and you just have plan on replacing it ever 2-4 years. Lining it with plastic would not keep the wood from rotting. Trust me.
To kill moles get rid of grubs. Moles come in search of grubs, no grubs, no moles.
hello i am getting ready to build a greenhouse like yours. yours looks like a good idea.I got to put more braces on it it snows really hard here. like 1 2 foot at atime i am going to try and heat it with a double barrel wood stove on one end. i will add a steel 8ft x8ft steel room on it. i will just have to watch for heavy snow and keep it off. and it gets real windy so thatswhy extra braces. i will let you know on how it works with heat . i got the 2 kits and 2 barrels for 100. thanksfor putting yours out there, that really helped me out. d thank you rodney
One thing you can do to keep the greenhouse warmer, and get some great compost in the mix, is to cover the floor with a foot or two of horse (or whatever is handy) manure.
The manure composting gives off enough heat that it keeps the greenhouse warmer even in the coldest of weather, and right when its about time to put the greenhouse away for the summer, it’d be ready to spread outside.
there is a grant where you can get a free hightower we got one its a three year program. contact your acs offic or home extension office , it was easy
Am working on a “new” to me, idea. I have a wood stove. Last year I didn’t use it – was too busy painting to take the time. Noticed this year that the well aged wood was far superior to that aged a year or less (wood). This year when I receive the shipment for for burning next year…….I am going to “KILN DRY” it over summer myself in a hoop house. I am going to stack it on 6 mil then cover it with the same and let the sun do the work……….Now will all who know anything about wood and burning share your thoughts on my idea. Good or bad, appreciated the same – thx.
Barbara
My wife is big into self sufficient gardening. She says that to repel moles and other creatures naturally, to take a small bottle of MINT oil, soak about a dozen cotton balls in it overnight, then (using disposable gloves as it may burn the skin) to stuff one of these every 4-5 feet of tunnel you see. THIS is supposed to be something they HATE with a passion and will flee when it’s in their homes. ALSO it doesn’t hurt the soil or plants nearby, although tomatoes may have a bit of mintiness to them if they pick up the oil close enough to the roots. She suggests keeping these at least 5 feet from your greenhouse so you don’t have so much possibility of this. Closer placement for other animals may require placing it atop and near the sides to repel diggers and some birds. The poly-screening with UV permitting shading and some heat passage is what’s used for butterfly houses which btw is almost identical to your greenhouse. IF you look at butterfly houses, you’ll see that they use mostly the same techniques and flowers/veggies to attract butterflies and those pollinate difficult flowers/vegies as well as some bees. A small beehive for pollination and honey production is also a good idea when looking for self sufficiency. The bees (IF your not allergic to them) will produce an added benefit of keeping other insects at bay like some worms, yellow jackets, wasps, hornets, and a bunch of other insects that are harmful to your plants.
how much are you producing? sounds like you have 90sqf. of grow space… how much does that translate into savings @ the grocery store. forgive me i’m a city boy. but with the “great meltdown” underway i’d like to become self sufficient.
Basically you can produce all of the salad greens that you use all year long, and in the spring and fall you will produce more than you could possibly use. Sorry I don’t have more data, but I don’t really measure this.
I’ve learned so much from your greenhouse adventure, I plan to build my own this coming summer. For now, though, I have began my first cold and hot frame experiments. Do you have any experience with these and the best plants to grow in them? For now I have Kale and Turnips growing, as I think they can withstand the chilly Kentucky winters here. P.S. Good luck with your greenhouse!
I so love this greenhouse. Had one of wood years ago ended up falling down. Can’t wait – will start as soon as rain stops and day light begins.
Gardening is my passion.
Thank you very much-I will bless you each day from here on in………My primary problem is critters too. Hard to harvest even tomatoes this year with squirrels tunneling in (ants in pumpkins, borers in squash, white fly laying eggs on cabbage) for water when extra dry then must have developed a taste for them cause even with several days of rain still taking the tomatoes and sucking out the juice then dumping them up the driveway! But extending the season is great, pest and pesticide free food is what it is all about. My special concern now is raspberry and strawberry covering…….both to protect from birds but also to extend for second coming of raspberry harvest. They are heavy with fruit yet green and cold temps predicted for week end with plenty wind right now. Going to attempt plastic cover – staging still big question….any suggestions always welcome, it is all trial and error, isn’t it? Thank you. ; )
Barbara
Build a netted cage for your berry bushes. Think an aviary…just keep them out instead of in.
Organic magazine has some books and articles over protecting your berry bushes and if I remember right you can set them up so they are removable. Just build frames and screw/eyehook them together then take them down during nonfruiting times and use elsewhere.
Honey
http://www.mondorfment.blogspot.com
When Mon(tessori) (Wal)dorf (and Attach)ment Parenting meet in our home.
An acquaintance of mine did that same thing, but to protect his chickens from hawks and owls. Good Idea though, now you have me thinking about my grape vines and dwarf fruit trees.
Great ideas! I live in St Augustine, FL Instead of plastic I was thinking of using the screening material especially in the hotter months to keep the plants somewhat protected. Has anyone tried that?
Will this work with hot pepper plants during winter in Virginia? Is there a website that I can get this info from? Thanks!
Yes and no. Tropical plants need more heat and light than you will get from the sun during a Virginia winter. If you are able and willing to supplement natural light and heat with artificial then you can grow just about anything anywhere.
I hate to even mention this, but pot growers have developed home made grow systems for tropical plants to a high art. Google for that, but if you get a visit from DEA don’t blame me.
Wonderful! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your experience with us…We are going to try our best to follow in your footsteps this year before winter sets in – we are in northern Wisconsin…GOOD LUCK, huh?!!
great site, i want to build one similar but i’d like to tell you bout a great way to grow your vegies,,,i have had amazing success with this system, visit http://www.easygrowvegetables.com/, the wicking bed system rocks.
Mine has held up a bit better than that. I built mine in the fall and I took it off early the following summer. It lasted through one more winter and started tearing in late spring – so I need to replace it before this fall. It never stuck to the ribs though. Different manufacturers I guess – or different climates.
How goes and thanks for the greenhouse article. I’d like to know how your plastic film is holding up… I put together this greenhouse using standard 6 mil as you did … put it all together this past early spring, Now in July the film on the south side of the house got hot enough for the film to stick to the PVC ribs and a little breeze and it was brittle enough to cause a few tears. Taped it up and put some Vaseline on the ribs to stop the sticking. This all happened a few weeks ago… and last evening and today got some wind, tore it to pieces this time… film was brittle enough to quite easily tear. So now cleaning up the mess and curious about your mileage.
Paul
I enjoyed reading your article. Thanks Deborah for sharing the tips. I’m going to try this and let you know. I’m really tired of moles.
Moles, You can use a stick and make a small hole into the mounds about every 3 feet. Take 1/4 of a stick of juicy fruit gum.(yep I said gum) Roll it into a ball and drop into the holes you made. I read this years ago when I had a very bad mole problem. This took care of them.
This is such an informative article! My husband and I have been talking about building a green house for a few years but we were scared. Your report has eased my fears and knowing that the building costs are extremely easy on our limited budget we are going to start this summer. Thank you SO much for keeping your green house journal, I cannot wait to hear your views next year.
CHEERS!
This is AWESOME!!! I have a cool outside project. Hubby is going to be soooo excited
Thanks for all of this info!!!!
I wonder if some wire fencing laid down before the plastic would strengthen the structure. It could be attached to the PVC using simple wire. Using posts under the main beams certainly would strengthen the structure and it doesn’t seem from your inside pics that they would be in the way. Of course, each of these add to the cost but could improve the stability of the structure.
No Moles in our yard…. We bought our place from a master horticulterist. She had garlic planted everywhere – even in the lawn. The neighbors have a terrible problem with the moles. We have none. 1.21 acres and NO mole holes. And every time we mow we get a craving for Italian food. My guess is that they just dont like the smell given off by the bulbs. Now I collect the seeds and sow them myself.
Hey there. I have enjoyed reading these pages and they have been very helpful. I have a dilemma though…I see that the author has said that the greenhouse would not be good for summer use. That is my whole purpose for building it. I live in Norfolk, Va and in my particular area, we have a terrible problem with rats. I don’t know what kind (tree rats, regular rats) but they are the kind that loves my garden!!!
I started trying to garden ‘officially’ about three summers ago. First season, I choose a spot that didn’t get enough sun and the critters (rats, squirrels, birds, etc) ate everything that grew. Out of 30 tomato plants (a first-year gardener mistake, lol), I got none to eat!!
Second year, I went with garden beds and did sq ft boxes (2 of them, 6′ x 3′) and moved the location. Didn’t matter. More sun, more critters… I did get to eat some veggies, but the critters got more…
Anyway, this year, I moved the beds, added 2 more same size and moved to final location. Excellent sun! Now, the critters are back…
Point of the story, I am using the greenhouse to keep out the critters. I am building it over the 4 boxes…to keep them out. Is it not going to work because it’s summer? I have to keep them out or I won’t get to enjoy any veggies. They have already started on my strawberries, and my brocoli and cuc’s are coming up now…
Help!
Thanks guys…
Sounds like you are getting a nice early start at least. I’m afraid that the greenhouse won’t really even keep rats out. I have problems with deer, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks and moles. I built a fence with wire mesh from the ground to 4′ then with an (solar fence charger) electric wire near the top and another regular wire up high enough to discourage deer from jumping over. Well that keeps out the deer and raccoons quite well, but the mesh isn’t small enough to keep out the smaller critters so I’m going to have to add some smaller mesh down low for that. To keep out the diggers you would also have to bury wire or some other barrier below ground deep enough to discourage them. It’s an arms race for sure.
You might check into one of the urban chicken websites, because rats are chicken predators as well as garden marauders. They will probably have some good suggestions. Paste this whole thing into a Google search –
site:http://www.backyardchickens.com rat fence
If you need to protect your veg in summer replace the plastic with netting, chicken wire staggered or use garden fencing and run it over top of the spines and ziptie them together.
You can’t use the plastic ’cause it makes the greenhouse too hot depending on your zone. If you want to grow veg that requires a higher zone then plastic would be good just be sure to use proper ventilation like opening end doors or a fan if you have only one door.
You can also use this system to create trellising for beans and plant things like spinach/lettuce underneath it to shade. It makes picking so much easier.
If you secure it properly you can grow anything from tomatoe,pumpkin,cantelope,peas…anything that vines. (Yes…pumpkins & ‘lope…the vine/stem will grow thicker to support the fruit as it hangs. I wouldn’t grow gigantic though!)
Honey
http://www.mondorfment.blogspot.com
When Mon(tessori)(Wal)dorf (and Attach)ment parenting meet.
How has your greenhouse fared this winter thus far? In East Tennessee (Johnson City), we have had more snow than we’ve seen in more than a decade. A small greenhouse would have to be reinforced to stand up to all this wet, heavy snow.
Actually it suffered a minor collapse during the recent snow. No dammage really, but it shows pretty well that It needs just a bit more structural integrity. I posted about it here – http://doorgarden.com/01/hoop-house-greenhouse-snow-collapse I also edited the original post to fully disclose. Once I have it fixed and reinforced I’ll add that too.
To take care of moles, Remove your raised beds, dig down about 10’12 inches. Roll out Chicken wire along bottom and sides. Rebuild your raised beds. This works really well, as they cannot cut through the chicken wire. It must be 1 – 1 1/2 inch wire, as small babies can get through larger ones.
Wow! This is just what I have been looking for. Thanks so much for sharing. I can hardly wait to get going on one. We have a lot of wind though, so I shall choose a site carefully.
This has been the most useful DIY article I found on a home-sized greenhouse, thanks so much. The 6-month followup was awesome, and encouraging!
The only way to get rid of moles is to kill or trap them. They can be beneficial to your garden but they can also be a nuscience… there has been a few times I have nearly broken an ankle from stepping on a mole tunnel playing in the yard. One thing you can do to keep them out of the raised beds in your greenhouse is tear them down, lay heavy duty chicken wire down and then build the beds back on top of it. You still get the benefit of all of the other critters but you don’t have to worry about the moles burrowing in your raised beds.
Without proper ventilation you will definitely encounter mold or mildew at some point. You need air circulating in the greenhouse too by way of some fans.
If you continue the way you’re going, you will end up with a gigantic moldy mess and once mold takes hold, it is extremely difficult to get rid of.
Do you want your family eating mold? then smarten up.
Actually no. I’ve been using this greenhouse for a bit over a year now, and no problems with mold. None.
I suspect that the intense sunlight tends to control mold, and I usually open the doors in mild weather. No big deal, no fans required. For that matter I don’t think that I’ve ever seen mold growing in direct sun.
Do you have a greenhouse? Have you had such problems?
I can’t wait to try this ! My husband might not be so excited though….
Thanks for sharing !
Thanks for this update. It is really helpful to see a down-the-road review. And I love hearing what a fellow pack-rat builds with on-hand supplies!
Cheers!
Your directions and commentary are so clear and do-able! Thank you.
We are in zone 7 in Central VA and are using low tunnels (agribon now, then plastic over that when it gets colder), and have put in 4 raised beds. I want to do a version of your greenhouse next year, or even in the early spring. I especially like that the greenhouse is moveable/removeable.
Peace
Thanks so much for both your posts on this $50 greenhouse…I really loved hearing about your actual experiences and I think we’ll be able to get one up before our first snow! Your descriptions will definitely clarify what I’m after to my husband and for that I’m grateful. We’re here in Eastern Washington, so I was pleased to see your thermometer readings for your 5 degree day! Thanks again!
i have had some luck with cheap powdered laundry detergent brodcast where moles are active.i don’t think i would put it in the plant beds only as a band treatment around the outside of the greenhouse.
moles eat insects and worms, they might uproot small plants, but that’s not much of an issue
moles have a bad name for ruining a perfect green lawn
Nice salad greens in your greenhouse. Keeps me thinking Meg and I need to make one next fall.
If you build one in the fall don’t wait too late to start your plants – you probably want to plant seed around late July / Early August so that you can have plants in production before the weather turns cold. Just plan ahead so that you can build the greenhouse right over the growing plants before the first frost.