I want to get a greenhouse but live in Oklahoma and we have pretty bad storms. I’m looking for a decent greenhouse that will with stand storms for a decent price. Amazon has cheap ones that have reviews stating they do bad in storms. I have a bonsai collection that has to be outdoors and would like to set a nice Greenhouse up for them. Any suggestions !

My pipes keep growing algae on the inside of them, what paint can I use to lightproof the pipes? UV resistant/ reflective? Other suggestions also appreciated, thanks

First of all...this is not self-promotion :) ...I hardly have a following, so it doesn't really matter.

Only posting because I worked really hard on this video and wanted to share it with you all. That's all.

FWIW, I know we all have different experiences with cold-frames, this happened to my experience with the data I got. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/hDdju9tn7KY?si=ALDgKEjkv-pFw4VW

I’m fairly new to the greenhouse scene. I’ve been doing research on several prefab greenhouses, but I am interested in possibly looking into a custom builder to meet the specs I need and to work with directly. I don’t know how to even begin going about finding someone who can do this.If I want to go more of a DIY route, do I need to find someone who can help frame it and then someone who can do the glass? Anyone in southern Ohio have any thoughts?

Hey all! Do my mother in law bought this 16x12 greenhouse to put in on our property but i can’t seem to make heads or tails of what to do for foundation. we’re in southern oklahoma do i need to dig below frost line? do i need a concrete base or would cinder blocks be enough around the edge and fill in with gravel for the floor? i assume we’ll need some kind of lining to put under the rocks right? how best to do all this? thank you in advance! i have the link but here’s a picture

Hello everyone. I recently bought a tent greenhouse, a 56” x 56” x 75” (142.24 cm x 142.24 cm x 190.5 cm for non Americans) to put by my back door. The area its in is shaded, and it’s perfect because I plan on using the greenhouse mostly for delicate leafy greens - and I’ve grown them before with great success in that area during the warmer months, the point of the greenhouse is mostly to keep the rabbits, slugs and this family of squirrels I’ve had beef with for years from eating them, as well as hopefully prolong the amount of days in the year I am able to grow leafy greens.

My goal is to put some starts in there the beginning of march, and ideally keep them going year round with minimal electrical heating support. The cold months where I’m at last from November to April, with an average of 40 F (4.44 C) and I’d like to keep the greenhouse above 60 F (15.55 C) if possible.

For the cold months of the year I plan on putting an insulating tarp over the top to prevent heat loss from above, and I’ll put old cardboard between the frame and the plastic cover on all sides but the one with the door to provide extra insulation. There will be a tripod grow light which will supply a little bit of heat, and I do plan on having a heater in there on a cinder block - but I don’t want it running 24/7, I would like to run it ideally 2-3 hours a day at most.

I know a lot of greenhouses have things inside of them that hold onto heat and release it slowly, like big barrels of water, but with my limited space I’m at a loss as to what I can put in there.

I would love tips, as well as advice - even if that advice is that my expectations are unrealistic 😅 thank you in advance

Newbie here, considering my first greenhouse. I have several large trees in my backyard, how much sun do I want my greenhouse to get? I am in central Iowa (zone 5a). Also, I would really love to be able to grow through the winter, is that possible in my zone?

I’m new to the greenhouse scene. Looking to build my first greenhouse.

I know 6mil ploy sheeting is the least expensive and least performing option.

I’d like to retain some heat. Would a double layer of poly sheeting with an air gap between perform significantly better? Would a double lay reduce light transmission too much ?

Was browsing the app and saw that the 8x10 yardistry greenhouse is only $1,499.99. I’m so tempted 🫣

I’ve done the “prebuild” pieces (walls, rafters) but waiting on the weather to clear to put it up outside. Just wanted to update that the new 7x8 yardistry GH at Costco (not online at Costco or yardistry sites yet) is 9.5 ft tall! This is why I purchased it after putting up the original version a couple months ago. This is so much better for my citrus/mangoes with the height. Also has a big window that opens out on one side. In addition, the door can be placed on either the long side or the shorter side, so you get extra flexibility. Just an fyi.

I am in the process of drawing up what i hope is a very efficient design. It combines different aspects of other 4 season greenhouse designs. Only the necessary areas are glazed, the rest is insulated. I used our sun angles for the coldest time of year in our locality, and stopped the back roof glazing so it will deliver full sun to the growing beds, but not hit the thermal mass at summer solstice. It has an area for thermal mass on the back wall, which will be 55 gallon drums and a 169 gallon stock tank. These will double as hydroponic resevoirs as well as a raft bed tank for leafy greens. The plan is to also combine in the use of an insulated concrete foundation backfilled partially with sand as a thermal battery. Then bury two layers of ventilation tubes to pull heat and humidity out of the air during the daytime and release heat at night. Being it will be built in town we are limited in footprint, but will have access to natural gas for a backup heater on the coldest days. Hopefully i can join the crew that grow citrus in the snow.

(stupid Leviton

I read a lot of postings here from people who want to build a greenhouse. Everyone should want one. I built mine 25 years ago and love it.

There is a lot more to building a greenhouse than throwing up a clear structure and putting in your plants.

How big do you want it to be? Whatever your answer double it or triple it if you can. A greenhouse is like a family with a 3 car garage and no room for the cars indoors. It fills up fast. I never have enough room in October when I bring everything indoors. Some of the plants just have to go. That cute little Costco greenhouse looks good in the picture but will it have enough space for you to get serious about growing?

What is your budget? You can get a small "temporary" greenhouse for under $50 or spend over $100,000's on a house that will last you for decades. Remember this building will take a lot of abuse from the weather. It is an investment. You get what you pay for. If you go too cheap you will be replacing it after a season or worse yet....in the middle of winter after you lose your collection. How valuable is your crop? If you are growing expensive tropicals you need to consider what it would cost to lose everything because of one stormy night.

What is your crop? Covering a garden bed to start a couple of tomato plants early is much different than housing 1,000 tropical orchids. Different crops have different light and heat requirements.

Where are you located (zone)? Someone in Minnesota in winter has different needs than someone in Central Florida. The sun is lower in the sky up north. The winter is much colder up north. Florida has to worry about hurricanes and tropical heat in summer. A hoop house in Florida where you can roll up the sides in a storm may work there but would be very expensive to heat up north.

What foundation and floor will you be using? If your foundation isn't square you will have a devil of a time getting the building together. Up north when the ground freezes will you foundation move? When the rain comes hard will it sink? What are you doing for flooring? Remember water will probably be everywhere when you water your plants. Do you want to be standing in mud? Do you want benches full of plants sinking into the mud? Are you planting directly in the ground?

How will you heat it in winter? Glass and plastic is a bad for insulating. My greenhouse goes to the ambient outdoor temperature in about 30 minutes during winter if the heat goes off. This is a major problem if you are growing tropical plants that really damage below about 50F. If you want to garden 365 days you need to have natural gas, propane, or electric heat to maintain moderate temperatures. I see lots of people on here who discuss using a heat sink (barrels of liquid) to keep the temp up. This may work to keep a greenhouse above freezing for a night or so but in a real winter season you may not see the sun for several days in January to warm the liquid. If you only plan to extend your seasons by a couple weeks this may be less important to you. My natural gas furnace kicks on from September through May in zone 7A/B.

How will you get water to your greenhouse? Your plants are going to need water. In winter up north you shut off the outdoor faucet to keep it from freezing. If you have a large greenhouse with a large collection are you going to carry the watering can from the kitchen? I love being able to water with a hose attached in the basement to add heated water to the cold winter county water.

Will you need power in your greenhouse? Fans keep the plants healthy. Air movement keeps bacteria and fungi from laying on the leaves. It dries the leaves so bacteria doesn't grow on the moist surface. It passes fresh air over the plants so they can breathe. Will you need a light out there? If you are way up north you may need to consider plant lights to augment the natural lights on short days. If you are starting seeds you may need heat for germination from a mat.

How will you cool your greenhouse in summer? Shade cloth does a lot to reduce the heat in a greenhouse. Vents need to open and close. Think of your car on an 80F day in the parking lot. In a few minutes it can reach 120F in the sun. Your greenhouse is the same. On a 70 March day my greenhouse can reach the mid to high 90s even with the fans running and the vents open. By mid-March I am putting 30% shade cloth over the roof. By mid-April I start the evaporative (swamp) cooler. In mid July it's cooler in my greenhouse most days than in my home.

I am sure I've missed some items that other greenhouse pros will add. My experience is different than other folks who I hope will build a guide here that will be useful for new people considering a greenhouse.

Good Growing!

I'm in need of an opener to lift a vent that's very lightweight and only about 12x12" (24x24" window shown).

Has anyone ever seen smaller versions of the common wax window openers? Say around 6 or 8" in size?

Alternatively, any other ideas on how to automatically lift a small panel thermostatically, without the use of electricity? (Batteries would be fine.) Thanks!

Hi! My husband and I love all things plants and want to extend our growing seasons as long as possible. We live in the Chicagoland zone 5b area so we for sure get 4 seasons. I would like to purchase a greenhouse for his birthday coming up and see soo many options out there. I think we are willing to wait on heating it during the winter until we are comfortable with using the greenhouse during the other 3 seasons so that isn't a huge deal for me right now. Has anyone bought one off wayfair? I'm leaning towards metal and would like to stay under 500 if that is even possible. I love the costco wood one but I am not a costco member and it is a bit pricey for me right now. But also don't want to purchase something that won't hold up during Chicago's winters. Any recommendations for me? Appreciate any and all input.

Hello,

I'm planning a new solar greenhouse build in a cold climate. In chapter 5 in "The Year-round Solar Greenhouse", the authors state the following:

Our eyes are not great sensors for the light that palnts use, PAR light. Some new residential windows, for instance, contain tints or coatings that transmit visible light but block most of the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) portions of the spectrum; in doing so they can block portions of the PAR spectrum.

Now, I found some very large (around 4' by 8') glass windows that are:

• a couple of years old, but unused
• triple glazed, with fire protective glazing
• Super well-insulated – used in a building with large glass panel walls, designed for high energy efficiency in a cold climate.
• Priced very cheap.

But of course, there's no point in using these huge windows (I was thinking of using them for a sloped south wall) if they don't transmit the right type of light.

What are my options here? Do manufacturers have this kind of information available?

I am zone 5 and it's been a brutal Winter here in the Catskills regions of NY.

I don't know what, if anything, can or should be done with this info, but I find it fascinating nonetheless.

I have 3 hoophouses (60x20) and these are the daily temps recently.

https://preview.redd.it/k6s2c1b9xpfe1.png?width=1296&format=png&auto=webp&s=d62ad4491699ca3f01fc19aa809787ef1e616070

From a low of 9*F at night to a peak of 84*F midday with nothing more than sunlight through a plastic film blows my mind. Or, at peak outside temp time, ~30 outside while ~70 inside.

Using Sonoff TH316 sensors connected via wifi with a Home Assistant server collecting, processing, and displaying the data (plotly graph card).

Hello everyone! I live in Charlotte NC (7b/8a).

Today I purchased a 10x26x8 green house from Planta GH. The polycarbonate is 6 mm double-wall. I intend on building a wood perimeter base using 6x6 and intend to leave the ground untouched. So the GH will have bare ground inside.

I intend on growing all year long and some of the things I want to grow are plants akin to tropical climate. I am planning to install a Pioneer 24k btu split unit to help keep the GH above 60 in the winter and keep it from being scorching hot in the summer.

My question is what can I do to help better insulate the GH to help from overworking the unit?

I’m about to pull the trigger on the 6x10 version. Mabey bigger. Found it online for around 5-600$. I’ve scoured this sub. I know you are all caulking the heck outta this thing. Where is most this caulking going? Also wondered about sealing this wood before assembly? Have yet to see anyone do this? Why? Why not? Lastly the base. I plan to use the rubber pavers or rubber 1in thick horse mats as my floor. But the remainder of the greenhouse might be on the ground with say some gravel to flatten it correctly. Should I be using bricks or something a bit more than just gravel? I’m open to ideas and thoughts. Bad or good. Thank you!

Hello! I was hoping to get some suggestions on a green house build. I am building a 20x12 lean-to against a building with metal siding and have some questions.....

• Is glass , double pane, the best option for sides and roofing?
• I'm in zone 6a and would like to grow year round. Is it worth it to dig down 3.5 ft and have a concrete/brick foundation.
• Would you recommend wood or metal framing?

Any other helpful tips would be appreciated.