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Sunday, March 8, 2009

The New Greenhouse

One of the things on today's to-do list: put together the new greenhouse. Usually we build a pole frame and cover it with plastic for a greenhouse. This method has worked just fine for us. But this year I saw a kit online from OutdoorEdge that looked simple, and it would make life a little easier on Larry this spring--he is actually the "we" in building that pole-framed greenhouse.


Pluses: It wasn't expensive. It was easy to put together. It can be taken down and stored for next year. The door and windows are easy to use. It's got a lot of space. It got warm fast! The cover is reinforced plastic and seems to be really tough.

Minuses: the frame is very cheap metal pieces that will probably not last beyond one or two years. It's light--we nearly did a Mary Poppins when the wind caught the cover. It was all I could do to hold it in place while Larry hauled cinderblocks to weight it down. Definitely needs tie-downs or some sort of anchor unless you want a big green kite. I'm still a little worried about it in high winds.

Overall, I think it might work very well. We kept the assembly diagram because we can make the frame ourselves out of plastic plumbing pipe and re-use the plastic cover if the metal frame dies.
We will heat it this year with either a kerosene heater or an electric heater. Larry made some shelves with block and boards so it's ready for my little seedlings. That will be next weekend's project, I hope.

8 comments:

  1. That little thing is awesome! You found a pretty neat one, and inexpensive to boot. I've been thinking about these. I have a bunch of old windows saved to build a greenhouse, but that's a major project. Can't wait to see pics of your seedlings!

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  2. Good luck with it, Susanne. That would be neat to have a greenhouse.

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  3. Looks neat! Good luck and hopefully you won't have problems with the wind.

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  4. Looks neat! Good luck and hopefully you won't have problems with the wind.

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  5. That looks like our polytunnels--ours are 10' wide by 30' long, and clear plastic, but they get so warm inside, and of course block the wind. No better place for growing seedlings!

    At our latitude, we'd never have tomatoes or melons or peppers without those tunnels. They're heaven inside on a chilly day. You're right to worry about wind--the sides of ours are buried 2 feet deep to keep them anchored. Our neighbour lost hers to a windstorm--you can't catch them once they go!

    Good luck planting and potting! I can't wait to see seedlings again and get digging.

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  6. Love it. For a long time we have wanted to have a green house. This may be our answer. depending on the dimensions we could put it on our deck to protect from winds. Thanks for the idea. Ellouise

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  7. Hope it works out-I didn't even know they made portable green houses! I'd love to have one.

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  8. Love this simple and cute greenhouse... I made one for my garden...

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