Since many of you are in northern regions...

Courtesy and service with a smile!

Excellent, thanks for the new category. It's a BIG subject. Let 'er rip!!

Thanks so much..what a treat!!

Susan

I'm sure there will be lots of interest and many posting on this subject. I offer a few thoughts on what I think a greehouse should be....
>it needs to be sturdy enough to stand weather extremes....you don't want to be out in a storm at mid-night rescuing plants.
>a roof w/pitch to shed snow, if you're in snow country.
>ideally, should be large enough to arrange plants w/o touching the walls.
>cooling is as much of a challenge as heating and is very important! There are many options for letting "outside air" in. In summer sometimes "outside air" is too hot! You may need extra cooling.
>depending on the floor type, humidity can be raised as simply as watering the floor. I like "pea-gravel"...it's clean, holds moisture and heat.
>use fans to circulate to move and circulate the air, day and night
>avoid a location with winter shade, daytime, solar heat is key.
>I don't think there is appreciable difference in lighting effect based on coverings: glass, acrylic, "double-bubble" poly film. Just make sure it's pretty weather tight in cold areas.
>I think gas is cheaper heat than electricity. Supplemental wood heat would be great if you live where that's an option and you can keep an eye on the stove. Hot water heat would be ideal (very uniform).
>Make the unit as large as is practical and what you can afford to build , heat and maintain...I guarantee you will run out of room too soon. >supplemental lighting can be used for special need plants.
>Greenhouses open up a whole new world of growing in cold country but they also open up a whole new set of challenges too. Good luck!

Folks, Listen to Joe....He KNOWS what he is talking about. My greenhouse is nothing and I do me NOTHING to brag about, but it gets the job done for a "Winter" that we have here...Zone 8 Charleston, SC.
I basically built it as I had "spare"money. If you can hammer nails together you can build a Greenhouse. I started very small, and within it's first year, it was TOO small. I doubled it the next year, your right....already too small. I have fans running most of the time to move the air around.
During the Summer, the GH is basically empty, I move everybody outside, so basically I only use it maybe 3 months out of the year. I use Electric Heat, a small space heater is all I really need, and that is only for at night. I DON'T have a snow problem, so I have a flat roof.
The joy of going out and sitting in it on a "cold" day is something that just can't be described.
Oh, the way I built it...4x4's on the corners...2x4's as support beams and long sheets of Poly-Plastic. The plastic is suppose to last 10 years and it comes in Clear, Smoke, Green and White. I stupidly used the Smoke, I don't know why...should have used the clear. I will be replacing it with clear as it gets older and it will fix some of my lighting problems.
Anyway, all that is to say this.....You don't have to have an expensive Greenhouse, build what you can and stay within your means. I promise you will come out the winner in the end.
Darren

Darren,

It's good to read your post about your greenhouse.

I had been saving to buy a "really nice" one and had about $4K saved up when my wife lost her (very well-paid) job. We were used to buying whatever we wanted whenever we wanted it and got quite spoiled. Now, with our family income effectively cut in half, I am thinking of cheaper alternatives, as the "greenhouse fund" needs to be spent on other neccessities now.

I am considering building the frame out of big diameter PVC pipe. You can get it cut to almost any length. They have a lot of different elbow connectors with different angles and are all smooth edges so plastic sheets won't tear. I have seen some portable cold frames made from it (albeit much smaller diameter than I plan to use) and it seems like they would last pretty much forever.

I am talking 6" diameter pipes so they will be STURDY and I think I should be able to do a decent length without bowing. I am imagining about 12'X18' with a height to the peak of about 12'-14'. The real beauty is, I think you could expand one of these quite easily by cutting the pipe and inserting new joints and longer pipes to make a bigger house.

Has anybody done anything like this before? I think the PVC is also available in white and grey colors, which color would you all use? Also, any ideas on how to attach the plastic sheeting?

Ross
Casa Del Gatos

The greenhouse I have right now is a very cheap one, but Darren is right..there is nothing as nice as sitting in it on a cold day. I plan on getting a better one in the future.

Susan

I just wanted to clear something up that I may have made as clear as mud.
The plastic "sheets" I used where long rectangle kind of curvy hard plastic. It has to be cut with tin snips. I just screwed sheet metal screws through it and the lumber. No muss, no fuss. Ross, I would imagine that would work in the PVC pipe also.
This type of plastic will probably strengthen your frame of PVC also. The Lowes that I bought the sheets at came in at least two different sizes, so that it works on both the roof AND the walls.
Not much snow to worry about in Alabama either huh Ross!? LOL
Later,
Darren

I just typed in "build a greenhouse" on a web search....there's lots of ideas and information available. Certainly, a greenhouse in the south wouldn't need to meet the same standards as those in cold country. Just this last week, one night, we had -20, with 60 mph winds and snow. My plants inside were toasty @ 60. One simple gh that I saw a few years ago, in Wichita, was 6 mil poly stretched over 1" PVC pipes bent into a hoop. At the top of the hoops they used "T's" which provided support to the ground. The poly film edges were simply buried in the ground. The ends were fiberglass sheets (like you might use for a patio cover). They framed in a standard storm door and frame. A small electric heater provided heat. The gentleman was retired so he watched the inside temperature and cracked or opened the door when it was getting too hot. Oh yeah, that reminds me...those remote thermometers that sense/display/send readings for several hundred feet are worth the money. Mine (in the gh) sends an alarm that sounds off (in the bedroom) if it drops below 50 degrees in the gh and it's battery operated.

I am not retired, but I do the same...keep an eye on the weather/temperature and open the door when it will get rather warm.
I will also agree, those sensor thermometers are great, I also keep mine in the bedroom and check it every chance I get. It has the alarm feature, but I don't usually worry about using it much.
Get the best one you can afford, I got one with just temperature, I wish it had a humidity reading also, I know they are out there, just not in my budget.
Darren