You might get a lot of information if you type in 'greenhouse' in the search box - I know this has come up before, if not here then on other forums. Not too many of us are blessed with a gh but some have them.

I know, i know... I dont have one either but sometimes I 've seen some plants that are just drop dead gorgeous and when I asked them saying, WOW - WOW- WOW what kind of soil, shade , sun how did you get this kind of results I've heard G/H. thanks for the tip about the search box though cause I had'nt even noticed it until you did. thanks again.

Yup... even in my area (Zone 10a), I have visited some local club members with greenhouses. It lets them try things you'd never expect to succeed on an open deck or patio: propagation tricks like quartering certain prized Haworthia (which never offset) and coaxing the pieces to sprout tons of new plants. Some of these techniques work faster or more reliably in a greenhouse. In climates colder than the plants' habitat, you benefit from the obvious ability to keep plants warmer in cold weather.

In fact, at my club... there seems to be a tacit assumption that most growers above a certain level of expertise typically have a greenhouse. (I quickly add, these are all folks much more experienced than I am.)

You don't have to go all the way. A lot of people gain a lot of new growing range and capacity by adopting cold frames. I have seen jaw-dropping Ariocarpus and Obregonia grown in simple cold frames, for example. These plants are known to love heat!

In talking about a greenhouse, I'm wondering if you might be buying a cart before you have a horse. I've usually heard that you'll get the most return for your efforts in this hobby by first building these skills:

0. Developing a sense for when to water and when not to... and an eye for your plants' other basic needs. Experimenting with soil mix. Lining up some of your basic suppliers.

1. Using shade cloth judiciously. Or its substitutes. Developing your intuition about plants' optimum light levels. (This one was unexpected for me! But it's sorta cool when you start trying it.)

2. Segregating by winter dormancy and summer dormancy (usually called "winter growers" versus "summer growers"... whole topics for your independent reading... see also "opportunistic growers"). Or at least understanding dormancy and knowing why you're able to "break the rules" in your case.

3. Learning and practicing growing from seed (and the different rhythm of culture and attention required by seeds).

I expect I'll need some or all of these skills by the time I get around to outfitting a greenhouse. You need to be able to debug lots of issues: adjusting and maintaining temperature, light, ventilation, pests, watering, fertilizing... understanding and capitalizing on micro-climates or variations within your greenhouse.

That's my impression.

I don't have a "real" greenhouse, just one of those pop-up ones, which is basically a big $300 8' x 10' translucent tent. I was worried at first that because it was translucent and not transparent, it might not be much of an improvement over keeping plants in my sunroom.

But I was so wrong. There was an incredible increase in growth and flowering for almost all of my plants.

This particular model is a bit delicate, and collapses if you get more than a few inches of snow, but I've had such good results over the summer that I bought a third one this spring.

Two observations: temps inside get really high, like a real greenhouse :). Because it's fairly small, I take care of that with a rotating fan. And despite being translucent, the tent passes too much Virginia sun for some plants, so I keep Madagascan euphorbias from the E. millii complex, Haworthias, and most Monadeniums under a bench where they only get a few hours of sun a day.

-R

Hi Robert, Do you ever drape the top with shade cloth, as I've seen done? Or just use vertical position, the bench? ---DC

PS I know "real", professional growers who use those tents.

Amanzed,
Because I've bought the same model three times, I now have three shade cloths. In the past, I've just used one, then removed it a week after moving my plants into the g/h. This year I was late in moving them in, so used two shade cloths for one week and one for another week.

I agree that it's probably better to get some basic level of skill before making the jump to a greenhouse, but any level of success that I have is more due to the change to a greenhouse and less due to my cultivation skills.

-R

Cool... I have a spot of lawn in the backyard I could probably take over with a tent. Even if I can't fit everything in there, it would be nice to have it as an option for some plants, some seasons, some operations. ---DC

Hi again Robert, Clarifying... you bought the same model of tent-style greenhouse three times? And each time it came with a shade cloth? ---DC in L.A.

Land 3499 - thats what im talking about yeah!!! the greenhouse effect can make us look like pros overnight :) and almost without tech. training skills ( I like that ) ok now where do i put this g/h . space wise i mean. thanks again all and goodnight it's time for me to go sleep, see you all tomorow.

Hey all! I just got my second greenhouse in the mail. I love ebay. The first was 150bucks, the second 100. They've both got 2 zippered doors and 6 velcro vents each. It's the best thing I could've done for my plants. The 100 dollar one needs some extra anchors, but my plants have thanked me for it with a show of flowers and new growth. If you have an extra 150, def. buy a greenhouse.
I was just looking on ebay and u can get one for 120, I don't see the first kind I bought listed though. It had a much more rigid frame than the ones you'll see. The ones listed now slide together, my other one went together with nuts and bolts and the metal tubes had about twice the thickness. I'll have to see if I can get a hold of the manufacturer because it's worth the extra fifty for the stability of it.

So this is a confirmation that G/H can make your thumbs look greener. this is great news cant wait for the opportunirty to invest in one. what would you say the results were 1 - 10 ?

Hmmm! And here I thought I'd need $1000 and a couple spare weeks to put in anything worthwhile. --d.c.

hijole, Given the minimal investment and awesome results, I'd say 10. I had all of mine crammed onto my back porch where they were only getting evening sun from one direction. The greenhouse allowed me to put them in a spot where it gets a full days sun and I haven't scorched one yet.
I did quite a bit of research into building one for myself. Just for materials, it would be 300 or 400, let alone the welding and shaping, then sewing of the cover....ewww.
Mine came nicely fitted and a third of the price.

I don't have a greenhouse, but I wish I did!

Greenhouses are great for getting Jades (Crassula ovata) to bloom.

I do use a simple cold-frame for my citrus during our northern California winter.

Josh

>Hi again Robert, Clarifying... you bought the same model of tent-style greenhouse three times? And each time it came with a shade cloth? ---DC in L.A.

Yep, three times, three shade clothes. The permanent "greenhouse of my dreams" of the same size was $4200, and would have lasted 10-15 years. This one lasts one year (longer if I wouldn't keep forgetting to take it down before we get snow) and costs $300....do the math :)

The only downsides I see to having a g/h, even if it's a translucent tent, is that you have to worry about temps getting too high, and that's there's too much sun (even if it's filtered) for certain species. Other than that, as I mentioned before, this has been the single best improvement in my plants' growth and flowering.

-R

Yeah it was the temp monitoring and maintenance I was wondering about. Do you have a vent fan on a thermostat? Some plants like Dorstenia are supposed to be much easier in a greenhouse.

I have a Harbor Freight 10x12, going on four years, to house my succulents year round here in southern NM (zone 8.)

My absolute favorite benefit of the greenhouse is the bright but diffused light. Here in the desert, dappled or filtered shade is scarce. My plants love the bright light that comes through the polycarbonate panels (plus Aluminet shadecloth) without getting sunburned. Before my greenhouse, I was constantly shuttling plants in between full sun and full shade on my patios, or cramming pots into the small bits of dappled shade we have under a few trees.

Second benefit was I finally got my cacti down to a colder winter temp, which improved blooming for some. Before the greenhouse, my plants wintered inside a spare room, on shelves with fluorescent lights (we get down into the teens here most winters.) I have thermostats in the greenhouse that kick on my two electric heaters, and I mostly keep it above 45F, a happy medium between the tough and wimpy plants. This year we had a record (50 year!) freeze, and the greenhouse was a lifesaver. It made it through -6F temps, and my two cheapie electric heaters were able to keep it at 37F (phew!)

This may sound goofy, but another plus is protection from birds. We have a lot of native Cholla cacti in the yard, which attracts native Thrashers. Thrashers have lovely songs, and huge sharp beaks. They use their beak to dig in the dirt for bugs...and they can do a lot of permanent damage in no time, to a display of defenseless succulents sitting on the porch!

As land3499 stated, my biggest challenge is the heat. I had to install an exhaust fan on a thermostat, and I take out the south wall panels in the summer, and replace them with screens. Even so, it can get up to 110F in there for a days each summer (like now.) Plants that don't like that heat get moved to the patio for the worst part of the summer (mostly sedums, graptos, aeoniums.)

This is our first greenhouse, and we chose the Harbor Freight because of the reasonable price. It has some pros and cons, but by following advice from others here in the Greenhouse forum, it's been reinforced to withstand our bad winds. I'm really happy with it.

mudhouse,

Curious, Harbor Freight was one of the models I was considering initially, but it just seemed too cheap. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." And there were lots of bad reports about it on the net, mostly about panels falling out, on their own or with minimal wind. I'm guessing that hasn't been your experience?

amanzed, I just have a standalone fan on a timer.

I still have plants in my sunroom and on the patio, and some, including a few "green stick" euphorbias that need more light than they can get in the g/h just sat out in the lawn.

-R

-R, you're right, The Harbor Freight has a problem with losing panels in winds, but that is easily remedied with screws into the frame, extra panel clips, and some reinforcements made from EMT. The Gardenweb greenhouse forum here at Gardenweb had a loyal group of HF owners who kindly shared their ideas for inexpensive modifications for the 10x12 kit, when it first came out. Without reading all those posts, I'd never have had the courage to buy the Harbor Freight. With those changes, our greenhouse withstands occasional gusts in the 40-50mph range (a sad reality of living here.) If you make a few modifications, it's a very good value.

My only real disappointment is the twinwall polycarbonate panels. In my hot climate they have only lasted about four years. The yellowing and brittleness causes me to doubt the UV protection touted by HF, although some HF owners say they don't have this problem. I'll need to replace most panels soon, and will do so with non-Harbor Freight panels. Even after doing so, I'll still be money ahead for similarly sized greenhouse kits on the market. In my experience, the Chinese-made poly panels are the main "too cheap" part about the Harbor Freight kit; the aluminum frame is fine.

The manual is famous for being awful, so we documented the construction of ours in this blog, and I included many helpful ideas shared by others.
Building our Harbor Freight Greenhouse
Sheri

I almost picked up a small Harbor Freight (6' x 8') from a friend who had to walk away from his mortgage. Now I'm kicking myself I didn't make it happen.

Sheri (mudhouse)... so it sounds like there is a whole aftermarket of improvements and tweaks... The price is sure right for that size, 10' x 12'. And I like the idea of panels lasting 4+ years instead of sheet plastic lasting 1 year (granted pre-built tents have other advantages... very little assembly required).

I wonder what my spouse will think.

My understanding is the HFGH 6x8 size is even tougher to keep cool than the 10x12 size (the 10x12 is over 10' tall at the peak, and I think the extra overhead space helps.)

These seem to be good kits for folks who don't mind (or even enjoy) a bit of creative problem-solving to overcome the structural weaknesses, and/or adapt it to what you need. Some folks in snowy climates have problems with the sliding doors freezing shut, and they have replaced the sliding doors with hinged storm doors. (Increased snow load bracing is also a good idea.) I also know of several folks who have even attached two of these, end-to-end, for a 10x24' greenhouse. Applying a little bit of good old American ingenuity to this Chinese-made import seems to pay off. I personally don't recommend building the kit as per the manual only...the additional tweaks and reinforcements are pretty critical.

The panel issue is a little disappointing, since most (true) UV-treated twinwall polycarbonate seems to have closer to a 10 year warranty (HF offers no warranty.) But I can't complain too much for the price. The panels all install from the outside, so replacing them won't be too bad, even though we built permanent wooden benches and a sink counter inside.

I will need to remove all the plants, though, to be able to manuever a ladder in there, to replace the central roof panels. (I'd hate to nosedive into a bench of spines, anyway...)

Anyone who decides to tackle the HFGH is most welcome to drop me an email. I'm always happy to try to help.
Sheri

Pics of my tent:

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Don't laugh at my concrete block staging!!

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-R

Sheri, Robert -- informative posts, thank you! Also, I took the opportunity at the CSSA Show and Sale to chat with some more folks from my club about the whole greenhouse-in-Los-Angeles question.