Wish I Had a Greenhouse

14 years ago

Seems I'll have months and months to wish again that I had a greenhouse, cold frame, or something to kick start spring.

Ginny I see wishes she had one.

How about anyone who wishes to participate try to "plan" this type of thing together, with hints on what to do and what not to do.

So......I have a bunch of old windows in the garage. Years ago I had a makeshift cold frame ( at least I think that's what it would have been called ) and would like to do something similar if it's a good idea. I don't remember how productive my setup was. I wasn't as keen as my advancing years have made me, LOL!

How about a table made from spare wood, holes drilled in it for drainage,build a box and put the windows on an angle with hinges? A good place to put plants in the spring before it's warm enough to plant?

What would be the benefits or problems with this? On warmer days I could easily prop the windows open. Any suggestions, ideas, past experiences, etc. would be welcome. Maybe a few of us will end up with a new "greenhouse" of sorts, made with either new materials, or "stuff" we've already got. I've got months before I need to decide start building =:(

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Comments (3)

Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden
14 years ago
Oh you are so right Lynn!! I have had seasonal greenhouses in the past and many different forms of mini greenhouses and cold frames but have never had a real, heated, walk in greenhouse. I would never be in the house again!!! I do have room on this propaerty but don't really know the future of our stay here. Do I build a moveable one? I'd like to use the windows from this old house to build a Memory greenhouse.

There is quite a bit of information on the internet but I prefer to chat about garden stuff with other like minded gardeners. I also browse our library site and take out almost every greenhouse book through the winter! As a result, I have LOTS of notes, diagrams, pictures and plans in my "greenhouse" file and no where to put it yet! :( So I will continue to focus on the attainment of a greenhouse and trust that the universe will oblige! :)
We still have a long winter ahead of us.......

Ginny
ljpother
14 years ago
Your climate is probably like mine. Nice days in spring with hard frosts until the end of April. I have an unheated greenhouse with about 600 litres of water in it. Without the water, the temperature in the greenhouse drops with the outside temperature. The water holds the temperature at -0.0 C. I've started to use an oil filled heater to keep it a little warmer -- it's only a couple of nights a week :).

To extend the season you will need heat. Plants put in the greenhouse during March or April will freeze if there is a hard frost.

I'm going into my fourth year and I'm still learning what I can do with it.
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Slimy_Okra
14 years ago
ljpother, how do you store the water inside the GH?

Another suggestion I'd make, NAF, but you probably know this anyway, is to only plant stuff that is very, very frost-hardy until May arrives. I don't know much about ornamentals but many veggies are very frost-hardy. Stuff like mache, claytonia and spinach are good choices.