Shelves ARE ridiculously expensive. Most of my plants shelves and stands are dragged-home discards, not something I want to spend $ on. I'm not sure if cheaper chicken wire is strong enough to support pots as a shelf. Depends on the weight you're considering. Landscape fabric might provide as much support if chicken wire was going to handle it.

Most discarded pallets have some still-usable wood.

People throw scratched'n'dented furniture out, check curbside on trash day.

Furniture stores often have some damaged stuff in the back they would love to get rid of. A lot of furniture is shipped with some boards for bracing. Another thing to ask a furniture store about, ask to speak to the warehouse manager, not somebody selling on the floor.

Garage sales.

Milk crates.

Plastic tubs.

I like to approach these things as if I don't have any $ at all and see if I can work it out that way before trying spending options.

Tiffany's got some good suggestions. I found some very sturdy tables on craigslist - a guy built them as workbenches for his garage. I got three (waist-high, two-feet deep, 8 feet long) for $125. I would look there, Goodwill, thrift stores, FB marketplace, etc.

Of course, I'm not handy so I don't think I'd attempt to make them. If you can, that's great and may be the way to go.

:)

Dee

My thoughts are similar to Tiffany and diggerdee.

Free stuff is always the best. Tons of resources for free stuff: Craigslist, NextDoor, FreeCycle, Facebook if you do FB.

Next best thing is thrifted or low price. Habitat Restore, Goodwill, etc.

But that's up to you. If you want a custom, cohesive look then you have to build it. If you don't mind some mismatched "outside the box" type of things, then look for alternatives.

Wire closet shelving, old workbenches, etc.

Post pics when you get it done for inspiration to others!

You could sink treated 4x4 or 4x6 posts in the ground, then use a few treated 2x4s and/or 2x6s to build supports for the 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 steel angles upon which you could use treated 2x6 decking instead of the poly planks I used. The planking is pretty expensive now, compared to what it was when I bought it in the 80s. Still as sound and functional as when new, though.

These images might give you some ideas:

decking snuggled in between angles ^^^

Al

Wire Shelving from a restaurant supply store who sells used equipment.

I'll attach a link for you to consider.....just to give you some ideas.

Greenhouse shelving

Wood deteriorates over time, hosts pests and diseases - I have even seen where honey fungus rhizomorphs had come out of a wood bench and invaded a potted plant.

Haha, @rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7, I turned to Amazon first, too! LOL

The problem I'm trying to prevent, though, is that my previous greenhouse (much smaller) had built-in shelves, and sometimes I'd go outside to find that the wind had pushed the greenhouse cover just enough to knock things off of those shelves.

The wire racks were tempting (albeit expensive), but without them actually being set in some way I'm afraid that they'll blow over! That's why I was leaning towards something wooden that I could drive into the ground.

I would expect some deterioration over time, @Embothrium, and that's not a big deal... I mean, I built my deck about 15 years ago, and while it could use being rebuilt now I can't complain about 15 years! But pests and diseases are something to worry about :-/

The pics from @tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) are awesome, but I seriously doubt I could do that for less than $1000! I'm struggling to justify $200 right now, especially since I need to spend another $200 on pea gravel for the floor!

So now I'm in a conundrum. I was planning to buy the wood to build tables this weekend, but I guess not if it's going to do more damage than good.

I think the wood will be fine if that is what you decide to do. You can always put a tablecloth over them, or something even more useful, like foil, which will bounce the rays all around.

The primary structure of the benches I use is made from treated wood. I also have a 24'x2' bench made almost entirely of treated wood (can be partially seen in the image (above) of the lone potted succulent on treated decking), both of which are well over 20 years old (built in late 1980s or early '90s), and I've never had any fungal issues. These benches get wet every single day from Mid-May through Oct, so the probability your plants would suffer any fungal infections, the cause of which could be traced back to treated lumber, is about zero. If anything, I would say using treated lumber decreases the likelihood that any fungal infections might occur; this, because it's "treated" to be toxic to fungi.

At some point in time, treated lumber will no longer be effective at making it impossible for fungi to live on the wood. You'll be able to see this first where the treated wood is in contact with soil or your peastone, and it will take the form of conspicuous rot. I'm still waiting to see any evidence my posts are rotting at grade, but so far there is none.

Al

I don't know about your specific area, but in my area people are always giving away leftover wood from deck building or replacement projects, including treated lumber. If you are on a budget, I would definitely recommend keeping your eyes peeled on Craigslist or Nextdoor. It may require some patience but I bet you can get most of it for free.

Also you might check some of the lumber yards near you, the ones that contractors use, to see if they have a "scratch and dent" area. Shorter sections of 4x4s that you can use that others could not, etc.