How to Build a Small Greenhouse
When it comes to fresh and organic produce, nothing comes close to growing your own fruit and vegetables. It is not only healthy but gratifying, too. However, it can be tricky to grow particular fruit and vegetables, and you might be required to create a unique environment to be successful. Therefore, building a small greenhouse might be something that you are considering. Here’s what you need to know on how to build a small greenhouse.
Why Do I Need a Greenhouse?
Those who take gardening seriously will typically rave about the wonders of having a greenhouse. Whether you are growing plants as a full-time career or as a hobby, adding a greenhouse to your gardening space offers many incredible benefits. The benefits of a greenhouse include the following.
A Greenhouse Gives You Tremendous Versatility
Whether you are growing fruit, herbs, bulbs, vegetables, or exotic plants, a greenhouse creates a unique environment where a vast selection of plants can grow. You can change the plants or add new ones to those you are growing in your greenhouse without concerns that they will perish. This is because your greenhouse is the ultimate environment for successful gardening.
Your Greenhouse Creates a Confined Space for all your Gardening Supplies
Gardening can result in a lot of tools, supplies, soil, pots, and so forth, but if you have a greenhouse, you not only have a perfect growth area for your plants, but you also have space to store all your gardening-related stuff. This means your outdoor space will be much less cluttered.
Your Plants Will Have Consistent Conditions
Gardeners often worry about factors that they can’t control, like heavy rain or exceptionally high temperatures. However, if you have a greenhouse, your plants will enjoy a consistent environment, meaning that extreme weather won’t affect them.
Pests Are Kept Away
Most gardeners enjoy the fact that their produce is pesticide-free. However, it can be challenging to grow your plants in an entirely pesticide-free environment. If you have a greenhouse, however, you can keep creepy crawlies away from your plants.
You’ll Create the Perfect Environment for Plants to Grow
Plants love an environment that is humid and warm, and that is why plants flourish in greenhouses because it is the same environment they create.
You Can Plant Seasonal Plants Throughout the Year
Gardeners can quickly get frustrated because seasonal plants won’t grow well if it isn’t the season for it. If you missed the time to plant your favorite plant and it happens to be a seasonal plant, it might mean that you have to wait a whole year to grow it unless you have a greenhouse. Having a greenhouse means you can grow what you like, when you want, without worrying about the weather.
A Greenhouse Can Add a Significant Design Factor to Your Garden
Greenhouses can be built to look fantastic, and by doing this, you can improve your garden’s appearance by adding a cool-looking greenhouse.
You Might End Up Saving Money
If you are spending a lot of money on plants that don’t last past one season, you’ll find that you will save a great deal of money on the plants you place in your greenhouse.
Customizing Your Greenhouse is Cheap and Easy
If you are building your own greenhouse, you will be happy to know that customizations down the road will be easy and cheap to do since you’ll have the know-how of how your greenhouse has been built.
Greenhouses are Good for Us
It is beneficial for your health to have a greenhouse for two reasons. It is both healthier to eat fresh and pesticide-free produce, and it is great to spend time outdoors doing what you love.
Having a greenhouse provides us with several tremendous benefits. If these benefits make your palms twitch in anticipation of building your own greenhouse, we need to start discussing the best ways to go about it.
Should I Consider Getting a Greenhouse Kit?
With the popularity of greenhouses rising today, there are several greenhouse kits available on the market. These kits take a lot of the effort of preparing for a greenhouse away from you by giving you all the materials already prepped.
The kind of greenhouse kits you get include:
Plastic Greenhouses
Plastic greenhouses are covered by plastic covers or made with polycarbonate panels. Although these greenhouses offer the benefits of being very budget-friendly and easy to assemble, they aren’t very weather-resistant. So if you are looking for a greenhouse that will have your buds blooming year-round, this isn’t the greenhouse for you.
Leaning Greenhouses
These greenhouses are built against one of your house’s walls, making it easy to use your home’s electricity and water supply within your greenhouse.
Glass Greenhouses
Glass greenhouses are beautiful but more expensive than the other kinds of greenhouses. So if you are looking for a durable and gorgeous greenhouse, you can consider spending a bit more and getting a glass greenhouse.
Portable Greenhouses
These greenhouses are very convenient because you can quickly move them around. This means that you can move your greenhouse into sunny areas during warm seasons and take it indoors when it gets too cold or before a storm hits. In addition, these greenhouses are very reasonably priced.
Mini Greenhouses
If you are planning on growing only a few plants all year, or you would like to see if a greenhouse is worth your time and money, you can try a mini greenhouse first. These miniature greenhouses provide you with everything that the others do, just on a much smaller scale.
Building a Greenhouse
Preparation
It is possible to build a greenhouse on a weekend if you have the right tools and supplies. Before you get started, however, you must decide on the location of your greenhouse because you don’t want to have to move it unnecessarily later on. Also, take the time to measure the space to ensure that it is big enough for your greenhouse design.
Most people find it is helpful to either buy a greenhouse kit or have their pipes and frames cut and welded by professionals. It can be much more expensive to attempt to do everything yourself because you might not have the right tools. By investing in a greenhouse kit, you don’t need special tools to assemble it, and you know you will get a greenhouse that professionals designed.
However, if you decide to make your own greenhouse without buying a kit, it is best to have your greenhouse’s frame made. That way, you can rest assured knowing that your greenhouse’s structure is solid. You can get your measurements first and then go to your local hardware store. Tell them that you are planning on building a greenhouse and you want your frames prepared. Be sure to choose weather-resistant materials.
Now that you have chosen your spot and have your prepared materials, you can build your greenhouse.
Materials Needed
You’ll need the following to build your greenhouse: a greenhouse kit or prepared frames, bricks, cement, building tools, including screwdrivers, hammers, and wrenches.
Here are the steps you need to take to build your greenhouse:
Step 1: Flatten the Surface
Your greenhouse needs to be built on a flat surface to ensure that no outside air gets in and that your greenhouse is perfectly balanced. Therefore, depending on the area you are placing your greenhouse on, you might need to lay a foundation. If you need to lay a foundation to flatten the location for your greenhouse, do this in advance since it will take time to dry. Please wait until it is completely dry before you continue.
Step 2: Organize your Bolts and Screws
You must examine your greenhouse’s design to see which bolts and screws need to go into which part. If you purchased a greenhouse kit, it would include a manual with the printed design plan. If you are making a greenhouse from your own design, be sure to look where the parts are needed. Store your screws and bolts in a safe place until needed. When you are comfortable with everything’s purpose and location, you can continue to step 3.
Step 3: Loosely Build the Structure
You can begin to build your greenhouse. At first, it is recommended that you don’t tighten the bolts yet as they might not be in the right place. Instead, loosely attach them so that they keep the structure in place. You want to give yourself the option of adjusting them with ease later on if you need to.
Step 4: Adding Your Door
Your runners for your door need to be fit and placed securely into position. Once this has been done, you can side your door into position, starting with the top runner and then the bottom one.
Step 5: Lining your Structure
It is a great idea to add some lining to your structure, especially when making a glass greenhouse. If you purchased a greenhouse kit, it would include rubber strips or foam glazing tape for this purpose. Run the rubber strips or the foam glazing tape along your bars to create a seal.
Step 6: Take a Step Back and Examine Your Greenhouse
Now that the structure is standing with its door attached, you can look closely to see if it is leveled and whether all parts have been included. If you aren’t satisfied with some features of your greenhouse, make the needed adjustments now.
Step 7: Tighten the Bolts
Once everything looks correct, you can tighten the bolts and secure everything. Now that you have built the frame of your greenhouse, you can attach your covering. If you are working with glass, be sure to complete the process of adding the glass in one session. Leaving a half or partially-covered glass greenhouse is risky because strong winds might blow your panels off.
How Much Does a Greenhouse Cost?
This, of course, is an extensive question because we are dealing with several kinds of greenhouses of different sizes. At the low end, we have plastic and portable greenhouses. These greenhouses can cost anything from $1,000. At the high end of this, we have large glass greenhouses that cost up to $35,000. However, the average cost for a greenhouse kit and assembly is around $10,000.
If you are making your own greenhouse and prefer not to use a kit, the price will be similar or higher if you need to buy the necessary tools. Therefore, it is recommended that you consider buying a greenhouse kit since they have everything you need to make your greenhouse, and the tools you might require are tools most people already have at home.
Where is a Good Location for My Greenhouse?
The location of your greenhouse is one of the essential elements to consider. You will probably want to visit your greenhouse daily, so you must choose a conveniently reached location. These are good options:
- a large balcony or patio space
- leaning against your home
- an area in your garden
- a spot inside a growing space for the community.
There are a few things that you need to think about when you consider your greenhouse’s location. Ask yourself these questions:
- How much sunlight will your greenhouse receive on the spot, and what will the temperatures be like?
- Is it a very exposed spot that will receive constant wind or be exposed during storms or extreme weather?
- If wildfires are common where you live, where do they most commonly come from?
- Is there good quality soil in that area?
- If you intend to extend electricity and water to your greenhouse, will it be possible in the given location?
If you find that all of these factors show an ideal location for your greenhouse, well, that’s great. You have found the perfect spot for your greenhouse. If not, it might be best to keep looking for the most suitable place.
Conclusion
Those of us with green thumbs have the extraordinary talent to grow produce that is healthy and full of flavor. Now with the help of a greenhouse, you will be able to grow everything you have ever wanted to. So just imagine the delight you’ll experience when those first seeds sprout in your new greenhouse.
