Propagation: The Game Picks Up Speed, 1 by Weezingreens

Weezingreens wrote:
There are also pros and cons concerning heating a greenhouse year 'round. In my opinion, it is much more likely you will get insect infestations when you maintain a greenhouse all year long. When you allow it to freeze, then clean it out with a good bleach solution, your chance of aphids, whiteflies, etc. is greatly reduced.

For those who don't own a greenhouse but want one, I'm sure you've driven past a house with a little greenhouse in the back, and you notice it is never in use. It's become a tool shed, or it just sits idle. You wonder why anyone would just let a greenhouse sit there when you'd give anything in the world to have one... I did that for years! LOL! Well, sometimes people find they just don't want to take the time and energy to keep a greenhouse going. It may be in a poor spot, it may get too hot in the summer, etc, etc., but for some reason, they lose interest.

For that reason, I'd suggest that anybody who is just getting started with seed sowing consider everything on a smaller scale until they really feel that they want a greenhouse and will use it. The first step is to find a spot where you can build one of those PVC light racks. You're initial investment is minimal... some PVC, so PVC connecting joints, 6 shop lights, and some chain. Buy some of those domed flats with cell packs inside. I haven't purchased them in a long time, but I think they are under $5 each. One three-tiered PVC light rack will hold 12 flats... that's a lot of plants. With the chained lights, you can lower them for the early weeks, then raise them as the plants get bigger.

As for moving the plants out of the house, you might consider a small PVC frame covered in plastic or a raised bed that has hoops on it. These serve as mini greenhouses for spring plants or a place to winter over marginal perennials. I use my raised beds for garden veggies in the summer, wintering potted plants in the winter, and as cold frames in the spring. I can harden off my plants by rolling back the plastic on warm sunny days, then closing them up if the wind kicks up and at night.

These are just a few ideas for you. To tell the truth, none of us really know what we are going to use our greenhouses for until we have one. These cheaper approaches help you make up your mind before you spend big bucks on a permanent structure.