Good place to buy a greenhouse kit...

OK....I wanna have a greenhouse. I want to buy a kit. I've looked at a few places, but all of the kits are in the thousands. I want a 6' by 10' kit for somewhere between $300 and $500.

Can anyone suggest where I can get one? I don't want to have to cut wood, I'm not very good at that kind of thing. Just want a kit that has all the pieces so I can put it together.

Thanks guys!

That price is a little low for most of the kits in that size range. Take a look at Harbor Freight, they have a small greenhouse kit in your price range. Also, look on eBay -- the Enthusiast Greenhouse kits are a little above your range but are a good kit that you might want to consider.

Ken & Sue in Glassboro, NJ

If you are interest in a "self erecting portable greenhouse" you might look at the FlowerHouse site at www.flowerhouses.com/. The one I plan to buy shortly is called the DreamHouse and is 8' wide x 8' deep x 6'5" tall. It looks like it should be relatively easy to put up and take down (especially if you have two people working on it). The current price is $270 plus $30 shipping. They also have other sized greenhouses - most smaller - but one larger. I don't know if one of these would suit you, but it sure won't hurt to check the web site out. Dotti

Welcome noobie! In that price range and not wanting to cut wood, you are pretty much looking at a hoophouse type of set up or an aluminum kit. The ideas above are pointing you in the right direction. I believe the Harbor Freight one is on sale for $299. You could always make a hoophouse type from pvc or other piping, standard lumber and purchase 6mil plastic from a number of suppliers. There are lots of plans to find online.

Good luck!

Dotti, if you do order from FlowerHouse, FYI - I added them to the Watchdog: http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/4451/ I'm sure others would appreciate learning from your experience (hopefully it'll be a positive one!)

Badseed:

I actually found a really nice one at home depot for $500 and it's made out of some type of really durable plastic (I can't remember the name at the moment). I think I will be saving to get that.

I've got this on my watched threads. I'm curious how you will like your new greenhouse. I'm looking for about the same thing. Good luck!

When I finally buy it and put it up....I'll post up piks!

dottick
those flowerhouse portable greenhouses can be ordered a bit cheaper at www.littlegreenhouse.com.

We got a 6X6 Flower House at Home Depot this spring for about a hundred dollars. I started flats of seedlings in it, but even with the shade cloth they provided and both the front and back doors completely unzipped and rolled back, I couldn't control the temperatures inside. We're in zone 6, and when the outside temps were in the 70's it went up as high as 110 inside. It killed everything I put into it. If you do use one of these, I'd put in in a semi-shaded area. There are no vents at the peak and the small size made it hard to control. I really don't recommend this greenhouse.

MJ

If all else fails go to Mother Earth News and find the Green house then have the plans to that are free ,made from PVC Pipe . It looks like something doable and cost effective for about the price you want.

I want one too, but know relatively little about them. Are they for prolonging the growing season or can you overwinter tropicals in them? I can't imagine that they would keep a hibiscus or a brugmansia thriving in a 20 degree, snowy Pittsburgh winter! Can you install heaters, etc? I would like to buy one, but I don't feel I know enough to make an educated decision. Like eveyone else, I want to spend no more than $300 but would love year-round use. Any ideas? Thanks!

In my (humble) opinion, you can either spend the money upfront on a good, double/triple-walled polycarbonate, energy-efficient and good-sized greenhouse (bigger is easier to moderate the temps), or you can spend a lot of time and money trying to heat and cool a cheaper "do-it-yourself" model or kit. (It's not fun to remember to run outside at the crack of dawn every day in February and March to turn down/off the heat and start the fans!)

I started out with a 10 x 12 1" PVC frame greenhouse with a gabled roof (not a "hoop house" style) and 6 mm UV-rated plastic sheeting. It served me well for four years even though I didn't double-wrap it or use bubble wrap. (Then again, I live in zone 6b/7a, so my 20-degree nights are relatively rare ;o)

I also didn't try to overwinter the really tender stuff in there - only frost-tolerant plants (those that can survive in zone 8 or 8b) until I started seedlings in January/February, then I bit the bullet and paid to maintain the heat at 40 degrees or warmer at night.

When the PVC structure began failing last spring, I knew it was time to decide whether to rebuild (the PVC/plastic GH cost around $150 to build) or buy a polycarb GH kit. For aesthetics and energy efficiency (I'm SO not looking forward to propane prices this year!) I opted to spend the money on a "real" GH - a Rion 8.6 x 12.7 polycarb with roof and louvered vents. It cost under $1800, and I hope to keep and start more plants in it than I did with my old one (the last two years, I just didn't trust it with my most-tender stuff), and hopefully some good spring plant sales will help me recoup my heating costs. That's the plan, anyway ;o)

Looking back, I'd say starting with a cheap DIY greenhouse was a good way for me to see if I really liked and used the GH as much as I thought I would before investing in a more permanent structure.

I found this one here in my area by accident and going to check it out. It seems to be a good started for what I need it for and well within my price range. They have it listed for 399. but I think it is on sale for 359. that measured 10X12, so I contacted the dealer to get more info. and hoping to drive out there this weekend to see up close. They do have another model that is bigger 16X24 that was around 600 so I am looking at that one too
http://www.growerssolution.com/page/GS/CTGY/hobby



This message was edited Sep 29, 2005 5:09 PM

I decided to start with a serious cold frame instead of a greenhouse b/c I'm a "noobie" too. Johnny's Seeds has a very well designed cedar coldframe 4' x 4" that takes 30 min to assemble and cost $359.00 and shipped to me in two days ( Maine to Rhode Island). I decided to buy it when I saw you could also buy a temp-sensitive spring opener to crack the lid on warm days. Plus, it fit right over my raised bed of '4 x '8. My lifestyle/occupation, by definition make me a hopeful but inattentive gardner so I figured an automatic opener would maximize my chance for success. I've planted beets, mixed salad greens and mache, optimistically. There's also a raised bed with hoop cover in different sizes at Urbangardencenter.com that I almost bought and may still to start a new bed for the spring. Eliot Coleman's book FOUR SEASON HARVEST gives a lot of useful information about getting coldframes and greenhouses going as well as using row covers and hoop houses. Good luck. One day, I want a greenhouse off my kitchn with a brick walk way. I can close my eyes and smell the soil and feel the warmth of the sun. It's soo exciting.

Has anyone tried using black plastic inside cold frame to maximize the warmth. I was thinking of lining the walls with styrofoam wrapped in black plastic. What do you think? I'm so excited about the idea of having fresh greens in the dead of winter home grown. I hope it works.
Also, if I had a green house I would try to invest in a solar powered temperature sensitive fan that automatically turned on. There are a bunch of adverts. in MOTHER EARTH NEWS for solar powered everything. Good luck. OG

I am thinking about the Dreamhouse (Flowerhouses.com) to start with. I've never had a "flower house" before and want to start inexpensively to make sure it's my thing! My main question is how I would heat the dreamhouse? Would I use an electric heater? In addition, what else would it require? I guess a fan would be one thing. I have read on DG that some people also use propane heaters. What I want to do is overwinter my tropicals. Thanks for any advice/suggestions.

This message was edited Oct 15, 2005 11:20 PM

Terry, what do you think the cost of a "good one" --double/tripled walled polycarbonate one would cost me? I would like to have a good one, too, but am wondering about the cost. Thanks, Liz

I'd say you're looking at probably a minimum of $1K for a good kit of a decent size GH (8x10 or larger.) I do agree with the theory of buying as large a greenhouse as you can reasonably afford and fit on your property because:

a) you're gonna want more room no matter how big it is; and
b) a larger greenhouse makes it easier to maintain an even temperature.

I've heard mixed feedback on the Harbor Freight kit greenhouses - some people love theirs while others turn their nose up at it. Would it be worth plunking down $200 - $300 for the sale model they advertise? I really don't know - you'd have to ask some of the folks that have bought one. I was tempted, but it was way smaller than my homemade one, and I knew I'd outgrow it in a heartbeat.

You might also try FarmTek - they send out a free catalog, and they run some pretty good prices on several polycarb kits in various sizes and styles.

Triple or double wall? That depends on what you plan to do with the GH. If you're wanting to use it year-round and you live in an area with brutally cold winters, then the thicker the better. I live in a more moderate climate and don't try to maintain a really "warm" GH until the last 6 weeks of at or below freezing temps some nights, so I figure double-wall polycarb should be fairly energy efficient for my needs.