Is there value in a GH in zone 9 Sacramento CA

I am planning my winter gardening for this winter
I expect to have 3 days of frost
no more than 3 nights below 32 degrees
average low above 40 degrees

Should I continue with a cold frame ?
or go for it ?

Anyone out there in Sacramento have a greenhouse
and also use it ?

jim@rader.org

Jim, there are a bunch of people I know on this and other forums with zone 9 greenhouses. They typically grow ornamental tropicals and tropical fruits.

Whether it is worth building a GH depends on you are trying to grow. Lettuce and spinach, no. Mangosteens, definitely yes. ;-)

I am new to gardening and find it hard to believe all zone 9 climates are the same?

I live in a very dry climate and it is normal to go for 9 months without a drop of rain!
Does it rain regularly in your area ?

It is now 85 degrees with 15% humidity
the garden books say plants require more humidity than that to grow in a greenhouse

we have only 3 days where it drops below 32 degrees overnight but is in the 40s during those days. Our average low temperature in the winter is 40 degrees

I would assume that my zone 9 in unlike yours ?

You're right, there are different versions of zone 9, California is definitely different than Texas, Gulf Coast, Florida, etc.

I live in zone 9b in CA and have a greenhouse, main reason is that I grow tropicals which are not going to tolerate much if any frost, so either they would die over the winter if I didn't have the greenhouse, or they would suffer some damage and be slow to come back for me in the spring.

So if you're looking to buy a greenhouse to get a head start on seed-starting and things like that, it may not be as useful to you as it would be to someone in a colder climate, but if you're buying it so you can overwinter tropicals that really need zone 10 or 11 to be happy, then it's a good investment.

And you can run a mister to increase humidity

I live near Redding, Ca. and am building a solar greenhouse this week. It will help me to grow winter veggies and start seedlings in the spring.

I would not use it in the summer but half of it is my potting shed.

Ellie... just joined.

the Harbor frieght 10' x 12' is on sale for $600

I purchased one July 13, 2007, check out the pictures on my web site
http://www.rader.org/garden/greenhouse.htm

Can you comment on how easy/difficult it was to put together?

one pleasant suprise !
The plastic is the good two ply poly, I was expecting single ply plastic !
http://www.rader.org/garden/greenhouse.htm

to the question, How was the assembly process?
The directions have very few diagrams but the writen directions are correct after you seceed. good luck figuring out them out before you succed
I think I assembled every piece more than two times !
I even had the top front beam on upside down, which I did not discover before I tried to install the doors.

I cleared my living room and assembled each panel inside. I then took them outside to assemble together. Lastly is installed the plastic panels.