Calling all greenhouse experts! - (8' x10' recommendation)

We've got a small corner of our yard (8' x 10') where we want to put in a greenhouse. Do any of you have a recommendation on greenhouse brands, specific models to check out, or things to keep in mind when looking?

Do you have a cost in mind? Rion and Harbor Freight are probably the two most popular relatively affordable ones that I've seen people post about around here, but if you have a bigger budget you can definitely get something nicer. I'm sure someone will be along shortly and post their experiences with those two, but while you're waiting you could try searching the forums for those two names and you'll find a number of threads.

I like this one.

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/premium.shtml

I hope its ok to post links here?

I purchased the Harbor Freight Tools 10 FT. x 12 FT. GREEN HOUSE WITH 4 VENTS $720 after reading the discussion on davesgarden.com because I wanted to install a greenhouse next to the house where it could benefit from the heat loss through the single pain windows. The discussion on davesgarden suggested that the gardener shouls add structural strength to the greenhouse. The additional cost would give you a $3,000 greenhouse for $1,000! This greenhouse manual states:

1. The greenhouse must be properly supported to help prevent property damage and injury in the event of strong winds or inclement weather.

2. "Decide on a location for the greenhouse. The location should be a level, well-lit area that is sheltered from the wind. door of the greenhouse should not open towards the prevailing wind, if possible.

I only needed 2 of the sides so I will install two of the 12 foot long walls on oneside a few inches apart. That should add to my insulation and cut heating cost in the winter !

http://www.rader.org/garden/greenhouse.htm

I have a Rion. You can see one at a Sam's Club store. Here's a link to the place I purchased my GH. They have lots of different kinds and some special deals.

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/departments.asp?dept=1167

Sarah, it really depends on what you are going to grow and how much you want to spend and what look you are after.

After seeing lots of pictures and reading lots of posts about gaps, cracks, caulking and door sagging, I am not a fan of the Rion (sorry pastime!).

HFGHs are certainly inexpensive, but constructed according to the directions (which are notoriously poor) they will not withstand a strong wind. There are detailed posts here and elsewhere about how to construct and modify the HFGH and if you go that route, be sure to check those posts.

If aesthetics are important, then you can go with a medium to high-end GH which will not only look good but withstand the elements as it is designed, without modifications.

Remember that you will usually spend roughly the same amount on foundation and accessories as you do on your kit...budget accordingly.

But again, the first step is deciding what you will grow.

SB

Sarah, here's a link to my diary about building our Harbor Freight 10x12, with the modifications for strength that Stressbaby mentioned. I bought mine on sale, with a 15% off coupon, so the kit itself was a very good deal. I've spent nearly twice that much on the rest of it (foundation, electric, plumbing, benches, heaters, fans, floor, thermostats, insulation, shadecloth, and all that fun stuff!)
Sheri
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/m/oldmudhouse/

Sheri,
I read through your journal and was inspired to again think about the HFGH for next year. I ran out of GH space this year and since I can't afford to heat and tend to two places I had to move all my plants under lights in the basement. Already I can see a slow down in growth. A new and bigger GH is on my must list for next year. I'm considering buying two and attaching them end to end. I want a shed on the north side to hold supplies and act as a dead air entrance. Has anyone even opened the HFGH on it's long side for an entrance?

MollyD

Molly, I know folks have attached them end to end and they've posted it wasn't difficult. So far I haven't read of anyone creating an entrance on the long (12') side. If you ended up with an extra set of doors (from doing two kits end to end) you might be able to do some serious retrofitting to make them work on a long side, but it wouldn't be easy...the doors slide in a track that makes up the top and bottom framework for the short wall. Staring at my gh, I can't figure out an obvious way to attach those pieces to the framework of the long wall.

I think folks haven't done that because the design of the kit doesn't lend itself easily to that idea. But as you know almost anything is possible if you're creative, stubborn, hardworking, and willing to find a way, so I won't say it can't be done!Maybe you could build a wood framework for the top and bottom door track, and then attach that wooden framework to the long wall...I guess it's possible, but you'd have to troubleshoot it as you went (you know, boldly going where no man has gone before...LOL.)

Maybe you could simply remove a panel or two from the long side and figure out a way to build a lightweight hinged door to hang in the panel opening(s). The wall studs are pretty thin but you might be able to beef them up with a wooden stud for strength...?
Sheri

Hi Sheri,

What I have in mind doesn't involve those sliding doors at all. Rather what I thought was to build a shed attached to the north wall and leave and opening between the shed and the north wall so you enter from outside via the shed and step through into the GH from the shed. The GH's would be attached face to face so that the planned door opening would be where they were joined.

MollyD

Molly, I don't know why that wouldn't work...the panels are easy to remove (I pop mine in and out all the time to put my screens in place.) You might even be able to leave out two panels for a wider walk-thru. If removing the wall stud between the two panels made the structure seem less sturdy at that spot, I think you could buy a piece of aluminum angle and attach it with screws over the opening like a header. Sounds interesting! :-)

Sarah, if Merced is in zone 9, you might be in my situation...cooling in summer is a bigger challenge than heating in winter...if you plan to use your greenhouse year round. So, you might consider ventilation as you look at greenhouses...ways you can open up vents, doors, or add screens. Just a thought...
Sheri

Thanks Sheri! I'll keep the aluminum in mind. I can't start any building till spring but I sure can start buying the pieces I'll need to re-inforce them. I won't buy the two HFGH till I'm ready to use them so I can open the boxes and check for missing parts right away.

MollyD

I have the harbor freight 10 x 12 and it requires serious cooling in my zone 9 location
it is protected by my house on the north and the west. (So no afternoon sun) I have an evaporative (swamp) cooler which is on a thermostat which is set to 78 degrees. The $300 cooler runs most days because the GH heats up anytime the sun is on it.

in addition to the cooler I have a 1500 watt electric heater

the purple line is the greenhouse the other two are outside thermometers. This is for two nights
see the attached temperature chart

No cooling problems here Jim. Heat is my struggle. I only use my GH from October to May and those are cold to cool months here so I have to worry about heating and heat retention most of the time.

MollyD

Molly I purchased the HFGH 6'x8' 2 yrs ago. Last year I had to abandon the GH and move all plants indoors because of heating costs. This summer I screwed down all the panels because they kept blowing away last year. Then I took silicone chalk and chalked most of the seams and openings, mainly the west and north sides. So far we have had a few nights in the low 20s and one night was 18* but I have been really happy with my GH. The windy days don't seem to bother it since I chalked the air leaks. Right now I have my tropical pond plants in there and heat it with 2 heat lamps and it stays at 70*. The heat lamps are much more economical than the electric heater that only kept it around 40* last year. I just use mine in the winter and don't use it all after April, so it does what I intended. By the way we drove 2x4 stakes into the ground at least a foot and nailed the wooden foundation to them. I haven't had trouble with the whole GH moving at all, and we get some pretty good winds here in the winter.

Thanks dylancgc!

I do plan to attach my GH to a firm foundation since we get extremely strong winds here. Last week we had 50mph gust with sustained winds of 30moh +.
My old GH did the job I wanted but it just wasn't enough room. I also wanted to get away from the curved roof which the hoophouse has.
I plan on insulating with clear solar pool covers on the inside. That worked very well in my GH. I heat with propane but hope to buy a vented heater to replace my vent free heater.
Glad to hear the HFGH is doing a good job for you.

MollyD

How did the hoophouse do for you. Do you have pics of it? I'm going to put one up for a shadehouse and maybe inflate it for the winter. I didn't know how hard they would be to keep warm.

dylancgc,

it worked very well! You got dmail.

MollyD

Thanks for the information.

I bought a Pro II Greenhouse from FarmTek. It was a royal pain in the A@# to put together. The instructions that came with it left something to be desired! However, now that it is done, and has withstood several of our high wind storms, it seems that I did okay by it. It is roughly 12x24. I just got the water run to it, and just got the wire on the tops of the benches. I wanted to put 9 gauge wire, but had to settle for 14 gauge, that's all I could find here. It is a little more flimsy than I like.

Side view of the Farmtek Pro II Greenhouse.

Neat GH. It is plenty large enough for now.

Wish I could afford something like that mscheinost ! One of the HFGH attractions is price! I can buy two and with modifications I can have a 12 x 20 GH for under $1500.

MollyD

This got paid for partially by Ag diversification money, and the money the feds are paing to buy the tobacco quotas. I also feel that it will help my production for sale of "stuff" at the farmers market, so I could justify the cost. One of my neighbors did the Harbor freight GH, and it was missing a lot of parts, I didn't like the construction, and one of the two that they put in was turned into spagetti by a strong wind, the one next to it did okay. Anyway based on the others that I saw locally, it was something like this, or have the Amish build what I wanted.

I'm also looking at doing a "low" tunnel over a couple of my raised beds this spring. I figure that I can get my tomatoes in about two weeks earlier than I normally do based on what happened with my neighbor and his "high" tunnel GH. I plan on getting some PVC pipe and the joints, then covering with plastic. I'd like to get it up about a week or two before I plan on transplanting to help get the soil warmer. They'll be about 25 feet long and about 10 feet wide/high.

Did anyone notice HF has their 4'x6' and their 6'x8' for the same price on their website.

The one I want is 10 x 12. It needs lots of modifications to make it strong enough to use but worth the extra work. Without those modifications you get the damage your neighbors got.

MollyD

My Harbor Freight Tools 10 FT. x 12 FT. GREEN HOUSE WITH 4 VENTS
is working fine but it is tied to my house on two sides (at the roof line)
and bolted to a concrete slab

our winds are not real winds
so far I think our strongest was 30 mph

Has anyone found a source for multi-ply plastic which will give you over 800 square feet of double wall plastic for $600

With that number in mind, building one is an option, if you can cover it with insluated plastic covering at a reasonable delivered price

MY Harbor Freight Tools 10 FT. x 12 FT. GREEN HOUSE was only missing one part, a usable set of instructions. I put every part together, found I had done it wrong, disassembled and re assembled it at least twice

If you use Harbor Freight Tools 10 FT. x 12 FT. GREEN HOUSE for a shell and have your amish workers build a frame inside it you will be in business. you will want to fasten the plastic panels to the amish frame with screws and washers
I used a small cordless drill for pilot holes

I am using 2 ea 1500 wat electric oil heaters which raise the interior temp 20-25 degrees at the coldest part of the night (We are now in what we call winter, our nights are now 35-40) remember my GH is tied to the heated house and both walls are multilayered (a sheet of dual ply plastic and air gap a sheet of 6 mil plastic another air gap and the second dual ply plastic)

Links to many GH suppliers and Pictures of my greenhouse are on my web at
http://www.rader.org/garden/greenhouse.htm