DIY Cheap Greenhouse

Greenhouse and Hardening Off

I wanted to share something real quick.

Hardening off plants with a greenhouse is AWESOME!

It has literally reduced the process down so far. I can’t say I’ve struggled with hardening off in the past few years. I finally have it down to a science. But it is still the part that stresses me the most. Will the plants live? What about temp/sunlight swings? What if I lose too many?

A burnt plant.

Well I can report that the greenhouse has taken that stress level down a few notches.

The greenhouse is the intermediary in the hardening off process that I’d been searching for. I have two options. One is starting the plants in the greenhouse and then directly transplanting them. The other is starting them under a growlight. Moving them to a shady spot in the greenhouse for a few days and then under direct greenhouse light then the garden. Either way the process is almost always 100% successful.

I found that my indoor light just wasn’t doing enough so I took my 4-5 inch tall plants and moved them to the greenhouse and voila! the growth has been spectacular.

So in summary, this ~$250 greenhouse has saved me about 12-15 plants this year at least and allowed me to start more seeds than ever. This reduces my costs to the local nurseries with buying started plants and allows me more control over what varieties. No lose situation!

Which is Best: Morning or Afternoon Sun?

As a follow up to my post about Siting Your Greenhouse I came across one consideration that I left out: Is it best for your plants to have morning or afternoon sun and how much?

Well the answer from my research and what I’ve seen with my own gardens seems to be overwhelmingly that morning sun is better. There seems to be a few reasons for this. For one, this wakes the plants up and gets them started growing again quickly. The prevailing wisdom also seems to be that morning sun is more gentle and evening sun is harsher. This might be because the misty mornings diffuse sunlight better while the dry evenings tend to bring it on full tilt bore.

When I sited my greenhouse I had to take these things into consideration. I have a huge clearing in the middle of my woods but every spot only gets about 5-7 hours of sunlight. So I sited my greenhouse at the southwest corner. Therefore it gets the first light peaking over the trees at about 10am but in the afternoon after about 6pm its fairly shaded. This will all change as the trees shading it lose their leaves (its mid Fall right now here).

Now, on the subject of how much sun, hear me out here. Technically, according to most sources full sun is 6 hours or more of direct sunlight. Many people give their plants too much sun. This usually is not a problem because the plants can bounce back pretty well but there are some issues with it. First things though are signs of too much sun.

Leaves and petals are dry, wilted or burned (long after transplanting). This is both an effect of too much sun as well as the sun drying up all of the moisture.
Leaves and petals aren’t normal colors. You’ll know this by experience.
Vines creep toward and plants bend to afternoon shade.
Plant becomes otherwise droopy and sad looking.

Here are some signs of not enough sun:

Weak or non existent growth.
The plant is taller than normal with thin stems. The stems are not bright green but pale.
Leaves are sparse.
Less flowers and fruit.
The vine creeps toward and plants bend to sunnier areas.

Its a theme you’ll hear me repeat but you have to observe your plants carefully. Greenhouses amplify good and bad effects at times!

Tools Needed to Build a Greenhouse

When I got ready to build my greenhouse I prepared to tell my wife about all the awesome new power toys…err tools that I would need to construct! But the more I thought it through the more I realized that I didn’t really need any special tools. Well that’s what building a DIY Cheap Greenhouse is all about. I think a lot of people are probably intimidated by the prospect of building a greenhouse (or even assembling one) and the expense necessary to buy all of the componetns and tools. Again, rest assured that I used a bare minimum of tools.

I decided to lay out a post where I could discuss all of the tools I used from start to finish.

1. A shovel – this is pretty basic and most people have one laying around. It helps to have a multipurpose one. So if you buy one avoid one of the thin bladed digging shovels. Get one with a comfortable handle. I used mine to dig the ground level for the frame.

2. A good power drill – because of my remote location I had to rely on battery power but a corded drill will do just fine. The power drill is used many times throughout the project and is indespensible. The first time I used it was when I was drilling pilot holes for my lag bolts to assemble the bottom frame of 4×4′s. I also used it to attach the door hardware.

3. A socket set or wrenches – used to secure the lag bolts for the frame.

4. Saw – I used my battery powered circular saw. I went through several charges but it got the job done. A miter saw (powered or not) or even just a wood saw will work if time is not a concern and money is! I used this to cut all of the framing to length. I also used it for cutting gussets.

5. Measuring tools - I lumped these into one category. You will need a tape measure (length depends on your project). You will also need a square. It really is best to buy one of the cheap orange ones that double as a protractor. You will need it to square cut marks AND to make angle marks for rafters.

6. Hammer – of course a hammer is the most necessary tool! I use my old Stanley Anti-vibe. Its a great hammer.

7. Ladder – you will need this to attach the rafters and plastic/covering.

That’s really it. You can buy all of this for about $200 but this is DIY CHEAP Greenhouse. So I have to give you some tips on doing this cheaper than that. The biggest tip is borrow what you don’t have. I have family members that will loan me tools so that is a good thing (but I had all these already). If you can’t borrow tools then maybe you can rent them. The next tip is that if you don’t have these tools or plan to use hand tools only then you really should plan to buy lumber to dimension. You might have to trim the lumber but if you plan right you can avoid some cuts.

Also, please note, you don’t really need electricity. I did this all with no access to plugs (except at home) since my property is remote and we haven’t gotten the utilities turned on yet.

But with all that being said, the tools I’m talking about are so necessary for so many homesteading projects that its a good idea to buy them now!

Make Your Own Row Covers

Well it’s that time of the year again. Time to put up or shut up. Time to protect your crops or give them up to old man winter.

Luckily for us there is a cheap easy and effective way of doing this. THE ROWCOVER.

A rowcover is a simple device. Its a way of replicating greenhouse effectiveness in a small and acute manner. It consists of a few simple parts. I’ll tell you how to make them or get them cheap.

1. Structure – You need something to hold the thing together and keep it in shape. There are a variety of materials you could use. you can build a wooden frame from pallet wood or leftover lumber. That’s the cheapest route. The next cheapest is buying some water piping from Lowes or Home Depot. DO NOT BUY PVC! I’ll talk about PVC in future posts. I could tell you horror stories or I could just name drop: Joel Salatin told me during an interview that he’d never rely on PVC for structures again! What you want for the tubing is in the plumbing section but its smaller and more flexible than PVC. It will not break as easily. The most expensive method would be using rebar. Rebar is a steel rod with knurled areas. Its used to make concrete stronger. If you can find a way to bend it you can make hoops and use them. With the pipe or rebar you can simply push the ends into the ground. Push them deep as you can or they can come loose and your structure can collapse.

2. Plastic – Luckily for me, we had extra plastic from a trip to Lowes. We used it for cheap dropcloth. You can pick up a roll of clear plastic from Lowes for about 10 bucks max. This is the cheapest I’ve found. The thicker the better but thin plastic will work.

3. Clips – You will need to secure the plastic to the ground and close it up. I use old welding wire spool funnels (not welding wire!) that I cut into shape. I salvaged these from work. Clothes hangers work but aren’t perfect. Just cut them long and curve the ends so they stay.

How to Make it!

Form your hoops and stick them into the ground. I have a row planted already (seed should be sprouted and growing well or you might not get good growth). I just stick the hoop ends in on either side of the row and space them about 2-3 feet apart. I put as many as I need. Then I roll the plastic over the hoops and make the sides even. Then I secure the sides. You can use clips or you can lay long lumber scraps to hold the sides down. The ends should be pulled together so that you can hold the end in one hand. Then clip that tail to the ground. Go around and make sure there are no air gaps. Place bricks, lumber, rocks or other weights to keep the plastic down.

That’s it. Check it often but open it only when necessary. Water stays pretty well but if you water it you can just let it run under the plastic and in.

Easy peasy!

Siting a Greenhouse

Whether you decide to build or buy a greenhouse you’ll quickly come up against your first challenge: Where to put it! Well it takes a little bit of thinking and planning and you need to know your property pretty intimately. But don’t let that scare you off. A little bit of time and observation and you’ll be ready to site your greenhouse in the optimal location.

For most people this might not be much of a question. You will have only a limited amount of room and the space simply IS the space. This might even have you questioning if a greenhouse is right for you. Well don’t fret if you get only limited sun. Besides the sun you are also trying to keep the greenhouse warmer inside. Most people worry about getting a full 12 hours of sun. These people are too obsessive. Six hours is good, eight is best. Any more than that and you are just letting the sun evaporate your water away. Of course, the more sun in the winter gives you more heat. But also keep in mind that the more exposed your greenhouse is the less heat you lose to winds. You have to weigh these concerns.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere (US) you will want to site the greenhouse with as much unobstructed southern sky view as possible. Again, I would not worry if you lose a few hours due to being blocked by a structure or tree. Once you pick a site though, its a good idea to spend some time one day in the summer one in the winter just hanging out there watching the path of the sun. In a wooded area take into account that any deciduous trees will be bare of leaves! Observe before you start buying stuff and cutting lumber. You’ll be surprised by what you learn.

The next thing to take into account is level. The spot you picked must be accessible but the more level it is the better. Otherwise be prepared to dig. You don’t want your plants sliding off the shelves. If you can’t find a level spot then don’t fret, you will just have to dig a little. Is the ground easy to excavate? Most times you can dig it out with a shovel. But if the ground is well packed or stony you may be renting equipment and that is not a good way to get started building a cheap greenhouse.

I mentioned access above but it warrants more discussion. Keeping the greenhouse close to your dwelling is important because you are going to spend a lot of time there! Of course this is dictated by the other factors being met as well. The closest you can possibly put the greenhouse is directly adjacent to a dwelling or existing structure. This is GREAT for using the structure as a heat store and reflection of light. But be careful, if that wall isn’t built well it may allow your heat to leak out. You also have to consider how you are going to seal the covering against this potentially uneven surface.

Once you have a spot picked you will need to layout the footprint. If your greenhouse is to be square then its no big deal. If it is rectangular you will have to keep in mind that the long side should be the one facing south. That will give it the most sun exposure and thus the most light and heat.

So these are just some of the concerns you have to take into account when siting your greenhouse. Its important to do this right though to prevent future pain and worry. Like they say, measure twice, cut once. Well in the world of greenhouses it’s site twice and place once!

Why Have a Greenhouse?

Welcome!

If you are here then you’ve already answered this question. But at some point every gardener or amateur horticulturist has to ask his or herself – Do I want a greenhouse? Why?

The reasons are varied as are the people who build or buy greenhouses.

Some people like to grow things that can’t be grown otherwise in their climate. Greenhouses allow you to grow bananas in Kentucky (as I am). They also allow you to overwinter these plants. Perhaps the plants won’t thrive during the winter but you’ll keep them alive for next year and you might get a bit more growth. Depending on your particular region and climate you might find advantages that you never dreamed of!

Speaking of extending seasons, many people simply use greenhouses to keep the garden going for a few more weeks or months. In a very cold climate long season crops like tomatoes would never come to fruition if were not for the use of a greenhouse. Some people find an enjoyable growing experience inside a greenhouse without ever even taking a plant out of the greenhouse.

One of my big reasons is simply wanting food security. Its important to me to be able to start plants quickly and get them in the garden in a healthy manner. There’s no hardening off or worrying about sunscorch or adjustment. The plants are pretty much ready to go, just like you got them at a nursery – your own!

So stay tuned I’ll show you how I built my own cheap 6×10 foot greenhouse for about $250. If that’s still too rich for your blood I’ll show you how to build smaller structures that serve the same purpose and for much less money (to no money!).

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