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Does anyone here own their own backyard greenhouse? If so, could you briefly describe the features needed for a good greenhouse? For example, does it need ventilation and what kind? Does it need some sort of irrigation feature or do you lug water from your house to the greenhouse?

I have a small portable greenhouse I just purchased and have used such a greenhouse many times. But if I intend to trade up to a real backyard green house, what am I facing exactly?

I want to eventually trade up to a greenhouse that I can actually sit inside of, one that will hold up to heavy snows. Can it have a little water feature inside like a fountain to give it a touch of Zen?

Thanks!
Jersey Girl

This is much like the portable greenhouse I have now.



These work well enough for what I currently have in mind which is simply seed starts and giving indoor plants a little spa treatment.

If anyone is interested in this sort of greenhouse, the one I purchased was just $39.95 at Lowes. In garden catalogs, they run about $90.00 easy.

First step. Research polycarbonate. If I am not mistaken, this is the sturdy almost plexiglass type of material on some greenhouses.

But of course, I will be mistaken.
:-)

Wish Droopy or Bc would chime in. They would tell you that man-made greenhouses do not exist.

I think all basic consumer greenhouses are polycarbonate with aluminum frame, got to be light enough to ship. Sure, polycarbonate is strong when it comes to impacts, but a razor knife can ruin those panels easily. Polycarbonate might be a million times stronger than glass, but the panels are like a 1/16th of an inch thick. The biggest concern will be to properly assemble the unit without going nuts. Everything has to fit perfect, its easy to get a side panel off a little, and that error will compound until you have a 1 inch gap at the far end between the panel and frame. Give yourself several days to get it together so you don't break something forcing it.

The second biggest concern is heat. Start with cheap plants, because you will probably scorch everything. The only way to keep the heat down is to buy special fabric "shading" that lines the inside to shield it. You will definitely want to research that before you get the greenhouse. Get at least 60% blocking strength. It ain't cheap, and you will need to have a plan for attaching it to the roof. The standard way is to use "plant hangers" made by the manufacturer (Polytex, likely). The manufacturer probably sells shading too, but just do your homework there because I think my issue was they sold a rectangle of it that wouldn't fully cover even 1 side; was hard to find pictures that showed how it would look in reality. Third party vendors don't cater to non-commercial buyers, I ended up getting a section of the stuff about double the size I needed cuz it was the smallest piece they could cut for me, and just used scissors as needed.

Gadianton wrote:I think all basic consumer greenhouses are polycarbonate with aluminum frame, got to be light enough to ship. Sure, polycarbonate is strong when it comes to impacts, but a razor knife can ruin those panels easily. Polycarbonate might be a million times stronger than glass, but the panels are like a 1/16th of an inch thick. The biggest concern will be to properly assemble the unit without going nuts. Everything has to fit perfect, its easy to get a side panel off a little, and that error will compound until you have a 1 inch gap at the far end between the panel and frame. Give yourself several days to get it together so you don't break something forcing it.

The second biggest concern is heat. Start with cheap plants, because you will probably scorch everything. The only way to keep the heat down is to buy special fabric "shading" that lines the inside to shield it. You will definitely want to research that before you get the greenhouse. Get at least 60% blocking strength. It ain't cheap, and you will need to have a plan for attaching it to the roof. The standard way is to use "plant hangers" made by the manufacturer (Polytex, likely). The manufacturer probably sells shading too, but just do your homework there because I think my issue was they sold a rectangle of it that wouldn't fully cover even 1 side; was hard to find pictures that showed how it would look in reality. Third party vendors don't cater to non-commercial buyers, I ended up getting a section of the stuff about double the size I needed cuz it was the smallest piece they could cut for me, and just used scissors as needed.

Gad,

Thanks for the good information! I feel a bit discouraged having read it, but I will press on with the research. About the heat inside the greenhouse, I thought there was some need for a ventilation system? A fan?

I will keep on with the work on this and thanks again, for your comments!

Most have a panel on roof that opens and a sliding door, I'd be surprised if that weren't enough.

So no need to run electricity. Larger units may need a fan and commercial, but not the 6X8 units.

Its not impossible, just not instant gratification as advertised.