Greenhouse advice

[Vickie44]

I am thinking about getting a small greenhouse , like 6 x 6 , for starting garden plants and extending the growing season , especially herbs and tea.I would like to plant all non hybrid and save seeds.

Anyone care to share experiences and advice ?

[irregardless]

in for the advice...

I'd love to have one. But I'd want something that was a bit more "I can actually keep stuff growing in it all the time" and not just for starting seeds, more or less.

Or is it possible to square foot in a smaller one with worthwhile results?

I grow cold tolerant greens, peas, carrots, cabbage, stuff like that in mine. At this time of year, I start a fire if it's going to be really cold. For instance, it's 15 degrees here right now, so I started a fire around 5:00 yesterday evening and loaded the stove up and shut the dampers down around 9. There is still smoke coming out of the stovepipe, so I don't need to worry. When I pot up tomatoes and such, I take them out to the greenhouse once they've broken the surface because they get a lot better quality of light than if I keep them under a grow light. Tomatoes, peppers, etc are extremely sensitive to cold, so its pretty important not to let them set out if it's going to get below freezing inside your greenhouse. If you have one of those thermometers that show the high and low for the past 24 hours, you can use that to compare the temperature inside the greenhouse to that outside, so that you would know, for instance, that a forecast low of 20 may mean a low of 30 inside your greenhouse. I wouldn't accept any literature on how much heat is retained, I would find out myself. Something as small as what you're considering, probably a small electric heater would keep quite warm. You might need to find an inline plug in thermostat designed for low temperatures.

[Callieslamb]

After the first year you use a 6x6 it will be too small. Can you build a lean-to against your house? That will save you the expense of one wall and you could lengthen it out to a rectangle. If all you want to do with it is start seedlings, I'd recommend a cold frame instead. It will be much cheaper to build and easier to use/heat when needed. It can also be built to be portable. I've found that using plastic tunnels extends my season more reasonably since my plants are too big to move to the greenhouse in the fall. My greenhouse is 14x20 and I wish I'd built it 3 times that big.

[Raven12]

I built a cold frame using an old window and boards. Worked great. Last year I was going to build a temp greenhouse using plastic sheeting and pvc pipe. I bought all the supplies but winter came early. There are a ton of Do it yourself plans on the internet. You could even build a hoop house.

[Raven12]

Oh yeah, keep in mind that for starting seeds temps should be at least 70 degrees. More than that for certain veggies like peppers.

I soak a lot of seeds in a bowl of water, or wrapped in wet paper on top of the refrigerator until they germinate, then put them in soil. I think it's 65 degrees on top the refrigerator. BUT, probably over 70 quite a bit of the time, especially if I'm cooking.

[Vickie44]

LOL Callie . 6x6 is what fits by my shed so gets sun and is near water and electric . Any larger I would have to go out to hayfield or relocate chicken coop. Did lettuce this year with coldframes , worked out well, and would like to play with row covers this fall. Want to grow herbs and start seeds , enough for a 100 x 60 garden.

What do you do with such a large greenhouse ?

[Vickie44]

Zong I saw your set up on another thread , it is awesome. I have been trying to collect windows etc without much success, got enough for a few coldframes. This would be some thing i will get second hand from out in the onion fields, plastic covered.

[Vickie44]

Raven12 will you build it this year ? How big and what will you grow ?

[Raven12]

My greenhouse was going to be 6x8. I was going to use it for the 5 gallon container plants that I was going to overwinter. The temps dropped so quickly that I brought in the plants.

This year, I am not sure. Maybe in the Spring and take it down in the Summer. It was so hot last year. Today the high is in the teens. I am going to have to wing it due to the crazy weather.

I would use it as a transitional space for what I have growing now indoors - tomatoes, peppers, and a variety of other plants.