A backyard greenhouse can provide hours of pleasure for the gardener who thinks the growing season in his/her area is too short. From the gardener who wants to get a head start on spring planting to the avid one who wants to grow things year round, a greenhouse is a good project. Before embarking on the project the following points may be helpful:
Decide if your greenhouse will be a portable or permanent structure. Think about your climate and what you want to do in the greenhouse. If snow and/or strong winds are common in your area be sure your design will hold up in these conditions. Think about whether or not your greenhouse will have a foundation and what sort of material you would want for it. Most permanent ones will be affixed to a foundation. Choose a simple design that will use materials found in hardware stores.
With regards to materials, decide if you want to use inexpensive materials that are easy to work with or if the look and style of your greenhouse is more important than the cost.
If you decide to use wood, select from redwood, cypress or cedar. If none of these are available the wood you use, unless pressure treated, would need to be painted to prevent possible contamination to the soil, contact damage to plants and for durability.
Any plant will grow in a greenhouse as long as the conditions are as near as possible to those in its native environment. To achieve this you may have to install heating and lighting systems. If you use these systems you will also need a back-up system in case of a power outage.
Place the greenhouse where it will have good sunlight, utilities available and adequate drainage.
The greenhouse doesn’t have to be large in order for you to enjoy it. Be creative in ways to maximize the space.
Building a will be one of the best investments you will ever make, you can create proper growing conditions in a
