shower doors for greenhouse?

I have enough shower doors to make a greenhouse, but was thinking it may get too hot in this area? Any ideas?

In your area you won't want to leave plants in the greenhouse during the warmer months, but for winter it would be fine. I would recommend putting in some ventilation though--as you get toward spring and still have occasional cold nights but the days are getting warm you'll want ventilation or else the plants could fry.

I would like to use the greenhouse in the summer for starting plants and for tending to plants that need attention.
Do you think that a window and a screen door is enough with maybe a fan? I'm thinking the glass may still be to hot.

In your climate a greenhouse in the summer is not going to be practical unless you invest in really good ventilation, and even then I question why you would need it--the plants you're starting and the plants that need a bit of TLC would probably be happier outdoors with maybe some shade cloth over them to keep the hottest sun off of them. Even with excellent ventilation the GH will be a bit warmer than the outdoor temperatures and young/sick plants don't need extra heat in the summer (not to mention the electricity you'll use trying to keep the GH temps down close to outside temperatures) It could be really nice in the winter for starting plants, but not so much in the summer.

Today it got into the 90's here. I can't imagine how hot it would have been in that greenhouse. Whew! I'll keep using my oak tree outback for an incubator and a hospital, and the area behind the bushes for an ER. Lol. All I need the greenhouse for is to start seeds and to over-winter tender plants. Maybe all I need is something temporary that I can take down and put back up as needed. And of course some type of potting area would be awesome. Thanks, Angela

I leave my GH up year round, I just don't put anything in it during the summer. So I guess it depends on how much space you have but especially if you build one out of your shower doors it seems like it would be a lot of trouble to put it up and take it down every year.

It would have to be something simpiler to take down every year.

This message was edited May 30, 2010 11:36 AM

That sounds like a very good idea. My dad has been collecting shower doors for years. He also has 2 sliding doors, among other things. Would old windows work better? Windows with screens? That way you could lift the windows up in the summer. It still might be too hot with the glass at the top of the windows. Huh?

Rockgardener, what are you thinking would be good to use on the top?

This message was edited May 30, 2010 11:36 AM

This message was edited May 30, 2010 11:36 AM

yeah, that's a great idea. If I had a wooden/shingled roof instead of fiberglass etc, but had glass sides and doors would it be good for seeds?

This message was edited May 30, 2010 11:37 AM

I have about 28 sago palm pups I'm trying to root behind my oak tree. And several other things in pots. I just really need a spot for them. Is it feasible to keep the sago palm pups. I was told they could take up to 6 months-2 years to root or maybe never.

This message was edited May 30, 2010 11:37 AM

I just need a place for those type of things and I thought a greenhouse would be ideal until I thought about how hot it would get in there.
I was just wondering if you would keep those things not knowing if they would ever root or not? The parent palms got too big. They were planted near the entrance of the house.

This message was edited May 30, 2010 11:37 AM

What are you going to use as a floor in your greenhouse? I want to use the ground, but hubby thinks I need a wooden floor.

In your area I would do a gravel floor, the wood would have to be treated to last any time with your moisture (my opinion, for what it is worth).

I'll second the recommendation for gravel. I also don't think wood would be a great idea in an area like that which is going to see a good amount of water, but if you don't put anything in there then it'll get muddy and messy.

hay angedawn47 sorry i'm late to the party lol hay you could make a swamp cooler to help with the hot temp threw the summer months it can drop the temp anywhere from 10-30 dgrees depending on the water supplies temp and if you can get some shade cloth for the top might help to.
"whitebear"

What is a swamp cooler? I wanted to start seeds in there in the fall. It is still pretty warm here in the fall.

a swamp cooler takes water up to a pipe with holes in it that trickle the water threw a mesh and air is blown threw the mesh to cause evaporation which cools the air. you can do the same thing with a car radiator with cool water pumped thew it and a fan blowing threw it

I've read that those work really well where there isn't high humidity.

Yes, they are best in dry climates. They're popular out here as an alternative to central air conditioning, but in humid climates they don't work nearly as well.

Is this an appliance which is sold commercially or is it a do-it-yourself project?

both. i build my own but you can get them commercially to. here in arkansas you can get them from the chicken growers supple house. they use them to cool the chicken houses
"whitebear"

This message was edited May 30, 2010 11:38 AM

Because they work best in hot dry climates they're more common out west than other places in the country and here everyone knows what a swamp cooler is. They're also known as evaporative coolers so you could try looking for them under that name too.

thats what we back hills rednecks call em lol
as ecrane3 said their also called evaporative coolers maybe in a few weeks i'll do a
tutorial on making a home made one. if i get the time
"whitebear"

It may not work well here, since the humidy is tremendous.

they aren't sold in the St. Louis area, we have enough moisture most of the year.

It wouldn't work for cooling your whole house like people out here use them, but if you're just trying to keep the greenhouse (or the chicken coop) a little cooler than it would be otherwise it might work OK. Sounds like some other people in your area have used them for applications like that so it might be worth looking into. But I'd still argue you should just do your potting & seed starting outside under some shade cloth in the summer and save the greenhouse for winter activities--seems like an awful lot of trouble to make it usable for the summer (not to mention the cost of the cooling device + electricity to run it)

so true

Here's our temporary solution to the greenhouse/potting shed delimma. Hubby is going to build 10'x2' shelves on the back of his shop with a a 10'x4' roof. We will add a sink which will be hooked up with a water hose and a bucket underneath. We can add to this as we need to.
In the winter we can wrap with bisqueen or whatever we need to use. We can hang lights for warmth in the winter if needed. Could also hang flourescent lights if needed.
I really just need a place to pot things and to start seeds. It's out of the way, could be taken down, can convert to greenhouse in the winter, and it's close to my oak tree which is where my plants go that need to be rooted or tended to.
Any suggestions on this.
Some of the sago palm pups are starting to send out fronds from the top and they haven't rooted yet. I'm glad I didn't ditch them.