Greenhouse for zone 5

My hubby purchased a new surround sound system this weekend. We made a deal earlier that if he got that I could get a green house this fall.

I can spend up to 750 on it and would like to hear some recommendations. I want to use it in the winter for green beans, broccoli, and lettuce, as well as starting seeds in very early spring. I know I will need a heater and that is not figured into the 750 cost. I will purchase that separately. I saw one on the HD website and it is really inexpensive, but I don't know if it would be worth it since I plan to keep whatever I purchase for a long time.

We do get quite a bit of snow in the winter and hail in spring. Our winter temps don't get below zero (often), but we definitely freeze for most of the winter.

Any advise would be helpful.
Thanks

Do your research and look at some of the older Greenhouse threads here. I''m sure the subject has been discussed many times in the past. You'll get the good and the negative reports on the different types of greenhouses from members. The only inexpensive greenhouse I can think of off the bat is Harbor Freight. Try searching for that under "search forums" on the top of page, select Greenhouse forum, then Harbor Freight. Cross your fingers the search feature is working. I haven't tried it lately.

Good luck, you'll love having a GH.

I agree, I think Harbor Freight is probably the only decent one you'll be able to afford. From what I've gathered, the Harbor Freights are a real pain to put together (bad instructions, etc) but once they're up people are happy with them. Maybe you could afford a smaller Rion--I can't remember the prices on them but a lot of people around here have them too. I would definitely recommend a GH like those with the rigid twinwall construction over the thin plastic covered type of GH (they are much cheaper, but in an area like yours it'll be hard to keep them warm). Do you have a link for the one you saw on HD? If you post it here someone could give you some thoughts on it.

Thanks, I have done quit a bit of research on greenhouses, but it can so confusing and the prices vary so much.

For some reason I cannot get the website to post as a link, but I can tell you it is a MasterGro by Plaram 6 ft X 8 ft.

I will do a search for the Harbor Freight and Rion. What I have seen for Rion has been out of my price point.

In case anyone else wants to look, here's a link http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100349417&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&PID=3523498&ci_sku=100349417&ci_src=10043468&cm_mmc=CJ-_-shopzilla-_-D28-_-100349417&AID=10368321&cj=true&locStoreNum=629&marketID=21 The one thing that worries me about this one is that it doesn't mention twinwall polycarbonate, it just mentions polycarbonate walls which makes me suspect it may be single wall which will cost more to heat since it won't keep the heat in as well. If it's not twinwall polycarbonate, then you're better off with the Harbor Freight which I think is priced similarly and does have twinwall.

Here's a link to an affordable GH. There's a 6' x 8' one for $679 and it has twin wall. There's also customer reviews you can look at. I bought my Rion from these people and was satisfied with their service.

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/EasyStart-Greenhouse/productinfo/HG-ES/

It also has a sliding door, which is nice. You don't have to worry about wind catching it like we Rion folks have to put up with.

This message was edited Jun 9, 2010 4:29 AM

That looks like a nice little greenhouse for the price; I'd only add 2 pieces of advice: First, you probably know already, be sure to anchor it down. The 2nd thing, as the owner of a Rion with twinwall, I would use some kind of "glazing tape" on the edges of the poly panels. There was no mention of doing that when I got my Rion, and as my first greenhouse I was clueless about it, but after 7 years my panels now have everything from dead worms to spider egg cases stuck inside the channels of the twinwall. I've seen the tape sold in the Charley's Greenhouse catalog, I'm sure it's a fairly common item.

The only other thing I'd say is, you might want to think about getting something larger; once you have a greenhouse you're going to be hooked!

;-)

I looked at this one several times, but on another sight it says it is for milder climates. Is that just w/o a heater?
Another one I looked at was the EasyGrow 6X8. It is $875 and it comes w/ shelves. I know it is more than I said I could spend, but I might be able to talk him into letting me spend a little more especially if I wait a while longer to purchase it.
I also looked into building my own, but found that the panels themselves would cost over $400. I think I could do just as well w/ a kit.

Even with the twin walls, I've had to insulate my Rion GH in the winter, zone 5. I wrapped mine in a heavy plastic, use a small electric space heater and 100 gallons of water to hold heat in during the night. I also added styrofoam board to the bottom 3 feet on the north wall, and will expand that this fall. I was able to grow lettuce, cukes, tomatoes, herbs, flowers and spinach this past winter, which was VERY cold. The biggest problem was cloudy days, many more than normal.

Is your Rion a 4mm polycarb? I have been looking into the different panels and did not know if I would be efficient to have one less than 6mm. I have also been looking into building my own. I found an inexpensive source for double wall polycarb and it will cost well under $400 for the glazing AND accessories. I just have to get the wood for the frame.

For anyone interested the web site is:
http://www.greenhouses-etc.net/
(Sorry I don't know how to make it link)

Now for the game of 20 questions (well, only a few)...

What kind of heater do you use? If you don't mind what does it cost to run your heater in the coldest months?
If you could have built your own would you have or are you happy with the kit you bought?

I figured out that I can build a little bigger for less if I make it myself. The only issue is time. I know it will take a lot longer to build one from scratch and may be more frustrating. I am semi handy (less than I think sometimes) and have a friend who is a framer and a father who is a handyman. My DH is also an electrician so I don't have to pay anyone to get electricity. I don't plan on plumbing or gas right now.

I use a "milk house" heater, it has lower minimum settings than one for house use. It ran about $20 at the local hardware store. It has a fan but does not oscillate. That would be a nice feature.

My husband is not a handyman, and I'm disabled, so a kit was the best option for us. A good friend who is handy came over and helped put it together.

It was extremely cold for long periods this winter, but the electric bill didn't go up very much. I had the heater set to only run if it got down to 50º. Windy days it ran more, if the sun came out it ran just at night.

I'm having a brain bubble when remembering the mm of the panels. Maybe someone else can help?

Thanks.

It looks like I will be able to get the lumber next weekend and the panels???well that is probably going to have to wait until late summer or early fall. As long as I have it for the fall and winter I will be happy!!!
Lumber is going to be less than I thought too (under 300). I am using the book "How to Build Your Own Greenhouse" by Roger Marshall. It looks straight forward enough. I will post my progress once I get started. I am so excited I can hardly sleep at night :-)

Wonderful! I'll be out your way in September, maybe I can come see it, haha. My son lives near Estes Park.

onyxwar, please keep us updated on your project! So good when something costs less than expected!!!

:-)

That's great. Take lots of progress pictures.

If I have started or finished in Sept (fingers crossed) you are welcome to come see . We are only an hr from Estes.

Thanks for all the encouragement. Now just keep your fingers crossed for me!
I posted a bunch of stuff on craig's list to help w/ the cost and am recycling cans :0). What we do for gardening fun...

Yeah!!! Got my first $15 from a sale on craigs list. Just posted it this morning! I am on my way!!!!

Just thought I would share with you my GH. I went threw the same thing you did, but decided with our bitter winter weather that it needed to be stick built. It is 12'x22' we built down 4 foot for freeze line, cinderblocked that and insulated the walls underground, my pc panels are 8mm. We heat it with milk house heaters and 2 barrels of water to help retain heat. I have no cost for my electrick as hubby put up a wind turbine last year for me that just runs the GH.
Post pictures as you go, would love to see the progress !!

Paula

Paula, what a great idea to use a wind turbine! What do you have growing in your GH in the winter?

Thnk you !! Hubby was bout ready to plant me in the garden after the first winter cuz of the high heat bill.. We are all elec. I should really post more recent pics of it.. Funny how things change as we need them too ! This last year we grew, potatoes, lettuce, tomatos, cucumbers, bell peppers, seems like something else too sure cant remember right now.. but then their were all the bedding plants too.

Polyacre,

Thanks for the input. I will be digging down below the frost line and insulating that. I just can't figure out if I put the insulation inside or outside the wood foundation posts.

Was it expensive installing the wind turbine? Can you install them in a regular back yard or do you have to live out in the country?

That sounds like a great investment if I can put one up.

Polyacre,
Did a google search for the wind turbines. Wow, they look like they would be great, but are a bit too pricey for me right now. I think that will be my next big project after the greenhouse. That is such a great idea!

onyxway, Gosh I sure wouldnt know about the insulation... our foundation was all cinderblock, the pink insulation sheets we placed on the inside of that wall. Then for the stick built portion, we used the thickest insulation we could get !!!

Heating... Ya never know.. maybe you wont need as much to heat yours as I do mine.. And no need for the turbine at all !!!

Paula

Thanks. I went did an extensive search last night since I could not sleep and found that the foundation insulation needs to be placed on the outside.

I also looked into the turbine and wow...a bit too high, even if I waited a year or two. I did find on the CO Dept of Ag a good way to use milk jugs for solar heat. The recommend those over the 55 gal barrels. They just paint them black, fill them w/ water and a tsp of bleach, seal w/ caulk, and put them on a book case next to the gh wall. They stated that the gh stayed above 35, w/o any other heat source when, when it was -17 outside. We don't get that low often so it might be worth a try to use w/ a heater to keep it above 55.

Thats good stuff to know! And sounds like the jugs would be worth the try... Let us know how it works for you.. And I could be wrong about the insulation on the GH.. Hubby did all that, but it works for us either way! I have been to Greeley many many times... Grew up in Canon City till I was 18... Beautiful country!

I agree on the barrels. I had 5 gallon buckets, then switched to the 55 gal drums. The buckets did a much better job and I'll be going back to them for this winter. The drums were a pain to deal with, too hard to move. It is good to know about the milk jugs, I'll use them too if I can't find enough of the buckets.

Hi, I'm new to this forum and I'm hoping to get some help with the greenhouse we'll be building (soon I hope). We're collecting salvaged windows and have also gotten several tempered glass store front windows as well as some old sliding glass door panels. I think we're getting close to having enough to start building soon. We haven't really decided on what the footing will be but I'm thinking that 2 to 3 ft tall concrete block may be a good option. We could fill the holes with foam insulation to help keep the greenhouse warm. We can get over 100° in the summer and -20° in the winter. I'm hoping to be able to overwinter tropicals but can't afford a huge heating bill. I can run a small heater but I'd love to hear ideas for heating. I'm hoping the greenhouse will be around 10 X 12 but it all depends on how we put the windows together. The roof will be tempered glass panels and I'm not sure how to work in some vents because the tempered glass is VERY heavy. The whole thing will be part of a cottage garden that will surround the greenhouse. I'd love to avoid some of those "beginner" problems. Any ideas and help would be appreciated. THX

I bought a Delonghi oil filled heater last year with a digital thermostat for my GH. (around $75 at Lowes) I set it to come on when the temps dropped below 50 and it did a good job. We are all electric so our bill normally goes up in the winter anyway. I was pleased with the heater over all. I did put bubble wrap between the joists in the ceiling which are covered in polycarbonate. I had an Australian Tree Fern, Poinsettia and an Elephant Ear in there all winter with no problem.

Doug

Hmmm, that's an idea, thanks! I have one of those in the basement that we haven't used in quite a few years. I wonder if it still works. If I could keep it above 50 without costing a fortune, I'd be very happy. We're definitely trying to do this on a shoe string budget. I'd love to be able to keep my elephant ears going and maybe even a banana. I don't know if I could keep it warm enough to keep my orchids in though. I do have a collection started of orchid cactus that like the cool winter nights, it may work great for them.

If I had to do it over, I'd make the North side out of something solid, more like a house, and put a foundation on the bottom 2 feet on the other sides. Not only would it be warmer, but would hide where I put much of my supplies that can look messy.