Sould I get a greenhouse?

I have been a gardener on and off for 11 years,I work on other peoples gardens, ie. help design and install and maintain perennial borders and rose gardens. After taking five years off to stay home with my two girls(5+6) I'm going back into business. I have got some good clients lined up, have all my tools, bought my first ever computer (an e-mac), getting a small pick-up truck on monday (a used toyota) and a bank loan to cover all this...
So how great is having your own greenhouse? How much time is spent on maintenence? I think I would really love one but don't know how serious an investment is required. I am on a loooowww budget. would love some advice,thanks.

Howdy Miggy. A hearty welcome to DG! (By the way, where are you? What zone or state? This will help with many answers you may need. (Owning a greenhouse in Alaska will be much different that owning one in Key West, for example.)

I bet you'd enjoy one. Did you want to start your own perennials for your landscaping and such? There is very little maintenance for a backyard ghouse. The bigger you get tho, the more plants and plant varieties, then it will of course take more time.

Greenhouses can be bought in kits (sometimes expensive) or home made. There again, depending on your location and weather extremes, you'll need to decide how many months you are going to heat it, or cool it, what type of covering you need, or what you can get by with.

I've never know anyone who had one to not like it. Plus, I bet your daughters would not only love it but would learn and have fun growing their own seeds/plants.

Oh yeah hardiness zones! I'm in zone 7a, on Long Island in N.Y.,
I don't start my perennials from seed, we've got some really great growers close by so I get my clients stuff from them.
I do start some of my own annuals to insure getting some harder find stuff, and to have them fresher later in the season.
thanks for your reply, I'm new here and am thrilled to have found DG.

glad to have you here. I you're going back in business and want more info on ghouses, be sure to check out the Market Growers forum also. Even tho you're not a market grower (yet!) a lot of us over there have greenhouses, so you could get some good info.

Take care!

Will do. Thanks again!

Hi !
I don't know if this applies to you or not, but........

We were able to buy a greenhouse from a couple who owned a landscaping business. They paid $17,000.00 for a 30'x96' which included the works...benches,heaters,planting supplies and plant stock. Just two years later, they sold all of it to us for $5,000! The reason they sold was that just when the greenhouse needed their attention the most (in the early spring), that is when their landscaping business was at its peak. One or the other had to be ignored and the greenhouse lost.

If you want the greenhouse for your own fun, go for it. If you want it for your business, do you already have someone in mind to take care of it in your abscence ?
Ron

wow, good point. Thanks.
miggy

that's the interesting part, Miggy....I have always enjoyed mine or ours, should I say!.....partly because it gives me a sanctuary to bask in during the winter and secondly, I love tropicals. This is where they stay! Elaine

Hey Mig,Have you chosen a name for your third baby? Sounds like you are really gonna love it! Yes. Lots of time well spent! And by the way,welcome to Dave's. Your gonna love it!

Hi,Miggy, You can get greenhouses in any size. Mine is a portable 6'x10'. I use a heat mat set up in an underbed box insulated with ridgid foam.(Check the "heat from cables" thread, this forum) Obviously you can't grow much in this, but it is a start. I'm learning a lot without spending a lot.

Hey Everyone thanks for all the input, I am starting to really really want a greenhouse, but I think i'm going to start my seeds on the porch(and the kitchen,living room, dining room, kids room,Bathroom,my room) again this year. And start saving for next year.
I didn't get a bank loan and I think paying off the pick up(haven't gotten it yet) will be the first order of business.Thanks for the very good advice, I couldn't have gotten it anywhere else.

Didn't get a bank loan.. Have you ever thought about applying for a grant? My sister said they like to give grants to women who are running their own company. (whoever they are.)

I've heard that too, but don't know who THEY are either. Did get truck though so YIPEEE!!!
Thanks for advice, will let you know if I find out secret identity of THEY.

I found this add in the paper just yesterday:

FREE GRANTS... education, business, home building,& etc. Phone live operators 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.. Mon thru Sat. 1-800-339-2817 ext. 60. I'm curious, may give them a call.
Also my sis-in-law used work for a city water dist. any way she had been sent to a grant class and says you can write your own proposal, and there are some places on the web that tell you who is giving grants. She's going to get me the info.

Awesome!!! Thank you so much. March 6 and another 8" of snow!!!

hi miggy from an ex L.I.ender you will love a gh. boy i sure don't miss driving in the snow.

Try NYS Small Business Administration. They do not give grants but underwrite loans from commercial financial institutions.

However, you want to think carefully about how much debt, repaid at a fixed sum each month from a seasonal revenue stream, your business can support in its early stages. A real drain on cash flow.

Also, there are women's business groups. My wife is involved in a couple that are industry specific for her..., Women on Wall Street (WOW) and a European one (WEB), and two having to do with her field of science.

I would bet that a little looking around, maybe even your local chamber of commerce, would begin to yield a lot of "women in business" contacts.

I've watched these relationships really assist my wife in her career.

Good luck.

Adam.