GreenHouse

I just bought one of these at Harbor Freight..... They are on sale until Sept 27th I believe..... 299.99 ..... Can't wait to get it put up........ Look it up on harborfreight.com

That's a REALLY nice greenhouse for the money! Can you buy extension kits if you need to expand? Do you know if the poly is 4mm or 6mm? With benches and shelves, you should have a lot of growing space. Good luck!

It's 8ft X 6ft - 6MM ..... You know I'm so "green" on this topic that I'm not sure what's better 6mm or 4mm....... I don't know about the extensions.... if all else fails I suppose you could find a way to hook two together..... I thought it was big enough for what I wanted to do.... but gardening can be infectious......

You do make a good point KDePetrillo..... you really need to think about what you want in a greenhouse...... I just wanted a place to start seeds....... without the dogs getting into them......

Hi vs! I also have this greenhouse. We put ours up last October. We absolutely love it. It held the heat well during the winter and my citrus trees loved me this season for it. This year I plan on filling 'er up even more. Brugs....(just a few), Bananas, Ears, Coleus and going to try a tomato plant this year. I also used it for seed starting this spring. I had flats and flats and flats. A lot I had to give away because I had no room! This summer, for shadecloth, I used landscaping fabric. I anchored it in the ground with bent wire. It worked wonderfully! I was able to keep starting seeds for the veggie garden as the season progressed. For the money, this is a great little greenhouse.

Sue did you get yours local or mail order?

Hey Marc, no I bought direct from Harbor Freight - here is a link:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47712

Thanks Sue :-)

6mm poly glazing will insulate a lot better than 4mm -- something I guess you need to really consider in Kansas. The Rion I just put up is only 4mm: I wish I could have gotten 6mm. But I'm a cheap Yankee, and I'm always worrying about the energy costs . . .

I've been looking at that one - but I can't find it for the price you mentioned - I only see it for $329... My birthday is next week.....hmmmm

I checked it out at one of their stores, and it was on sale for $299. I think the difference on the website is probably for the "included" shipping cost.

My biggest problem with it is the height. The doorway is a foot less than my height, and I don't think I could stand up in it. Taken together with the lack of vertical space for some of my taller plants and the inability to put more than two rows of shelves for shorter plants, I'll regrettably have to keep looking.

Why not put it up on cinder blocks or railroad ties to raise it up to the height you need?

I believe there is a strip of aluminum for the sliding door at the bottom of the opening. Raising that off the ground more than a foot would be a fun obstacle to getting plants in the door.

Ah......I was thinking a simple set of stairs might work. Maybe I'll rethink what I was plannig too.

I got one for Christimas 2003. A reall doozy to put together, but well worth it. I will be heading into my first winter with a greenhouse.

Kathy Jo - are you going to heat it in your zone 6 winters??? I am in zone 5 - thinking of getting one to use for seed starting...did you buy yours locally or thru the mail??? We do have a HF locally (haven't been there in ages), but I can't imagine that they stock them...need to get on the phone..

My husband got me a HF greenhouse for my birthday in January. He got this one off of Ebay. You can find just about anything there! He paid $269.00.

I would like to try to keep plants in mine until after Christmas. May depend on what this winter is like. I think it will take quite a bit to heat it. And then move things outside again in February - again depending on the weather? I'm sure I will learn a lot this winter.

I bought mine off Harbour Freight and had it delivered by Yellow Freight.

I used Railroad Ties for the foundation. I tried using concreate blocks. but , well....... Let's just say I things weren't level.

I am trying to seal it better with silicone caulking. I am better at the new clear duct tape. although the clear duct tape doesn't look so pretty.

KathyJo: What kinds of plants are you planning to move back outside in February? I'm in Zone 6 (or 5, depending), and I can't move anything outside until the beginning of April, at the earliest.

Sue_WA what foundation did you use .... ? I like the railroad tie idea.... I was thinking of building treated lumber platform......

Others.... I bought it directly from HF on sale until September 27th. On Sale for 299.99. Mine came from the back room in one box about 8 foot by 2 foot...... very heavy. I'm a novice gardener this will be a major step up from the 20.00 plastic starter kit greenhouse at the Dollar Store for me .... But since enjoying DG for the last few months, I believe my condition is now terminal and the only thing that will cure what ails me is next years planting season...... ; - )

Hi VS - we used 4 x 4's (I think - trying to remember!) on a base of sand. Like this:

Here is what it looked like just after we finished last October:

Looks great! Great price too!

ok, the boss gave me the ok to get one (today is our anniversary and he didn't get me anything!) However, he always has some crazy ideas that he wants to try. He wants to put the greenhouse on a low trailer bed so it can be moved. We don't have a place that it can stay permanently. (have to have room to get the camping 5th wheel thru the yard) His idea was "if we get an ice storm, I can move it into the barn" If that doesn't beat all. I am playing along... But, my question is - if it was put on a trailer bed, is it sturdy enough our would we have cracking problems???

I will do most anything to get one!!! I'm desperate...

Hi sarv! Well........when I wanted one of these I dove in and read many threads from folks who had purchased this HF greenhouse. Some folks built them directly on a platform (mini deck), some folks built them directly ON their decks, and one guy built his in his garage, and then he and his father 'carried' it out to it's final resting place. Another guy made a concrete foundation. Lots of choices. This is lightweight and two people can lift and carry it around.

I forgot to mention, we drilled holes in the wood, and sunk rebar through the wood into the ground to hold it down the foundation. We screwed the base of the greenhouse down in several different places. Finally, I caulked every seam with silicone after that. When we had high winds this past winter and spring, that greenhouse did not move an inch!

So if you put it on a trailer bed, I see a few potential problems. First you have to screw it down somehow, and second you will have to insulate the bottom somehow to prevent cold air from entering if you plan to heat it. If you plan on moving it when you get the wind and ice storms then I guess you won't need to caulk. Some people reported the panels 'flying to wisconsin' because they were not caulked in. They are only held to the frame with 'clips'.

hmm - food for thought! Thanks for all the info. I am not sold on the trailer thing, but to sooth my DH, I will do what he thinks best - then next year, do what I want!! LOL I just want one!!! I had not planned on heating it, but getting a head start on seeds. Winter months in Mich are the pits...I have a room all set up with grow lights, so that occupies a lot of my time, but would love to bask in the greenhouse in the spring. It will probably be so small and full that I can just stand and turn around! Oh well..

For seed starting, I had about 13 shelves. Each shelve holds three flats. Black plastic from Home Depot. You can stack 5 in the center (back) and three high on the sides. This year I will take out some of the shelves so I can move in our brugs. I'm so happy with these brugs! Just enough warmth to keep everything alive until seed starting time. This year I started seeds too early, I was so anxious to get started.

I'm only 5' 4" so I can move fairly easily in there. It is a very small greenhouse and once inside with those shelves you have very little maneuvering room. But it was cozy on the coldest days, and a nice place to get away for a few hours.

KDePetrillo, I should clarify what I meant by back outside in February. I meant from the House to the Green House in February. I have no idea how much heat it would take to heat this little GH through January in this weather. I also live on top of a very windy cold hill, which will make my heating an extra challenge.

I have experienced the panels flying to Wisconsin syndrome. I am also using clear duct tape until I get it all caulked. I may use both with my weather conditions. If one panel comes out in a windstorm it only sets it up, for even more trapping of wind for others to fly out. I completely lost one panel and think it may be in the bottom of one of my ponds. I am replacing it with plexiglass.

One thing about this GH, is it is VERY lightweight. Moving and lifting would be easy, but also I think it would be incredibly easy to bend the lightweight aluminum frame.

Still trying to resist, but my resolve is weakening...
Not much else in this price range and I'm worried that my poly/nylon greenhouse will be too hard to heat in this new climate.

I just wish that I were 5'4" like Sue!

called the local HF and they said they had two left. But the price was only 159.. I kept saying - '"no that is not the correct price" - he said it was the 6x8 one with polycarb sides. Guess I will have to take a drive down there to view it in person. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they are having a major sale!!

darn = just went online to check out the item number and it is a soft sided one- phooey....I'm gonna call them back and tell the again what I am interested in....

Just called them back and they have the 'hard' sided one for 299 ----yahoo - how do you say 'happy birthday and happy aniversary?"

happy birthday, happy anniversary and everything else. enjoy.

Tropicalaria. How tall are you? I do think if you are very tall you will want to build up the foundation. I'm 5'6" ... Think I just fit.

Oh that's great, Happy B-Day and Anniversary! :)

Gotta ask....did you get married on your Birthday so that your DH would only have one date to remember??? LOL
Happy Celebrations!!!!!

riker - married 9-21 bd 9-23 -always get a combo gift - the pits!! Right now I have newspapers taped together on the floor showing the dimensions of the greenhouse. I have a question - the specs say 6 ft 5 in high - I assume this is the peak measurement - how high are the sides (before the slant starts)

Those of you that have this little treasure - are your shelves inside made with lumber with screen or something else. Please let me know what works for you. I think I will be getting one.....I'm sooooo happy!!

Kathy - I'm 6'2". Riker's got me thinking about cinderblocks, and Sue's got me thinking about using more than just the recommended 1x2 frame, but really the house will be more for the plants than for me. Still, the height will limit the height of my plants and shelves.

This structure is small enough that the surface to volume ratio is not so good for heating, but the polycarbonate should be better insulation... Would it be harder to heat two of these or one of my 10'x10' PE covered greenhouses (which has twice the floorspace). I hate trying to do the math to figure out heat loss.

Next year I plan to build a much larger, polycarbonate greenhouse, but I'm stuck this year with whatever I can quickly put up since funds are limited and I will be in a new house next summer.

tropicalaria, You are going to make me pull out one of my greenhouse books aren't you? The one that helps you figure how to set it so it picks up the most sun. What the slant of the roof should be? That sort of thing. You are going to make me think. I will assume off the top of my head if all other specifications were the same the one larger greenhouse would be cheaper to heat than the two smaller ones. I think we could discuss this for a very long time.

Now the shelving thing. I wish I could put more money into it. Right now I have shelf racks from Lowe's setting on concrete blocks. The concrete blocks use too much space, so hopefully will replace this crude system at a later date. and depending on what plants and what you are going to do with it I suppose you could make a C shape shelving. I just made long shelves along the side, because I have some larger plants to put in as well.

A friend made me wooden benches with hardware cloth(wire mesh) tops -- great for drainage, and I recommend them. Be sure, tho, to get a heavy gauge, because the weight of the pots, soil, etc can be substantial.

- Kathleen

Yahoo - just brought it home!!! Assembly is tomorrow - keep your fingers crossed that everything is in the box - it was pretty beat up!!

My box was beat up too, but bet it's all there. Get your thinking cap on ..... The instructions are pretty bad.