I need some expertise advise

https://www.farmtek.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10052&storeId=10001&langId=-1&division=FarmTek&productId=10332

I am looking at this Greenhouse. My husband is coming around. He told me to check out some prices and then we could decide on which ones to get.

Would you please look at it and give me your honest opinion on what you think of this one. 104605 this is the number of the one I am interested in.

Linda
EDIT TO SAY; I really could use some feedback from the DG members who all ready have a GH.

This message was edited Sep 4, 2005 5:46 PM

Looks nice!

Linda,
I agree with Jazzpunkin. It does look nice. Then I looked at the dimensions.
Have you given any thought to:
What you want to grow. That influences how tall and how big your greenhouse has to be. With 5' sidewalls what you grow will have to be fairly short. You may be able to place 1 possibly 2 shelfs against the sidewalls.
How you are going to keep the greenhouse cool during summer. This may include use of shadecloth (Comes in 40% to 80%) and or evaporative coolers and/or misters. Smaller greenhouses get hotter faster. I believe Kansas gets hot during the summer so you will probably need a way to keep the greenhouse cool. You need to know if the existing frame will hold the pipelines for the misters if you use them. An evaporative cooler will need a separate frame placed outside the greenhouse, but you need an opening on a sidewall of your greenhouse necessitating some kind of reframing of a portion of your greenhouse.
How you are going keep your greenhouse warm in winter. Use of heaters and insulation maybe? Use of bubblewrap (greenhouse quality) helps, but you will need to have another source of heat if you plan to overwinter plants in it.
How you are going to circulate air through the greenhouse. Still air will be one of your plants' greatest enemy so you need a way to circulate air around the greenhouse.

The advice I was given was to get the biggest I could afford. I didn't exactly follow that because my greenhouses were gifts. My first greenhouse was an 8' X 8' X 8' for my orchids. This one was a gift from and built by one of my sons. The greenhouse was full in 3 months. This greenhouse is covered with 50% shadecloth. This was still too bright for many of my orchids here in Texas. So I just purchased 70% shadecloth for the roof and 60% shadecloth for the sides. II'll have to see how that works. Even with shadecloth and a large ceiling fan, it still got too hot inside. I bought an evaporative cooler last summer and it has lowered the temperatures in there down to the hight 80's and increased the humidity. I use an electric greenhouse heater because we don't have natural gas and there isn't enough room in there for a vented propane heater. Not ideal. This winter I plan to use bubblewrap to see how much that helps.

I had a bit of a choice when my husband bought the 20' X 20' greenhouse shown in this link.

https://www.farmtek.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10052&storeId=10001&langId=-1&division=FarmTek&productId=10403

The peak of the greenhouse had to be at least 12' because this greenhouse was to be used to overwinter my citrus tree collection plus a few other potted plants that wouldn't survive winter here in central Texas. By the time I got this greenhouse I had learned a few lessons through my experience with my smaller greenhouse. I knew what would go in the bigger greenhouse. It was to be used mainly to overwinter plants. So the heating was more important. The inside is big enough to place a vented propane heater inside. The heater is big enough that it will easily keep the temperature in there at 45ºF. It doesn't have to be warmer than that in this greenhouse. I know it is one of the ugliest greenhouses around, but with our hot summers, being able to raise the sides helps keep the plants I have in there now at almost the same temperature as the outside. The translucent cover cuts down the amount of sunlight that enters the greenhouse and allows me to grow plants that can't take direct sunlight. This was the first summer I've had it and I didn't have to use shadecloth. Although next summer, I would like to add a light shadecloth to part of the top. My Cymbidiums didn't do as well in there this year. They need a little bit more shade.

I hope my suggestions and my experiences help you with your decision. I do know this. Whichever one you decide to buy, it will never be big enough. Somehow plants pop up like magic and before you know it, your greenhouse will be full. It will be a tight squeeze in my bigger greenhouse this coming winter and I've only had it since December 2004.
Veronica

My husband was thinking about putting it up on blocks to make it a little taller and mounting it to the side of the house, then running a vent and air duct from the house heater for its heat. All I am planting on keeping in there over winter, would be my 20 tropical Hibiscus, and 3 EE's, and a Rice paper plant, and maybe a couple of hanging baskets. I would like to have my bubbler's going in there for the humidity. In the bubblers is where I would have my brug cuttings.

We haven't decided on which one we want yet, I am still looking. Maybe someone could make some suggestions on a good greenhouse, that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

I will still start all my seeds in the house. They wouldn't be moved to the GH until around April, just before it would be time to plant outside.

Mainly the GH would be used to store plants to keep them freezing out. Cause I have limited space in the house.

Linda

This message was edited Sep 5, 2005 12:55 PM