To Buy a GH or not to buy? That is the question

My husband and I are debating if we should buy a GH. We are talking about a small one he found at Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47712

We both have been wanting to get one for about 25 years. I'm just not sure it would really extend our season that much. We wouldn't heat it other then my husband's idea to using a heat tape on the shelves for the trys to sit warm on. The night times temperatures would be the main reason for needing heat, since we get allot of sun in the day. (of course). I think we would still start the seed indoors to make sure they germinated. Then we would put them out in the greenhouse after they get going. How soon should that be?

Also do you think this small GH would be big enough for our own gardening needs? I'm just not sure how much help it would be or if cold frames would do the same with less cost. He really wants to get me one and hopes it can second as a garden shed until he get another one built. We have a pretty sizeable vegetable garden that I start from seed and I also have a new flower bed to get going. Can one layer shelves in a small greenhouse for more room?

Oh also, how might we raise this greenhouse a bit and still have it securely stationed to the ground. It looks kind of low except for the center. Do any of you have any like it? If so do you like it?

What do you all think? Thanks, I'm new here by the way.

Gal from Sagewood Farm

This message was edited Feb 17, 2006 10:18 AM

If you are going to store things and grow, you need to go bigger, after you get shelves and plants in a GH the walls close in quite a bit. I have a Riga on a base so it added about 4 inches which is nice so it is about 7'6". I love it and right now have 15 flats started of perennials, and add more each week.
Get the size up from what you think you will need, this does not mean a smaller one won't work, it will ,but the elbow room and the future growing space is nice.
If you are going to continue to germinate indoors, I would place heat tape in the floors of cold frames and finish the plants out in those. I heat my GH with Kerosene and it has been working very well, (ground too hard to run electricity in winter). But later it will run on electricity and kerosene, using electricity as a backup.
One thing is to research all your options, and make sure you are going to get something you are happy with.

Good Luck

PS I vote for a GH it is like having your own little sanctuary LOL

Hey...thats no question...of course you need one. :)

I have the harbor freight and I am thrilled with it. I agree that while it would be great for your seed starting etc...it is not really big enough to use as a "storage" shed. You can put in several shelves and still have room to walk around a bit but I wouldnt consider it a good storage unit.

I have the HF 6x8 greenhouse, but I hear they are making a bigger one!! (drat!!) We mounted ours on a 2x10 to give us extra room. I have two shelves running along the 8ft side (total of 4 shelves) plus I can use the space under the shelves. My shelves are moveable so I can adjust them. I start me seeds inside under lights and last year put them in the greenhouse the first week in April. We only had to add supplemental heat twice (once during a freak snowstorm) Since it is too expensive to heat year round, the 6x8 is really just fine. I found that once the warm weather comes, I didn't use it at all except for a storage for the hoes etc.

I"d say go for it!

By all means get yourself a greenhouse. My New hubby built me one 2 years ago ,just after we got married .i t is 8x10 and 8 foot high in the back and 7 foot in the front . He made it from 2x4s and it sits on 4x4s. We bought Suntuff from Home Depot. the roof is Sun tuff nad ,the front and west side and he useds an old storm door for the door. The east end is an old 6x5 window he too out of the house,he hinged it on the top so i can open it ,that way i get good air circulation with the screen in the door on the west end, I started plants in April . I had two rows of flats .on the shelves and one row on the ground. the top row had two 4 ft shop lights end to end . we used a sm. electric heater and put a tarp curtain up behind the shelves. we had a thermostat set at 55 degrees hooked to the heater and our light bill only went up 30 dollars for April and 22 dollars for May . I ended up with 156 tomatoe plants 136 pepper plants and 9 flats of flowers.
This year we have an outside wood furnace and hubby had them put baseboard hot water system in the green house. I still will start in April , but we are going to insulate it better this summer so I can use it year round
This was the best wedding presen I ever got!
MY Hubby and I were both widowed years ago,so between us we have 6 grown children and 18 grandkids.

Aleta.

The 6x8 HFGH is liked by most people who own one. There are modifications that can help with the space. Building the GH on a base of 2x10s or 2x12s will give more headroom. Connecting two 6x8 HFGH end-to-end can be done. Dmail mail me if interested and I can dig up links with pictures.

The instructions for the 6x8 HFGH are notoriously bad, but I know of a construction tutorial with plenty of pictures on another site. Again, Dmail for the link if desired.

The word so far on the 10x12 HFGH is not good... directions still bad, but with this GH there are parts drilled wrong, bolts too short, missing parts, and poor response to complaints. Rumor is that the manufacturer of the 10x12 HFGH is not the same as the manufacturer of the 6x8.

Good luck. SB