Small Greenhouse

Find the Right Small Greenhouse Kit

A small greenhouse is the easily accessible dream of many property owners. There are brand-name small greenhouse kits that retail for under $100. For a full selection of brand-name small greenhouse kits, many growers prefer to browse a recommended web vendor.

For those who only wish to grow fewer than nine medium-sized plants, greenhouse kits which feature roof-access are probably best. These portable greenhouses are as small as they come for weather-resistant growing.

Hobby Gardener is a brand which makes products ideal for the up-and-coming grower. More stable than portables, Hobby Gardener designs walk-in greenhouses that can expand. It's perfect for the grower who wants to start small, but may expand as their skills increase.

There are other fine brand names which make small, easy-to-assemble greenhouse kits. Cape Cod is a fine brand that provides a lifetime of quality service, as does Juliana. To find the perfect growing house for your needs, find a web resource that lets you browse through many products by several different brands.

Greenhouse Options

Most growers experience a down period during harsh months before spring and after fall. Fortunately, most name brands make a cold frame growing house designed to extend your grow cycle into winter weather. For those who are new to the world of growing, it's best to get small, but expandable greenhouse kits. A cold frame traps the heat from daily sunlight and resists cooling at night. They can be an excellent, yet inexpensive way to start your season early or extend it into late Fall.

There are several important things to remember when purchasing a cold frame--sticking with name brands is only one of them. A cold frame growing house can come in a variety of styles--most growers find that an online vendor is often a good place to find a quality selection, (Juliana greenhouses guarantee all of their cold frames to work for 12 years, so they're often worth browsing).

You may want a portable greenhouse. Featuring a Solaron cover these greenhouses can be great for those who don't grow year-round. When not in use, portable cold frame greenhouse kits can be collapsed and stored in a closet or under a bed

Cold frames trap moisture reducing the need for daily watering. The best place to install a cold frame is in a spot with a southern or southeastern exposure—make sure there is ample drainage. Cold frames are great for the grower who only needs room for eight mid-sized plants. Using PVC pipe fittings, it's possible to build your own walk-in greenhouse of any size.

Unfortunately, cold frames won't guard against harsh or sudden cold weather--additional steps must be taken. Experts recommend covering the structure with sacks of leaves or straw during the night. This is an excellent way to guard against sudden freezing--a surefire way to lose all of your plants.

Many growers encounter the same problem--they start small, but soon find they want more room. Fortunately, there are several types of greenhouses that are made to expand. A greenhouse made of PVC piping will easily refit, and Hobby Gardener is known for making adjustable-sized greenhouses.

Naturally, a cold frame greenhouse isn't best for large-scale growing operations. Also, a cold frame green house doesn't expand as easily as its full-sized companions, so if you want a cold frame but suspect you’ll need to expand later, buy an oversized cold frame to start out with..

Many Juliana greenhouses are known for their exceptional cold frame design. By using the Internet, many growers can find Juliana cold frame greenhouses starting at under $100. A recommended web vendor can also be a great way to browse from a variety of name-brand cold frame greenhouses.

Portable Greenhouses

Growing is an intense and fulfilling process, and greenhouse tending can be a pricy hobby, but even with a small budget you don’t have to sacrifice quality--these days discount greenhouse kits are sturdy and affordable. There are several brand-name companies that make discount greenhouse kits which will stand up to all the elements. Without worrying about the cost, focus on what you need, the right greenhouse depends upon your specific needs.

Make your life easy with a portable greenhouse.

Many modern greenhouse kits come with a variety of customizable options. To see and compare all of their possibilities, browse a recommended web vendor. Finding the right greenhouse for sale depends upon your needs, your surroundings, and the type of plants you wish to grow. For instance, for those who grow tropical plants or orchids, a sloped-roof is necessity, (For this feature, check out either Juliana or Cape Cod greenhouses).

The least expensive greenhouse kits are the portables. Portable greenhouses can start under $100, and are great for the beginning grower who doesn't want to do things year-round. Check out Flowerhouse which makes three leading styles of portable greenhouses. There are both walk-in portables with door flaps that Velcro, and ones that access through the top, depending upon your needs. For those who only wish to grow fewer than nine medium-sized plants, greenhouse kits which feature roof-access are probably best.

If you're thinking about a portable, be sure to find one that blocks UV rays, while still letting in at least 75% of sunlight. Portable kits assemble in under an hour, and can be stored away in a closet or under a high bed; they can even bundle into a tote bag. A quality portable will have parts that easily snap together, and a reliable anchor system.

Uninvited Houseguests

Many gardeners move potted plants from outdoors to indoors in the fall to protect them from winter weather. For example you may have a potted jade plant that does fine on the deck from April to September but would die if exposed to even moderately cold fall weather. In fact, potted houseplants often do better if given this yearly exposure to outside sun and air. Be aware, however, that you may introduce some uninvited houseguests indoors by this practice. Slugs, root weevils and spiders are notorious for hitching a ride on these plants. As the plants warm up the critters become active and will often move off the plants. These houseguests (unlike some!) pose no threat whatsoever unless, of course, the spider happens to be one of the very few poisonous species in your area. So, if you find slugs or root weevils wandering across the floor this winter they probably came off the potted plant that you moved indoors from the deck in fall.

One solution is to give the plants a "bath" before moving them indoors. On a warm day in early fall hose the plants off with water then spray with insecticidal soap, wait 30 minutes then rinse with water. Allow the plants to dry completely. This procedure will also remove any dirt, aphids and spider mites that you also don't want to take indoors.

Small greenhouses are another ideal solution for protecting non-hardy plants during winter. Even if the greenhouse is unheated the enclosure will protect many plants from the harsher winter extremes. This, of course, depends on the climate, and plants involved, and will require some experimentation.

Other "uninvited houseguests", not associated wth moving potted plants around, include cluster flies, boxelder bugs and Harmonia lady beetles.

Gardening In A Square Foot

If you haven’t heard of square foot gardening, you’re about to learn one of the most useful and versatile gardening techniques ever created. Conceived by Mel Bartholomew, author of Square Foot Gardening, the techniques have been enthusiastically adopted by gardeners all over the world. Square foot gardening is eminently suited for container gardening, patio and roof gardening, backyard gardening, organic gardening, herb gardens, vegetable gardens, flower gardens and more.

The basic concept is to start small – the unit of measure is the square foot. Although Bartholomew’s original square foot garden was four feet square, many schools, community gardens and home gardeners start even smaller – a couple of one square foot containers is plenty to get you started. According to Bartholomew though, a four square foot garden provides just enough harvest for one person.

How to Create A Square Foot Garden
Creating your own square foot garden is as easy as building (or buying) a box in which to garden. My own first square foot garden was a two square foot garden on the cement apron outside my back door in a city apartment. I used four square wicker plastic lined wicker wastebaskets bought for a dollar apiece at the All-for-a-Buck store. Any container that can hold 6-8” of dirt, and has drainage holes in the bottom will work. The biggest requirement for location is sun – choose a nice, sunny spot to place your garden.

Did I say dirt? Amend that. Bartholomew recommends what he calls ‘Mel’s mix’ instead of soil. Mix 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 compost to fill the squares of your box or container. A 10 pound bag of each was plenty to fill my little 2 square foot garden.

Choosing and Laying Out the Plants for Your Square Foot Garden
The most important factor in laying out your garden is the one-square-foot grid. You’ll be planting one type of plant in each square – how many of them depends on the recommended spacing between plants – which you’ll find on the back of the seed packets. Depending on the needs of the specific seedlings, you can plant 1, 4, 9 or 16 plants in each square. To break it down – if the recommendation on the seed packet is 1 foot apart, you can plant 1 in a square. If they need six inches between plants, you can plant 4. Two inches gives you room for 9 plants, and one inch spacing means you can fit 16 plants into one square foot.

My own first square foot garden was a spaghetti garden with this layout:

1 Basil Plant 4 Tomato plants

1 Oregano Plant 16 Onion plants

After You Harvest Your Square Foot Garden
Harvest the crop in each square foot when it’s ready, and continue harvesting until it’s no longer producing fruit/vegetables. At that point, uproot the plants in that square (use them for compost!), and plant another, different crop. By refilling and rotating the crops, you avoid depleting the natural nutrients of the soil, and keep every bit of space productive throughout an entire growing season.