Building hobby greenhouse in backyard

Don’t cut corners when erecting hobby greenhouse.

With a little effort and forethought, the dream of owning a hobby greenhouse can become reality.

If a greenhouse is on your wish list, ask yourself a few questions first: Do you want a greenhouse to start vegetable plants early, or do you want to produce enough plants to resell?

A greenhouse is perfect for growing your own transplants, which all couuld be doing. Transplants are so expensive to buy, and you can grow them yourself and save a ton of money.

Plants affect greenhouse size

Woody ornamentals take more room to grow than vegetable transplants. Allotting 100 square feet for 100 plant containers. Deciding what you want to grow in your greenhouse will help answer the next question: What size greenhouse do you need?

Don’t forget to allow room for racks, shelves and a walkway for accessibility.

Once you determine an approximate size, increase it by 25 to 50 percent. Remember, seeds are tiny but they produce a lot of plants. Building materials If you are handy you can build a greenhouse using old scrap metal and wood.

Do-it-yourselfers are reminded not to cut corners on greenhouse coverings. Use high quality greenhouse-grade plastic with a high mil, or thickness, rating.

Saving money by using painter’s plastic is not really a savings in the long run. If it isn’t UV-treated, it will haze on you and crack and fall apart.

If you plan on buying a greenhouse kit, read customer reviews of product and make sure it includes solid gauge metal and sturdy supplies.

Sunlight (and a little shade)

No matter how your greenhouse is constructed, the proper location is the key to its effectiveness. Select a level area that receives a lot of morning sunlight.

It doesn’t have to be in full sun. Hobby-scale greenhouses don’t have cooling systems to handle the Georgia sun, so a little afternoon shade will actually be beneficial. If you have to build in full sun, add a shade cloth to help cool the system.

Access to water

If you are too far away from a water source, you are going to get tired of lugging water. And if you miss one or two days of watering, it’s done. You have lost your crop.

An automated watering system works best. Use misters attached to PVC pipes hanging above the plants.

It comes on by itself and sends down a moist blanket of water. And you don’t have to be home for it to come on so life is good.

Misting works best for flats of plants. If your plants are in containers, use a drip irrigation system. Temperature Greenhouses need to be kept no lower than 45 degrees in the winter and not above 85 degrees in the summer. Attic fans and space heaters can help you meet these requirements.

Humidity is a limiting factor as to why things work or don’t work in greenhouses. If your soil medium has a green tint or is slimy, you need ventilation and less moisture.

Many gardeners, dream of having a big glass greenhouse but that can be a plan for the future. Small (10x10) is best for the beginner.