Making a greenhouse from reclaimed items.

[loopyloo]

I was thinking about making a greenhouse for my yard of reclaimed items. Mainly I was thinking old windows that people were getting rid of. I know most greenhouses are made of a plastic or plexyglass material. Besides the obvious breaking of the glass risk, is there a reason this would or wouldnt be a good option?

My goal is to make an affordable greenhouse that I can power by solar grow lights and use to extend my growing season if not even grow year round. I live in Utah where we have harsh winters. Or typical in ground growing season ends in October and we can plant it again in May.

 

[ChanellG]

Wow, that's quite a project. The only concern I could see would be sun potentially burning the plants through the glass, or the greenhouse getting too hot. But that all depends on how many windows, proximity of the plants to the glass, etc. I would like to put up some kind of greenhouse as well to protect certain plants from pests and to extend my growing seasons. I want to keep it simple though. I have been thinking about using lattice and mesh and then covering it with plastic in the winter.

 

[Jed]

I was thinking about making a greenhouse for my yard of reclaimed items. Mainly I was thinking old windows that people were getting rid of. I know most greenhouses are made of a plastic or plexyglass material. Besides the obvious breaking of the glass risk, is there a reason this would or wouldnt be a good option? My goal is to make an affordable greenhouse that I can power by solar grow lights and use to extend my growing season if not even grow year round. I live in Utah where we have harsh winters. Or typical in ground growing season ends in October and we can plant it again in May.

I have a friend down the valley who has made his entire hot house from junk/recycled materials. Plastic that was salvaged, windows, timber, wire,lattice, everything. He has quite an amazing garden inside. It probably come down to determination and his attitude. Our winters aren't that harsh and don't get below zero C, except for the frosts overnight which makes a heck of a lot more easier.

 

[lovinglife]

My greenhouse is 80% recycled, I love it, but MAN does it get hot in the summer time. I took one window out, have vents open all along both sides plus leave the door open and it still reads 140! I only have half a clear roof, the other half is wood, so did not expect it to get so hot. I mainly use it to start my seeds and for young plants before putting them in the garden. I love my greenhouse..

 

[loopyloo]

Thank you all for your helpful posts. There were so many things that I hadnt considered. Burning the plants could be a real big issue. I guess I understand why they use the products they use in greenhouses. And adding vents, I didnt think that through but that would be a lifesaver too! Id love to use my greenhouse all year round and not just limit to a winter thing. I know my garden would be my main food source or growth but a greenhouse that is to hot woldnt help me with my garden at all.

This site is full of great helpful people. I really appreciate the info. I will let you know when I have found some items to get it all started.

 

[lovinglife]

You can always get fans and a shade cloth.

 

[loopyloo]

Update. We are looking into buying a greenhouse kit. It seems like it would be a quick and sure method. It wont be the most cost effective but we will be able to get the garden in action sooner and get more use out of it.

 

[taskeinc]

You might come out better, depending on what size you're looking for, to purchase a portable greenhouse from Amazon. That's what I'm about to do and I'm going to fill it with mostly Orchids.

Here's a picture and a review of the product from Amazon. It is a "Quictent New Mini High Quality Portable Green House with 6 shelves" (56"x29"x77") .. Sale price: $59

Amazon Review:

I love this greenhouse, and the only reason I do not feel justified in giving it that 5th star is because of the difficulties I had putting it together, and because some of the shelves do not stay on. Getting this product to sit straight took a little extra elbow grease, but it was well worth it. As for the shelves, I did strap some down so that they would sit on the rack, but I am still considering replacing them. They aren't the sturdiest, and I do not recommend putting anything more than a 10" pot onto them. The size is perfect, the plastic cover fits well, and seems to be holding up quite well.


High Quality Green House .. Sale price: $129 .. (56"x30"x78")

 

[loopyloo]

I have looked at those too. I love amazon. Great prices and free shipping cant be beat.

My concern is how they will hold up to our heavy snow over the winter months. I can understand if they are not able to hold up to the cold and the plants wont grow there but I dont want the greenhouse to only last one year. I guess for the price I can experiment and see it it will last though. I wonder if there is way to make the top more sturdy. Like putting a piece of plexy glass in for support?

 

[taskeinc]

I have looked at those too. I love amazon. Great prices and free shipping cant be beat.

My concern is how they will hold up to our heavy snow over the winter months. I can understand if they are not able to hold up to the cold and the plants wont grow there but I dont want the greenhouse to only last one year. I guess for the price I can experiment and see it it will last though. I wonder if there is way to make the top more sturdy. Like putting a piece of plexy glass in for support?

I'm in Atlanta and our winters can get cold but we might get one snow storm per winter and it' usually not that severe (knock on wood).. I'm not sure how well these portable green houses would hold up in really tough winters .. I'm going to try it though. I'll post a picture once I receive mine and put it together ...

 

[ChanellG]

You might come out better, depending on what size you're looking for, to purchase a portable greenhouse from Amazon. That's what I'm about to do and I'm going to fill it with mostly Orchids.

Here's a picture and a review of the product from Amazon. It is a "Quictent New Mini High Quality Portable Green House with 6 shelves" (56"x29"x77") .. Sale price: $59

/quote]

I have seen similar ones to this advertised by Big Lots and the prices are usually quite reasonable. You might check with them to see what they have.

 

[Pat]

These Mini Greenhouses look good and I have thought about getting one but my concern is with the wind. We have some storms with high winds in our area, would the greenhouse be sturdy enough. I would like to put a greenhouse addition on the side of my house when I get one.

 

[ChanellG]

These Mini Greenhouses look good and I have thought about getting one but my concern is with the wind. We have some storms with high winds in our area, would the greenhouse be sturdy enough. I would like to put a greenhouse addition on the side of my house when I get one.

Wind is definitely an issue. For me the biggest concern would be during hurricane season, but it's so hot over the summer I probably wouldn't have anything growing in a portable green house anyway. I'm re-thinking my summer growing now because of the potential weather issues.

 

[headfullofbees]

http://www.makingyourown.co.uk/make-your-own-plastic-bottle-greenhouse.html

 

[ChanellG]

I love the idea of recycling bottles to make a greenhouse! I was all set to do this myself until I realized how many bottles it was going to take, the amount of time I would need to save them (not to mention the amount of water I'd have to buy), the storage space for saving the bottles... yeah, that's about when reality set in, lol.