Every gardener wishes they had a greenhouse no matter how big or small it might be. You can watch the snow pile up and still be able to start seed in preparation for spring and planting of the flower or vegetable garden. Those plants you loose every winter can be safe and sound inside a greenhouse and be ready to come out once the temperatures get more moderate. DIY Greenhouse building is not a hard undertaking. There are many different styles of greenhouse you can purchase and construct that will take you just a few hours to a few days of some work.

Before building a greenhouse there are a few things that have to be addressed. Warm climate greenhouses usually have no need for heating. The sun comes in and heats up the house during the day and keeps it warm enough during the night. What does have to be addressed is shading so that you do not fry your plants when the sun is high in the sky and how to ventilate the greenhouse so they do not smother with the sun’s heat. Cold climate greenhouses have to be concerned with how they should be heated and insulated to keep that cold out during the winter.

Make sure to pick a spot in your yard for the greenhouse that is in direct sun. It is good to give the plants an east west exposure to get the most out the sunlight you can. If you do not have any space in direct sunlight then go with partial shade.

There are so many different materials to make a greenhouse from it will make your head spin. You can construct a wood frame and attach glass as they did in days of old, but you can also go a little more modern and choose fiberglass. There are panels made of polycarbonate that work very well in making the walls of a greenhouse but these panels are extremely expensive. There are greenhouses that are made with a pipe frame with plastic sheets draped over them. Many people choose to make their greenhouse out of items that can be recycled. Look online for the greenhouse plan that utilizes a wood built frame filled with plastic pop bottles. Another plan details how to build a greenhouse from a bunch of storm doors.

The floor of the greenhouse is an integral part of building. Many people construct the floor from concrete because it makes the greenhouse stable and flat. Other people prefer not having extreme elements between the greenhouse and the ground and opt for gravel and some just have a dirt floor. Still others construct wood floors or use railroad ties all along the floor. You can also set concrete pavers or bricks in the ground on sand to make a floor for the green house. If you use just a dirt floor you can just add some top soil and plant right there instead of putting everything in pots. It is very important to make sure the floor does not get flooded or wet from outside weather.

You can build wooden benches all around the perimeter of the greenhouse. This gives you some space that is up from the ground to put plants ready to grow. You also must think about putting electricity or gas into the greenhouse so that it can be heated. Another important decision is how you are going to water the plants in the greenhouse. Do you need to run a water line to it so you can just turn the hose on from inside the greenhouse or are you going to tote water from another area?

Kits on the market today include the cheap plastic sheet and PVC pipe greenhouse. The PVC is hammered into the ground then brought up like a big horseshoe with plastic sheeting put over top of it. Some parts of this type of greenhouse are wooden as well. It is said that PVC can cause cancer and it is not the most entirely environmentally proper substance to use in a garden but it is cheap and easy to install. You can also make a wooden frame for the greenhouse and install fiberglass or glass. The most expensive undertaking is using the polycarbonate panels but it is worth the money because they will not break even when junior puts a baseball through it. Make a decision based on the area you have to build a greenhouse and the amount of money you have to spend. If you have to you can always guild a greenhouse from a bunch of pop bottles or a collection of storm doors.

To build a DIY greenhouse is not all that hard. Diy greenhouse kits on the market today make it so unbelievably easy that every single home owner can build their own greenhouse.

Tags: back yard greenhouse, build a diy greenhouse, building your own greenhouse, DIY, gardening, greenhouse blueprint, greenhouse building plans, greenhouse wooden, how to build a wooden greenhouse, wooden greenhouse

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 3:33 am and is filed under gardening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.