Building a cheap greenhouse

Discussion in 'Greenhouses' started by dabiHASHery, Jun 24, 2010.

  1. can it be done? i want to spend as little as possible. any ideas? i was thinking of jamming posts in the ground and wrap some sort of material around it. can anybody hook me up? i want to upgrade to the greenhouse my friends.

    regards
    -hash
     
  2. PVC pipes are your friend.

    do some googleing on DIY greenhouses
     
  3. You can build a cheap greenhouse at your backyard. You can use one wall of your house as one wall of your greenhouse and build the others. It'll reduce the cost. In this case light, water source can be taken from home so the cost of arranging these will be cut down. On internet there are various source where you can find the ways to build a [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S6UYZC?ie=UTF8&tag=cheapgreen-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000S6UYZC"]cheap greenhouse[/ame].
     
  4. As mentioned if you make one against your house you already have a wall and it's not a cold wall.
    If you want to go really cheap and dirty here's an idea: Get come plastic sheeting and a bunch of 2x4's or 2x3's or 2x2's. you will be using the 2x4s to make a leanto type of greenhouse. Take a 2x4 and decide how long you want it and how much angle you want to give a usable size. Take the ground end of the 2x4 and push it into the ground a little so it won't slide out then take the plastic and drape it over the upper end of the board and lean it against the house so the board pinches the plastic between it and the house wall and the plastic draping down the outside of the board. Go along the wall adding more boards about 1-2ft apart. Leave extra plastic on the ends to close them off. Staple the plastic to the boards and cut some vents. May also want to run a board across all the others and screw it to them to make it sturdy.

    It't not gonna be the most weather tight, but it's real cheap and easy to take down and store at the end of the season.
     
  5. or you could do a cold frame;)
    basically just a mini greenhous thats just as big as you need it and no bigger, you can use an old window or something for a simple and cheap design
     
  6. also, i just built a greenhouse with some 2x4's, some flexible, UV resistant PVC, and polycarbonate panels
    under $1000 build cost, built in a weekend 10x12
    not really cheap per say but for a bought greenhouse smae size you are loking over 3 grand so pretty cheap you look at it that way
     
  7. If you go to a local retail store and look for the clear storage boxes you can grab which size you need. Just take the clear box part of the container, poke holes in it for ventilation and place it over your plants. I've done this for the past three years and it seems to work like a charm.
     
  8. Figure out a few things before deciding. Do you want it to be permanent? How big? Obscured so you can't see into it?
    Get some 2-3ft lengths of re-bar push them 2/3 the way into the ground, around the perimeter of greenhouse, bend pieces of pvc over re-bar to make a hoop, screw or use fittings to attach stabilizing lengthwise run of pvc for the top and sides if necessary. Cover with uv resistant poly if you plan on using it more than once...
     
  9. I built one a few years back. 2 x 4's and plastic. I attached it to my back yard shed. Post hole digger 2 treated 2x4's dug down 3 foot placed in ground with Pea-gravel. (strong as cement.) I also cut thin strips of 2x4 to go over the nails to attach the plastic. It lasted a few years. I also had water running with a timer on a hose along the fence and a sprinkler attached to the top.
    Huge waste of time and money. It worked great but after installing vents and a fan it still got way above 100* in the summer with the sun. I ended up putting plywood on top and shingles and its now used as an ATV shed.
    Advantages: Directly behind the shed you cant see it. Start you garden early.
    Disadvantages: Climate control, and not very secure. Cable man or power company can view it from the back wires.
    I mixed Tomato's in so it looked like a veggie garden but 1 month into summer they all cooked in the sun.
     
  10. another cheaper alternative that also keeps temps mild is a walipini greenhouse
    basically a hole dug in the ground at least 4 or 5 ft deep and than the only thing you have to spend money on are the glaze(the roof that light comes through) and the doors
    like all greenhouses you still have to vent when it gets warmer but at that depth the earth keeps a constant temperature that only varies from about 50F low to 60F high
    with this design its possible to grow plants 365 days of the year
    366 on leap years:)
     

Share This Page