There is a use for these mini greenhouses
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- čas přidán 5. 04. 2023
- It is not as good as I want it to be but I think we can find a use for it.
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I've had a 6'x6' cheap plastic greenhouse for 4 years and have had huge success with it. The frame is anchored down with heavy duty screws into the flagged base on all 4 corners. In addition, I've tied guy ropes from diagonal corners of the cover to the fence so that it can't blow away. I take the plastic cover off at the end of the summer and remove all shelving and store it in a frost free shed. I've never had it become unstable in high winds because it's so securely held down. In the Spring I put the cover and shelves back on and start growing again. I grow tomatoes, mini cucumbers such as Passanda or Mini Green, cucamelons and salad leaves. This may be the final summer for my cheap greenhouse because the frame is rusting on the joints and the cost of replacing them exceeds the costs of a new greenhouse!
Thats awesome I am glad you have gotten such good use out of it.
I love mine. It’s the walk-in with eight shelves. I have it secured as well. I basically use it as a potting shed. There’s room for a baker’s rack that I can use to put supplies on that I use, clippers, plant tags, small plastic pots for my seedlings to be potted in, all my gloves, and other things I might need. I also toss soils and mulch on the sides of the shed to keep it out of the elements. It’s well worth the $50. But it’s also so simple to take down if there’s tornado outbreaks like we are having now especially hurricane season.
I use 12 inch u spikes around the base of mine and it withstood 60 mph winds yesterday.
Sheesh 😳
I bought a cheap plastic greenhouse for a couple reasons. It is going over a garden bed. 1. In the heat of summer I can put shade cloth over the frame alone. 2. When we have cold temps, 20's to 30's (in SE TX) I can put on the cover and then cover it with an insulating blanket.
I've got the cheap one and have been using for several years - couple tips to help is to have the cover reach all the way to the ground then to fold out on the ground so you can stack bricks on top of the cover to help hold it down from the wind. Bio green thermo 2 is a great automatic heater that turns on to the temp you set to keep it warm at night. I take the cover off every spring and store it away through summer otherwise the cover will only last one season. When zipping up/down the door... hold the zipper in one hand and hold the 2 pieces of the end of the zipper in the other hand, this helps keep the zipper from jamming up. As for it getting hot in the day I haven't found a fix for that yet just have to open the windows and/or door. good luck
Good call on the zipper. I do the same.
Oh those zippers! With my bad back, that's what really made me nuts. My greenhouse was 8'x8' and also had 3 screen windows that had flaps to tie up, so it was a lot of futzing with stuff just to open it and close it for the day. Cheap, but a pain in the neck, too.
I also just go to one but mine is going to be a cat catio for outside . lol .
I’ve also been using silicone spray lube on the zipper and it moves like butter
I've had success with putting a smaller "greenhouse" inside my high tunnel and it helps hold the heat.
That would definitely work
I like the side by side comparison of the greenhouses. I use my temporary greenhouse just to keep the cold winter wind off of my hardy palm tree. You have a nice operation over there. Well done.
Thank you!
I actually put that little green house in my poly greenhouse to protect my cold tender plants when its still dipping into the 30s at night...im zone 4 upstate NY, ..gardens here dont go out until memorial weekend
Thank you so much I just bought one today and now having 2nd thoughts having a greenhouse is almost like watching your 3 year old grandson full time for 2 to 3 months. If your trying to get an early start on your flower/ vegetable garden it will take a lot of time making sure you investment doesn’t get destroyed by you forgetting to set the heat on or forgetting to open the vents to let the heat out 🫤! I’m going to cancel the greenhouse order….
Best of luck!
Great teaching. Just use it as a seedling starter in the Spring, and for protection from birds. My cucumbers seedlings got attacked on my back deck the other day here in VA, because the birds figured out there were extra seeds in the little peat pots. That is what I would use that house for, kicking off, and getting to 4-5 inches high in March-April. Thanks.
I assembled a half arch greenhouse. I went shopping. When I came back, my husband was salvaging it. A gust of wind grabbed it and the structure disintegrated. He used electric pipe anchor brackets to secure the top to the south of the building. For the base he used the same pipe brackets and Harbor Freight tent stakes. In Summer, the cover was removed and shadecloth was zip tied to the arch.
I think I just need a good, large, cold frame. The practical part of me says that in zone 7 I could accomplish what I want, hardening off seedlings and growing greens in the winter in a cold frame. But then I dream of a greenhouse 😂
I think you are right!
I got the Eagle Peak pop up and I'm a critic about everything. So far, no complaints. So far....
I have two of these green hoses. In my 2nd bedroom. Great for seedlings.
Indoors is a perfect place for them
I used mine a few years ago for seedlings only . Those are good for starting seeds. After that you should transplant them
These are decent for the money like you say it just needs a few things, find an old wood pallet to mount it on so it will not blow over, and i put green duck tape inside the of all the corners to strengthen the plastic so it don't tear. it's cheap but will last a while mine came with afew small tears in the plastic and i just used clear christmas wrapping tape to patch them lol it still holding. i also take it down in the fall i don't leave it out overwinter.
I agree with the duct tape on critical corners; best done before the fabric actually splits apart!
Wow I could put one of those inside my tiny greenhouse for winter in Canada. Thanks for the idea. Subbed my greenhouse is sorta like my Brit bike. LOL!
I'm going to put mine on my screen porch until I reach my last frost date.
I use mine inside when starting my seedlings... and I add grow lights for each shelf... works great for that... but outside... not really good for much other than maybe hardening off your seedlings and storage for garden tools if you need it.
Thank you for your information. I have the cheap one also and I did put a bucket of water in its last night because it does cook your plants in the daytime and freeze it at night. I will check it later to see how well the water did. I did clamp mine down with the strings that game with it and it works, and I live in a windy arear. I also placed some heavy-duty materials around it like rocks. It does not budge with the wind. The plastic is flimsy mines tour last week, I just taped it up and kept it moving! Cute cat!
I did a test on low tunnels. Decided not to do it for this. We don't use it
Had one. Screwed it to 2" x 12" sleepers. Had a storm. The wind flipped it. Had the sleepers staked.
I build my own now. The pipe frame was very weak. Zippers dont last. The fly screens last about a yr.
My experience wasnt great. I live on acrage. So it would be in the ppen far more than in a suburban back yard.
I had one of those plastic greenhouses for 2 years but like you say the plants get cooked in the day if you forget to open it and it doesn't retain any heat during the night. One other big issue I had was lack of airflow which meant I was getting damping off disease on some of the seedling when they were just coming up. I would advise people to avoid them and buy a decent greenhouse if at all possible.
I absolutely love mine!
I want a small greenhouse t start seeds this has been very helpful
Did this with a smaller one and inside my garage with lights and it’s been working well good luck!
I had a tiny one of those inside before I got my large 2’x4’ metal racks that are FAR more sturdy. I have insanely strong winds pretty often where I am, so I ended up building my glorified low tunnel out of emt pipe and metal connectors and then covered in greenhouse plastic. Works great as long as I remember to actually close it before a storm rolls in and the wind gets under the structure which can rip the plastic off. The metal? Super strong. I use it for season extension and protection (growing in the summer requires shade cloth and coverage so my plants don’t get flooded out by the storms), not growing completely out of season. One day maybe I’ll own some land and I have so many ideas for permanent greenhouses with actual geothermal heating and stuff.
Mine has survived 3 windstorms, not anchored down at all.
I've been using mine to help move my cold hardy flowers into the garden before the soil warms up. As long as I keep on top of it (and I have a tiny garden compared to yours so that makes it easy!) I have had no problems. Definitely no tomatoes or watermelons, though! 😁
That's good to hear. Tomatoes and watermelons would definitely have a rough time
I use it to grow oyster mushrooms inside in winter. You need to add humidity inside and also vent out the carbon dioxide though.
Thanks for the video. Good luck to both you and your son.
That's a good use!
Using a small one for seedlings in my garage … so far so good, this was helpful especially thinking about the moisture
Good use having it inside
i have run one of those plastic tents for 12 years now and i like it a lot. i got the big hoop house variety, 10x20. that little square thing is absolutely useless. in winter i add one or two extra layers of poly, an oil filled radiant heater, a fan blowing through the fins, and a good thermostat. it keeps it above freezing. the original cover has been replaced with proper greenhouse plastic which has lasted 8 years so far. i use the large binder clips they sell at office depot to clip the poly tight over the tube frame.
i open both ends in summer, and have to open/close one end daily in spring and fall to keep from over heating when sun is out. i have plastic 8 foot mesh deer fencing clipped on both ends to keep critters out. i do install shade cloth over the top middle to protect from intense mid day sun. i have not had any probs with wind as the poly drapes over a foot on the ground where i lay 4x4 posts along the perimeter that holds it tight.
i have an extensive cactus collection housed there year round, and start my veg seeds for the garden inside as well.
What you said about moisture is very accurate. The cooler it is outside the more moisture condense on the inside and runs down. They are kinda flimsy and the zippers are cheap. I think they are well worth the cost even if they only last a year or two.
I have that same one. I hung a 250w heat lamp at the top and a 500w ceramic heater at the bottom then plugged them into one of my temp controller that came with my seed mats. I set it at 45° just to provide frost protection. Works extremely well since it's so small just that 750w of heat is able to keep it above 40° even when it drops below 20° out.
I have one similar (to the green plastic one) & it has windows like the door, and I have to open those up in the summer months otherwise everything cooks. I've invested in the other one (your 'glorified cold frame' lol) for this season and I'm curious to see how they compare. I live in WI so the weather is NEVER predictable. It's been fun to experiment as we work on our first homestead.
I have a bigger one (20x10) I bought on Amazon in early winter. I guess it's more of a hoop house. We did have to reinforce quite a bit to withstand strong winds (stronger ropes and stakes plus sand bags to hold the sides down.) The biggest advantage for me was being able to garden through the winter. I had some of the same plants outside unprotected and most of those either died or were stunted and struggled to grow. It also made hardening off my warm season plants so easy. When we had warmer days in March, I would put them in there. Now it's time to plant I didn't have to do much to harden them off. I plan to use it as a season extender in the fall when we usually get a frost/light freeze followed by warm weather for another 2-4 more weeks.
That is quite a bit bigger but a few modifications go along way. I am glad you found it useful this year!
I have the same. $200 for the hoop house, and about double that making sure it doesn't blow away. 😅
I've had 1 of these little greenhouses. What you need to do is put a couple of planks over the ground level bars, then put your water bottles on top of the planks. This will keep it down. You still need to fashion some guy ropes over the top to stop it toppling. In the rain the roof may sag with the weight of the water. I would put a layer of cardboard or corflu underneath the cover over the roof A-frame to help it last longer and not stretch from the weight of rain water. This helps stop the plants baking and also helps stop detritus collecting on the roof if it's saggy. I live in the sub tropics, so I actually had mine in between the trunks of 2 big shade trees.
MIne is just a yard ornament now lol. Sounds like you got it figured out.
Yeah they're not really greenhouses, but they are useful covered shelf units. Great for hardening off and storage. I weighed mine down with rocks. It would be nice if the covers didn't perish so quickly, or were replaceable.
The covers are replaceable.
@@TheNuyorker can you recommend a manufacturer / supplier that provides replacements?
its good for portable gardening
I wouldn't use it
Mine didn't even last a week the wind shredded it 😞. I will definitely wait and build one them cheap ones just don't hold up .
They really do seem like a good idea it's a shame
I've been in major winds with mine, and the key is to keep it fully closed ( and use the ties to secure cover to the legs at the base) OR take it off completely, and either way, have a ratchet strap going from ground stakes on either side up and over the top, you may have to do what my husband did which was cut a length of 2x2 we had &, using the holes that wire ridgepole at the top fitted into, setting that wire aside, screw the 2x into the top, on the underside of the framework. Save the wire just in case u ever want it again ... . On a patio, I'd say you'd have to glue the frame all together then be sure to have heavy enough planters on the bottom ( maybe supported slightly by some pavers under there, to not over-stress bottom cross-poles) to keep the unit from blowing over in the wind. But yeah, if the cover is on, ya can't have it open AT ALL, or it becomes a sail.... .
@@ajb.822 I did all that. It still shredded from the top and it tore from the seams around the zippers I probably should have used a tarp but it was my first one . I'm looking into building my own now
I was gifted this exact type of structure. I have no idea what to do with it. Maybe it may make a better mobile storage area for tools and such?
give it a shot and see what you can use it for.
I'm using my greenhouse to try to keep my plants from drowning in too much rain and to keep cucumber beetles off my zucchini. I don't plan on using it in winter. Some of my plants have died from beetles and over watering. Will it work for this?
As long as you keep them cool enough sure it will help
I have had 2 of the mini one, the one that's about 1 seedling tray wide and nearly as deep, 4 shelves high. I would see them on sale in the spring at Menards ( the building and house & garden store in WI here /the mid-west) for $20. At that same time ( b4 extreme inflation) I'd see them advertised for MUCH more in gardening catalogs. They're definitely NOT worth more than $20 or $30 imo ! My main issues with it are that the lower levels each get blocked from much sun ( by early May anyways) by the trays above them, and my main issues was the zipper failing on them. My 1st one wasn't too bad, it lasted a few years - and I didn't keep it outside all summer , definitely when it was consistently warm enough to do so, I'd take the cover off and put it back indoors. So, that 1st one wasn't too bad per what ya expect for the price point and etc. , and sun damage on the plastic around the zipper, it getting brittle and breaking down badly. The 2nd one I got tho... the zipper itself failed that 1st season. I tried to fix it and make do and etc. but it just broke down totally on the one side of the doorway. Id gotten the 2nd one only because the price of a replacement cover was as much as the price of a whole new unit, and I can always use the shelving. Which brings us to that - . They aren't terribly sturdy obviously, but one can store winter squash on em in the cellar ( smaller types, with air space between them) & other light stuff. I wasn't sure about making both un-fully-collapsible so I limited my husband to doing his idea to just one unit, but when seeing me struggle the one year with them not staying together very well as I was trying to set it up and position it etc., he offered to use up some glue-ey caulking or something he had to use up anyways, on making the frame more permanently attached. I decided to have him just do this in 2 halves, a top tier and bottom. One one of em, we also replaced the wire ridgepole thing with w length of 2x2 we cut from some we owned, his idea also, to give me something sturdy to go up and over with strapping, not blocking the doorway, to secure the unit to screw-down ground anchors ( we'd picked up some various sizes at an auction & they worked great for this, the bigger sizes in looser, sandy soil). I'd been brainstorming about ways which wouldn't interfere with the cover fitting well, because, back to issues w that...they make it fit too snugly ! Makes it nearly a 2-person job to zip the cover at times, etc. ! And I'm sure that struggling with that , contributes to the zipper fatigue ! So, as far as paying more than under $50 bucks for it, I wouldn't, if you have any help at all and enough little more $ to instead build some fairly simple greenhouse such as a cattle panel hoop-house ( see Lumnah acres or Edible Acres or others) , or a flip-top hoop or wood frame structure which can fit on , even be hinged to, a raised-bed frame like James Prigioni did.
I had two of those and both blew away, even though I had one tied to a wall and in a corner. I suppose if your in a city and sheltered they are at least a place to keep everything together. I did like the shelves. If they weren't all bent out of shape I would have put them in my big polytunnel
I wonder if you put another layer and a blower. put a real door if it while your at it
I am sure that would help but at that point I would just buil a hoop house with a door.
Mine was flimsy and even with steel stakes it blew into my above ground beds and ripped. That was my 10x10 I haven’t put up my 10 x 20 till I get straps to tie down…going to use those cork screw things you can attach dog run line hope that can hold it down from high winds, will have more time to try in October . Won’t need it till then
I hope it works better for you. Try running a line over the middle of it and staking it on both sides
If I am looking to buy/build a small 4 or 6 ft greenhouse, do you have any suggestions? Clear plastic.
Depends on what you want to do with it. I like mine but I have videos about the greenhouse and the flaws with using it.
Hi, your video came up in a search. I have one of those cheap basic greenhouses, only mine is a bit deeper and has the clear PVC instead of the green mesh. A friend set it up for me last fall to overwinter some of my tropical plants that I keep outdoors, and I need to break it down for the summer. I’m searching for a video showing how to take the plastic covering off, she tried explaining it to me, but I can’t figure out how one person can do that. She lives in a different state and set it up when she was visiting, so is not here to take it down for me.
Wondering if you have a video showing how to take that off? Or would be willing to make one? It seems like everything that’s come up on my search is showing completely different stuff than what I’m looking for. Thanks!
Sorry I don't have a video like that. Should just pull off like a shirt
It really isn't difficult to take the cover off; as Sandy Bottom says, it just pulls off like a shirt! I start at the base, rolling each side up in sequence until you can grasp it and pull it off. I'm a 70 year old woman and I manage to put the cover on, and off, on my own, just fine!
I thought these were pretty cool when I first began learning about greenhouses. You see the huge prices of the good ones, then you open a door to all of these affordable ones, and its kinda like, wow.
I honestly do not understand why people make comments, such as "not being lucky to afford nice things." That comes from a place i dont understand.
I live on disability. It's definitely not a career path towards wealth. Its a financially poor lifestyle! 😂
With that being said, spending money on something thats potentially going to the trash after a season, or just being a mistake, makes me nauseous. I cant get past that fear.
However, i also have a big fear of spending a once in a lifetime purchase, on a 4-700 dollar greenhouse, just for it to blow away. lol
Here in Iowa, our weather has changed. We now get 2 to 3 high wind stoms per summer. 60mph with 80mph gusts.
I think i have gravitated to the
Lean To Greenhouse style primarily due to weather.
Anways, sorry for rambling. The more i see these "reviews" the more I understand which direction i need to go.
PS:
There is no way i could put that little green-house outdoors here, BUT i though about using one indoors. My Begonia, Portulaca, Lillies and other succulent plants require 90° to germinate; so i thought about using that little greenhouse, indoors, in a south facing window to get started.
That opens a whole other can of beans! lol
Great Video Sir! 😁
Sorry For Rambling lol
I think using it indoors is an amazing idea for that. You put it infront of a window or throw a space heater in it with a thermastat and you have a tropical growing power house.
@@sandybottomhomestead
Yes Sir! 😁