Home greenhouse kits made easy

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

Protect your garden and extend your growing season with a greenhouse kit

For those of us who like to grow our own plants, there are a lot of challenges. Too much sun, too much rain, too little rain, cold weather, bugs, weeds? The list goes on.

One way that you can combat every one of these issues is with a greenhouse. However, having a greenhouse built by a professional has its own setback in that it’s cost prohibitive. A greenhouse kit can make having your own greenhouse much more feasible.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re still not always cheap. I have a relatively large vegetable garden in my back yard at 18 x 64 and getting a greenhouse to replace most of that at 16 x 54 would run me between twenty and thirty thousand dollars, depending on the one I chose. But most people have much more modest needs and the cost goes down dramatically as the size does.

There are a wide variety of greenhouse kits out there today. They come in virtually any size you can think of. Some have flat roofs, some round. Some are only 4 feet tall to the base of the roof, some are double that. There are different types of coverings. Some designed to keep cold out and others to disperse sunlight. Some even seem to do it all. Lean-to type greenhouses can be added onto the side of your house. No matter what your needs are, there is a greenhouse out there for you.

Down South

I lived over half my life in Florida. There is certainly no lack of sun in Orlando, and usually not much of a lack of rain either. In this situation, a greenhouse can help disperse the sunlight and take some of the direct energy off of the plants so they don’t suffer from too-intense sunlight.

It can also allow you to regulate the amount of water that the plants get. Out in the open on some days your plants will get far too much water and on other days far too little, causing undesirable results in plants, especially tomatoes and other veggies which tend to soak up whatever water they can get.

If you live in Texas or anywhere further west in the south, you’ll almost certainly have issues with a lack of rain. Having a greenhouse will not only reduce the damaging glare of the powerful southern sunlight, but it will also help your plants to retain moisture and remain in a more humid environment.

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Up North

If you live up north, too much sunlight probably isn’t much of an issue for you. Your biggest issue is the shorter growing season. You normally can’t start until any danger of frost is past in the spring and as soon as the first frost appears in the fall, your growing season is pretty much ended. I currently live in northeast Ohio, and on single light freeze with a gentle coating of frost is all it takes to end my growing season. That’s not a pleasant occurrence when you still have well over 100 tomatoes on the vine, let me tell you!

As with down south, northerners still need to be able to regulate the amount of water the plants get and a greenhouse is an ideal way to do that.

Anywhere

No matter where you live, you’re going to have to deal with bugs; Bugs eating plants, laying eggs in plants, defecating on plants and potentially spreading disease. Having a greenhouse won’t guarantee that you won’t have any issues with bugs, but it will certainly reduce the occurrences.

Other major pests will also have a much tougher time stealing your hard-earned work, such as the always tenacious rabbit. Rabbits tend to do their damage early in the morning well before you’re outside to protect your garden, and it seems that no matter what measures you take, they find a way into your garden.

With a fully enclosed greenhouse, rabbits will most likely become a thing of the past, at least as long as you keep the door closed and adequate protection from digging around the base.

A greenhouse will also do wonders for weed control. Most weeds come from three sources, from wind blowing seeds in, in bird excrement, or from pests bringing them in on their fur or skin. Weeds will have a much harder time making their way into your garden if it’s protected inside a greenhouse.

Regardless of where you live, one more thing that a green house will protect your plants from is storms and high winds. Everyone has to deal with storms, and greenhouses are an excellent way to protect your plants from wind and storm damage. Of course, as with any structure, a greenhouse will be susceptible to damage from hurricanes or tornadoes, but it’s an excellent protection from normal storms and winds.