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jimmy_jojo

Need advice on a greenhouse

jimmy-jojo
17 years ago

I'm thinking of getting a portable greenhouse 8'x 8'x 6.5'h. I don't know how robust they are though. Does anybody know anything about flowerhouses.com greenhouses? Like how many years the plastic will last? Or, how good are the zippers on the doors? I only need it for April and May each year and then it folds up and away. The idea is pretty good but I'm not sure. Don't want to be the first one to take the plunge :)

Comments (3)

  • merricat
    17 years ago

    Jimmy, the only one I can speak about with any real knowledge is the Canadian Tire one that my parents gave me. I'll put a link to it at the end of this (it's not a "Canadian Tire Brand", so you could probably find it in many different places).

    It has a lot of room inside, and the shelves are reasonably strong. The dome is high enough to hang baskets from, but I don't think it's strong enough to hang "full" baskets from. On sunny days it gets incredibly warm in there, but there are 4 side windows and a large one in back. They all unzip or roll up, and there are screens underneath to keep bugs out.

    The zipper is a royal pain. We've managed to work around that and now it's no big deal, but be aware that it needs to be treated gently. I usually leave one side open (zippers are on both side of the "door") and that's fine for the daytime. At night I carefully zip everything back up.

    It's let me extend my hardening-off season by several weeks, and I start cole crops in there as well. It's not a cold-frame, but I find that crops planted in flats that are left on the ground stay cool enough to grow slowly and not get leggy.

    This is our second year with it and I'm happy with it. It unassembles into a medium-size box, so that's also a big plus for me. My only real complaint is that door-zipper. If you're patient enough to replace it with a large-toothed one, I think that would make it just about perfect. I'm going to do that to ours after it's emptied.

    The price was $100. Its usual price is $250 (from this source anyway), but it went on sale pretty early in the season.

    I hope that helps a bit.

    - Merry

    Here is a link that might be useful: The Greenhouse We Use

  • peatpod
    17 years ago

    Yours is similar to mine Merri .. I did pick it up at CT but its much taller and not domed. We got it when CT had one of there tent sales .. 69.00. I should have gotten two.
    I also have the little shelf ghs .. three to be exact. I only have one out right now as I am using the shelves in the larger GH. Its great for my WS seedlings .. I dont bother hardening them off by lifting all those pop bottle lids .. I take them all off once the seeds have germinated and zip that puppy up ..so much easier.

    I LOVE both of my plastic grow babies. I dont have room in the yard where it can sit on the ground & get sun so its up on the deck. We had to work around the wind issue but so far so good.
    {{gwi:529541}}

    I will take a picture of it tomorrow when the lighting is good and wont loose all of the heat just so you can see how much is in there :o) Not to mention everything I have under lights in the house .. will the insanity ever end .. one can hope NOT!!!
    So Jimmy jojo .. I suggest you get one at CT and save a few bucks when they go on sale .. it wont be long now before they mark them down.

    Laura

  • gw:jimmy-jojo
    17 years ago

    I had a look through the CT website and I don't see the model you have. What are the dimensions of yours?

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