by: Charlene Rennick
Would you like to grow healthier plants, extend your growing season and have more control over your growing environment?
Building a greenhouse is an opportunity to:
- expand your garden into the cultivation of organic, pesticide-free vegetables and small fruit.
- explore your interest in alternative energy sources and the conservation of our natural resources
- extend your inventory of nursery horticulture
- eat healthy, fresh food
If you are a beginner, the range of materials and various greenhouse construction methods may seem overwhelming. We have tried to streamline this puzzle to make choosing the greenhouse best suited to your gardening style as easy as possible.
Before you decide on a model of greenhouse, you need to select the plants you want to grow in it and how much spare money and time you have to devote. Hobby greenhouses come in almost any shape, size and for most locations. Any greenhouse design can be customized to fit the dwelling space you have available for flora and fauna.
The first key is recognizing what style of gardener you are. This will help you determine what you need in a greenhouse so that you are not paying for unnecessary features and also get something that really works for you.
The 5 Gardening Styles
Urban Gardener
You enjoy gardening and have a small space that you can devote to a gardening structure. This may be indoors, on a patio, an outside wall or a small space in your backyard. You are interested in growing fresh herbs and small vegetables, potted plants, starting seedlings and hardening off plants. You may be just getting started and want something simple and cost effective.
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Greenhouses in Rome? The Roman emperor Tiberius ate a cucumber-like vegetable daily. Cucumbers were planted in wheeled carts which were put in the sun daily, then taken inside to keep them warm at night. The cucumbers were stored under frames or in cucumber houses glazed with either oiled cloth known as “specularia” or with sheets of mica. – Wikipedia |
Backyard Gardener
You love spending time in the garden and around your plants. You have the space for a larger structure but do not want anything permanent. You want something large enough to handle a variety of plants that can also be expanded as your needs grow. You would prefer a versatile model suitable for either soil or hydroponic systems.
Avid Hobbyist
You thrive when your plants do. You spend a lot of time gardening and would love to garden all year. You love to cook with your produce, collect plants, have a green thumb and are looking for a more permanent, durable structure.
Traditionalist
You love the traditional look and feel of a glass greenhouse. You would like a place where you can garden and spend leisure time. Your greenhouse would ideally be the focal point of your landscape.
Educator
You are an educator interested in introducing a greenhouse into your curriculum plan. You think intend to use this opportunity to teach students about horticulture, plant science, the environment and sustainable living. You may need to customize the greenhouse to suit your particular setting. I recommend that you contact a knowledgeable source, such as Greenhouse Megastore to discuss exactly what you need.
Whether you are an urban gardener, a backyard gardener with a little more space, an avid hobbyist or a traditionalist, getting started is much easier than you may think.
You can buy a good quality greenhouse online where kits and portable models are available in a variety of price ranges. Buying online can save you time and money and best of all, the greenhouse is delivered right to your door. There is a greenhouse for any level of gardening expertise whether you want to:
- make a window planter into a year-round herb garden
- get a small free-standing growing shelf for your porch or apartment
- turn a balcony into a greenhouse
- create a private produce section on a rooftop
- build a lean-to style greenhouses against an outdoor shed, deck or garage
- showcase your backyard with a fully glassed-in traditional structure
To help you navigate the choices available, we have sorted the top greenhouses according to their benefits and how they may fit with your gardening style and need.