Building a greenhouse or grow room is easier than you may think. You can choose different designs and sizes that you would like to build.  Portable buildings of this type will provide years of enjoyment, growing vegetables, or decorative plants such as orchid flowers, lillies, the aloe vera plant, bedding plants, or what ever else you decide to try your hand at.  It also provides protection, needed sunlight and humidity for plants. You can relax and enjoy it every time you visit the place where you have exerted so much effort building such a useful structure.

You could save more money if you decide to build a small greenhouse and buy a portable greenhouse kit.  Alternately there are supplies and materials that you can round up which will be easier on the budget if you decide to build one yourself.  If there is enough space that can accommodate a larger greenhouse, do it because you may want to develop more plants and vegetables and take advantage of the economy of shear scale.

If you really desire to build a greenhouse where you can develop and propagate more plants, you should consider the different factors that could be necessary for the size of structure you would like to build. Here are some tips and factors you should consider in building process.

If you’re  considering using salvaged materials try and find enough to create the size you want.  Used ABS piping, or copper piping can work well.  Go garage sailing and you can usually find a good supply of these materials for cheap.  You may even luck out and find a proper covering.  I’ve seen windows in frames grouped together that made a nice size roof.   Another really good source is a Re Store place which specializes in recycling materials from old homes being torn down.

You should also determine the climate of the place where you live. An insulated greenhouse may be necessary for cold climate areas. This will help you provide the needed warmth and heat for your plants. For warm places, a grow room that has a shade control would be advisable.

You also needs to make sure that your building will be designed with proper air circulation spaces, ventilation, pest control, gas or electric heaters for winter season, and humidity control devices. You should create an environment that is appropriate for the types of plants that you intend to grow.  It would be wise to find out what are the desired temperatures for them.

The build location should be where there is enough sunlight.  It is best if the structure is situated on the east-west part of where you live because facing it this way it is more exposed to sunlight.
 
It is also important to consider the covering of the greenhouse. The most advisable coverings are glass and fiberglass which might be hard on your budget.  But just know that they provide more durability and they do not deteriorate quickly compared to plastic coverings. A roof covered with glass or fiberglass allows more sunlight while keeping humidity and warmth.

You have the option to choose what kind of foundation you would like to use. The foundation can be concrete for a permanent green house. Others prefer the less expensive lightweight foundation where they use improvised materials such as railroad ties, which they can easily attach to the ground. It all depends on how much you are willing to spend on the structure and if you want a portable greenhouse.

You may also consider building one that will maximize its full potential. You may want to add benches or furniture that will be used for your comfort any time you want to relax and enjoy the ambiance.  Furniture that is water and humidity resistant are best suited.  Cedar furniture works well, or plastic garden furniture are your best choices.  There are accessories you could add, like automatic watering systems, heating systems, ventilation system and other automatic equipment that are effective in maintaining the plants.  You may want to add a lighting system so you can access your plants at night.  Led garden lights are best suited for the humidity and heat as well as cooler temperatures.

If you want to stay green you should use the “good bugs” for you pest control instead of chemicals.  They prevent and control the spread of the bad bugs. If you ever find insects in a plant, you should isolate the plant so that the insects do not infest the other plants.

You should allot a space where you can store fertilizers, potting soil and other tools that are essential to the up keep of the plants. You should place a garden tool rack nearer to the potting place so that it would be easier for you to transfer the soil from the main supply to the garden pots or plastic planters. You will  also need a watering can, tool holders, and a hose reels  to accommodate the other equipment when they are not in use such as water garden hoses.  If its a small set up then you may need to take all the items mentioned here and store them in a garden shed or somewhere else as space is limited.

You can develop and grow all sorts of plants with a versatile greenhouse. You may also want to reproduce mature plants to fill the greenhouse with a variety of younger cheap plants to sell.

Get your family involved and share the work.  If you have children let them learn how to do fine gardening  for themselves.  This will be a valuable asset when they are on their own.

Have fun.

Tags: aloe vera plant, bedding plants, Cedar furniture, cheap plants, electric heaters, fine gardening, garden hoses, garden pots, garden tool rack, grow room, growing vegetables, hose reels, Led garden lights, lillies, orchid flowers, plastic garden furniture, plastic planters, Portable buildings, portable greenhouse

This entry was posted on Monday, June 7th, 2010 at 3:15 pm and is filed under Greenhouses, greenhouse design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.