Greenhouses are a great addition to your garden no matter how large or small your garden is.

You can use greenhouses to start your plants and vegetables growing early so when the final frost is over your plants are ready to go in the ground. In some parts of the country using a greenhouse can allow you to have 2 (or even more) crops a year.

Greenhouses are not the same today as the ones that you may have seen when you were a kid. You can now get portable greenhouses, greenhouses made with pvc pipes and even collapsible greenhouses.

If you buy a collapsible or a portable greenhouse once you have finished growing your vegetables you can then pack your greenhouse away for the winter.  Some portable greenhouses are small enough to fit on a deck or the corner of a kitchen.

The benefits of having your own greenhouse are:

• Save money on plants by starting seedlings in the winter
• A place to garden when it rains
• Protecting young plants from frost
• A place to overwinter your favorite plants during cold weather climates
• Have some vegetables or flowers grow through the winter like herbs, spinach, lettuce, carnations and nasturtiums.
• No gardening down time during cold weather months
• The ability to use controlled organic pest control methods
• Continue composting during the winter months
• Have fresh cut flowers year round

Whatever your reason for having a greenhouse you need to decide what the function will be and go from there since there are many types of inexpensive greenhouses and greenhouse kits to choose from.