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.
I bet that when you think of greenhouse what comes to mind are the large glass panel types that you would see in the old movies. Well those kind have been replaced over the years by instead of glass - polycarbonate panels.
Polycarbonate panels are superior to glass in many ways. First of all they are more lightweight than glass yet much more sturdy. Tests show that they can stand up to hail, rocks and even softballs without breaking.
Polycarbonate panels can be used in either aluminum or wooden frames. Greenhouses of this type can be bought in just a few pieces to assemble or you can buy them as a DIY greenhouse kit.
Superior to glass not only in strength but also in the insulating effect they have. This means that the period in which you are able to grow plants is greatly increased. Polycarbonate panels retain heat better within the greenhouse throughout the year.
Polycarbonate panels have a ribbed surface and is able to diffuse the light that shines through it better. This means even temperature heating and no so called hot spots. Plus they also have a special UV coating that protects the plants growing inside from overheating and sunburn.
Because they are better insulating they will retain the heat inside longer thereby reducing winter heating costs.
Polycarbonate panels come in a wide array of sizes and shapes. Unlike the traditional glass ones assembling these types of greenhouses are quite simple with very few tools. Polycarbonate panels can be found on portable greenhouses as well.
