"General Schvantzkoph" wrote in message
...
I'm thinking about getting a greenhouse this year to extend my season (I
live in Massachusetts). Last fall someone on this group suggested I try a
popup greenhouse because they are very cheap (under $150, some as low as
$50), rather then make any kind of major investment. Does any one have
any experience with them?


I bought a $110 plastic greenhouse from Walmart. It was easy to assemble.
The workmanship was a little shoddy, but nothing drastic--just a zipper
off-kilter, some crooked seams, that sort of thing.

There were two problems I saw, and these might not be problems for you:

1. It didn't stay warm at night. I'd see seedlings popping up during the
day (when it was VERY hot inside the greenhouse), then they'd die overnight.
If you are going to put some nighttime heating in it, then this probably
wouldn't be an issue for you.

2. The wind completely took it away. We staked it down all around AND put
concrete cinderblocks around the perimeter of the greenhouse, but on one
windy night the entire thing was pulled up from its stakes and blown into a
tree, where it twisted and broke. The plastic was ripped, and the metal
bars were bent and sheared clean off at some places. (A few of the stakes
were still in the ground; the wind had separated the poles at the joints and
lifted them away!) If you do not have a lot of wind where you live, this
shouldn't be a problem.

I really like the idea of these inexpensive greenhouses, but for me it was a
waste of money.
--S.