On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 11:01:57 +0000, amme
wrote:


HI I am a florist and i want to start growing things like asparagus
fern, gypsophilia etc, I am going to get a greenhouse to grow these in.
Can anyone tell me the best one to get as i have been looking and didnt
realise how many are out there. thank you

I'm not the one to answer this question for you - I built my own small
one (enough to sustain starts for my own gardening), and have
collected much of the glass to build a larger one (big industrial
double-glazed window panels, like you'd see on the side of a
highrise). Whether you're looking for a kit or a from scratch type,
you'll need to define what it is you need:

* total square footage (i.e. size)
* glass (heavy), polycarbonate (lighter weight, but panels will need
replacement after 8-12 years), or UV hoophouse plastic (even shorter
lived).
* wood framed, metal framed, or wood+masonry
* which is more important: form or function?
* permanent greenouse, or something you can disassemble and move (say
because you might not own the property).
* purpose: doing starts for a nursery, or attempting to grow things
year round.
* what is your climate like? Lots of high wind? Snow? Freezes?
* Do you need someone else to put it together, or are you confident
you can manage it yourself?

Underscoring all of tha is the biggiet: what's your budget? It
doesn't make any sense for someone to tell you about the best
greenhouse solution they've seen if it's way out of your price range.

Other design considerations:
* water supply - could be a hard plubed affair, or could
* floor - direct ground, raised slats, poured concrete (with drain?)
gravel, pavers, or wood elevated plywood (think subfloor in your house
or in a standard wood shed). Slats, gravelm and pavers are more water
friendly, as would be a poured floor with a centre sloping drain.
Direct soil could get muddy, and wood, while easy, cheap, and level,
isn't a good choice for water. You could put sheet linoleum on the
ply flooring through (and still provide a drain point.
* auxilliary heat source (if needed in your area)
* automatic window vents, or other form of ventillation if it gets too
hot
* power (say for fans, heat, grow lights, or for seedling heat mats) -
use properly wired GFCI outlets, and ideally, the plastic rain covers,
so that if you water plants nearby, there's no shock hazard.

There's also going more simple and constructing a "hoop house", which
would be okay in an environ where you don't get high winds. I helped
raise on of these for a local CSA last winter, and outside of the UV
sheeting and the PVC framing, they did the entire thing using
reclaimed materials.

You may want to watch your local CraigsList "Farm and Garden" section
- in my area (north of San Francisco), there's at least one person, if
not a couple, who regularly post that they construct greenhouses on
site, though they more appear like modified sheds - wood framed, with
the bottom say 3' (about doorknob height) as siding, not windows.

In searching my local CL this morning, one of the hits was someone
trying to liquidate gear from a "dissolved partnership", including a
sizeable greenhouse (20x48), and a diesel generator. Hrm, wonder what
he was growing...

http://www.foreverflowering.net/gree...thern-latitude