Small Greenhouse recommendations

We have space on our deck for a 10x10 greenhouse…looking at kits or having one built. It would be for sheltering plants and repotted or tender bonsai in below freezing in Oregon winters. Any information would be helpful.

I have a 6’ x 8’ greenhouse from Charlie’s Greenhouses. It came with a kit and complete directions. They have a variety of sizes and are very helpful.

The clear panels I used are 8mm twin wall polycarbonate. On side is UV protected. These are not cheap. I got lucky because the distributor I found had a cancelled order and gave me a deep discount.

Look into proper greenhouse design. My walls are clear from 2feet and up on all sides. I had a reason for doing this. If I did not want to pay for so many panels, the entire north wall and half the north side roof could have been PT plywood. That’s a good way to cut costs m

BThanks…their website looks super! I just want to keep bonsai occasionally in it when it gets too cold for deciduous species, but maybe over winter some house plants too. Not into veggies any more.

Makes sense. I honk we’re going for something fairly small, as I only want to over winter some house plants and bonsai that can’t stay out in sub freezing weather that lasts several days. Am looking at a company called Palram that seems pretty reputable…they use polycarbonate that’s clear on the sides and matte on the peaked roof. There’s double doors in front and a louvered vent I hope I can set up to work automatically above 40. I’ll have to use a heater too, I guess in winter.

Harbor Freight has small greenhouses with sliding door and roof vents.


This link shows modification and recommends improvement to give more height and make the structure more stable during assembly.

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Thank you for the information…I will check it out.

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My 10’x12’ Harbor Freight greenhouse collapsed after a strong storm of 30mph+ winds. Apparently, if you buy the greenhouse, then buy enough equipment to reinforce the greenhouse, as detailed in your link, it’ll withstand anything short of a hurricane. Even so, I’m a big NO on Harbor Freight greenhouses.

I built a 12’x12’ greenhouse using 2x4’s for the walls and 2x6 for the rafters, 2x8 for the ridge. It has a 2’ high skirt all the way around and twin-wall polycarbonate UV-protected panels (that I got from an overstock sale). The greenhouse is bolted to a concrete base. All lumber is joined using decking joints. It’s a tough greenhouse.

Note: If you’re framing an 8 foot wall, 12 feet long, BY YOURSELF, and the wall decides to fall, LET IT FALL. I tried to catch it and now my knee doesn’t work quite right. :disappointed:

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heavy snow collapsed my Sears garden shed, so I am well aware of the fragile kits that do not last. If you need a very small greenhouse on a deck, many are two short for my purpose and comfort, so doing a little reinforcement and raising the roof works for me. I was buying a cable winch puller yesterday like the one you recommended in your collecting video, so that is why I was looking at HF. BTW, I love your videos!!
Always good to hear bad experience as well as good. I can learn from mistakes others make, as well as my many errors!

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Wow! Now that’s an adventure! Sorry about your knee…am looking at a hexagonal greenhouse by Palram, and will employ a guy to put it up for me! I’m too old to wield a hammer, and I need all my body parts that still work.

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Glad you like my videos. I’m supposed to be at lunch right now editing the next two. Nothing exciting, but they are different. I went into the swamps twice. I went with different friends each time. So, bunch of guys acting stupid collecting trees. The second video is at the edge of a lake in North Louisiana. The fully grown trees there were gorgeous!

As for mistakes, I’m going to have a follow up to the channel cut I did in my last video. The title will be something like “1 Out of 2: Where I Went Wrong”. The thread graft appears to be pushing out leaves. However, the channel cut… The whole branch died. It was a good branch to test the technique because now I can get rid of a bad branch and focus on growing a new branch in the correct style.

The worst thing you can do with failure is fail to learn something. So the video will have me cutting off the branch and working my way down the branch 1/2 inch at a time, looking at the width of the cambium. I’m certain I was WAY to aggressive with that bit.

At times, I may be the poster boy for “Don’t Do This” posters. But I’m going to post my mistakes just as often as I post my successes. I’m obliged to do so.

One last thing, I used to call those metal garden shed “Hurricane Sheds” because after a hurricane, I’d see them all in our front yards.

HAMMER? Who said anything about a hammer? I used an impact driver and coated deck screws. Oh, sweet wonder of the tool world. No bent nails. No lost nails. No busted thumbnails.
:smile:

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