So, youre thinking About a Greenhouse

So you think you want to buy a greenhouse? This very question is on a lot of peoples minds these days; mainly because growing your own food has become an appealing option to buying at the local store for health and safety reasons. However, you need to know a few things before you commit to a greenhouse to have a good experience.

Size is one of the first things you will want to consider. This has to do with the amount of space you have as well as what you want to grow in the grow house. You will need to consider the overall floor space as well as the headroom; both of which are important for many types of plants.

While greenhouse can be used in an array of locations, they do much better when located in direct sunlight during the entire day. If your location has shade all or most of the day, the greenhouse may not yield like you expect it to. So knowing how much sunlight you will be getting in the space you have is important to manage expectations.

Some people only want a greenhouse to start seeds for their garden in the spring or extend the life of their plants in the fall. If this is you then just about any greenhouse or cold frame will do the job since you wont need the heating or cooling required when using greenhouses in certain climates.

If you are over-wintering plants in a greenhouse you will need one that has decent insulation properties since you will need to keep the temperature about 30 F above the outside temperature for the extended time. If you are in a mild climate, you can get away with one of the inexpensive greenhouses like the Rion Silverline or Greenline Greenhouse.

Of course, if you live in a colder climate with temperatures dropping to 0 F or below, you will need to purchase a greenhouse with a good insulated covering. These grow houses not only retain heat much better, but they also offer a tighter seal than other greenhouses and this makes them easier to heat. The Rion Prestige and Solexx Master Gardener Series both fit the bill.

Any time the intent is to grow food in a greenhouse year round; you will need to have a very well insulated greenhouse. This helps both in the winter months when you need some help heating and also in the summer months when you may need a little help cooling. Of course the climate you live in will also play a part in determining what green house is for you but you will notice the better all round results come for good insulated greenhouses.

The bottom line is greenhouses are designed for several functions and only you can determine for which function or functions you most want a green house for. Experience shows us that the biggest mistakes people make are not getting a well enough insulated greenhouse for their climate or they get a greenhouse that is ultimately too small for what they want to accomplish. Learn by others mistakes and dont make the same ones.