Build your Own Green House: Planning

For an ardent gardener having their own green house is a dream come true. Tropical plants can be grown all year, seeds can be started in the middle of winter and best of all there is no end to 'gardening season” the rest of the world has to put up with. However while many gardeners dream of having their own green house, only a select few ever actually achieve their dream and that's a pity since while building their own green house is a significant amount of work, it isn't beyond the skills of many DIY'ers. If having your own green house is one of your dreams, here's some thoughts on how you can actually achieve your goal.

Two basic considerations for your green house are size and location  

• Experienced gardeners say its best to start with the largest green house you can fit into your yard since whatever size you start with you will find it will quickly seem too small and building a large greenhouse is easier and less expensive than trying to expand an existing building.
• When deciding where to position your greenhouse keep the location of the sun in mind. Since you will want the sun to be shining into your green house, locate it so it won't be shaded by an overhanging tree, your house or any other building on your property.
• Try to align your green house so the longest side faces south to maximize exposure to sunlight in the winter. The downside to this alignment is you may need to install shade cloth to protect your plants from the heat of the summer sun.
  

Build it yourself or from a kit? 

• Greenhouse kits are commonly available at building supply centers and on line in many sizes, shapes and different materials. Since a kit provides all the piece parts including doors and hinges, all designed to fit together, it will save you a lot of the cutting and measuring necessary to put your greenhouse together, However, kits are usually more expensive than a green house you build from scratch and you are still the person who will actually put the pieces together.
• If you decide you would like to build your green house from scratch, plans and designs are inexpensively available  on line or from home and garden centers. Building it yourself will also give you the option of choosing materials and you could even use recycled materials for much of the structure. All the necessary components (including windows, fans and watering systems) are commonly available at home and hardware stores so they are easy to include in your structure.
  

Foundations  

• Some small home green houses are simply built on the ground without any foundation, however, for a more permanent structure some form of a foundation (gravel or concrete) is more appropriate.
• Pea gravel provides an inexpensive floor and foundation for a home green house. Simply remove any sod, dig down three or four inches and fill in the area with pea gravel. A pea gravel green house floor won't get  muddy or slippery when it's wet and will actually absorb any water spills, giving you a floor that is safe to walk on at all times. 
• For a large, permanent structure a concrete floor/foundation is likely a better choice. Installing a concrete floor may be a job you might consider contracting out since it requires digging down about a foot, installing then packing three or four inches of gravel, topped by two inches of sand and finally pouring a concrete slab - Altogether a lot of work and most of us don't have the digging, hauling and packing equipment necessary to do the job.

Murray Anderson is an experienced freelance writer with articles published in both the United States and Canada. He has written on a wide range of topics, but specializes in home maintenance and how to's.