Greenhouse Reveal

Two years ago Bryce and Stirling made an upcycled greenhouse to start our garden seeds out of reclaimed windows and scrap wood. It was roughly 30″x6′. Anything we can reuse or repurpose and definitely anything free (I think it was roughly $40 with hinges and screws) holds a special place in my heart. I love it, it’s worked well for us these past few years. Unfortunately, since we have decided to start most of our garden seeds, I’ve outgrown it.

So when we started hearing rumors of Stay at Home orders and the economy was so uncertain, building a walk-in greenhouse went from the bottom our our to-do list to the very top. Also, from a budgeting standpoint, purchasing grown plants from a green house can be quite expensive! You will still spend significantly less by growing your own food, but a packet of seeds can start many plants, and usually costs less than 1 solitary plant purchased from a box store.

Bryce worked tirelessly for two of his turns off work. With his trusty sidekick, Stirling, they were able to finish everything in about 6 days!

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I have two shelves about waist hight, and an extra one up top for storage (although I’ve started putting seed trays up there, too!) The west wall is mostly open for my citrus, coffee and avocado trees to go once the nights warm up a bit more (check out what trees we grow indoors here). We’ve considered heating it to grow cool crops over the winter, but won’t address that until later this year.

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Dimensions

The greenhouse is 10’x12′ with a 8′ to 6′ slanted roof. The siding and roof is corrugated polycarbonate panels and wooden/wire cloth for the growing shelves. We had some heavy duty woven weed barrier laying around from a previous project that I laid down. Once we are able to, I’m going to fill the floor with stone.

I did a dollar tree hanger for some dwarf tomato varieties that are hanging from the ceiling that I was quite proud of! $1 pot paired with their $1 chain hangers turned into an inexpensive way to use some of the vertical space.

What do I use in the greenhouse?

We have a DIY rain barrel from free materials we picked up off of Craigslist several years ago. Having a water source so close has been very convenient when caring for my seedlings! You can find some beautiful, decorative options online! (This option seems pretty simple and has good reviews!)

For watering, I prefer larger watering cans for the older seedlings, but while they are still very young and fragile, I prefer using a glass spray bottle.

I keep my seeds organized in a plastic tote that is color coded and that I can keep different varieties separated. This whole tote fits easily in the fridge in the garage to extend the seed viability. It’s actually marketed as a photo storage container, but it fits seed packets perfectly!

I prefer using 1020 seed trays when I’m able, and then will separate the seedlings and pot them into larger pots as they grow.

What’s growing so far?

I’ve got many different annual plants started, ranging from cabbage to tomatoes, to okra and broccoli and just about everything in between. I have some cuttings I’m trying to germinate with our perennial fruit bushes. The currants have really taken off so far with their root production! (The photo of my cuttings was taken a few weeks ago, the roots are quite impressive now!)

I do have some special items that will specifically be listed for our roadside stand (strawberries, raspberries, mints, etc) but most of the plants are dedicated to our personal use.

There are two new perennial plants I’m adding to our garden this year. The service berry, and a Chicago Hardy Fig will be joining our garden later this spring! I’ve been keeping them in the green house to allow their roots to get established a little further. They were also partially leafed out when I purchased them, so I didn’t want to shock them by planting in the cold garden right away.

Unfortunately, only one of my hazelnut trees survived this past winter so I hope to find another to add back in this year.

What do the boys think?

Definitely helping daddy build was a special treat for them. On days when we’re starting seeds, they love to get their hands dirty or help with watering the planters out front. It’s been an unexpected blessing to be able to go outside with the boys when the weather is uncooperative and let them get their hands dirty without blowing away in the cold April winds!

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What do I think?

I absolutely love it. Of course, it’s super useful but the love and service poured into building it makes it even more special.

It’s almost completely full already! I’m working on transplanting some of my vegetables in the garden to free up more space but have been limited with the mercurial weather.