Want a greenhouse? Here's the truth about them

3 years with this greenhouse and there are a few things you should know. Especially when it comes to heating greenhouse, cooling greenhouse, building a greenhouse foundation, and most of all growing in a greenhouse in winter.
Sandy Bottom Homestead was started to supplement our food supply. By Gardening and raising chickens we have been able to meet that goal and start to surpass it. Follow us as we continue to build out our homestead and become better gardeners.
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[James-ibkp]

The best part of my greenhouse is when it’s cold and windy outside in the daytime, I can go inside and warm up, and that’s about it.

[TheTrtlrvr]

Ive worked in the plastic industry for 25 years. Poly carb vs glass isnt the issue. It’s the thickness of the poly carb panels. Most homeowner greenhouses are 3-4mm thick. The professional ones are 8-10mm. All green houses require ventilation usually in the form of a fan bringing fresh air in and vents or fans exhausting air out. A single pain glass greenhouse isn’t going to retain heat any better. Also today’s “plastic” has much greater weather ability than 20 years ago. The term plastic is very broad. And all plastics are not equal.

[braukorpshomebrew]

Gardener from Maple Hill, NC here. Thank you for this video. I have a cheap, all- plastic greenhouse and I know I will need to upgrade in a few years. The more I hear about these prefab greenhouses, the more I'm convinced to take the time to make one myself. Looks like I can build a more secure one that is larger for the same price of a premade kit.

[rebeccazody]

I have a 8x8 palram snap and grow. It is two yrs old. I am 70 yrs old and put it together over 2weeks. I did 95% alone. The foundation took the longest as I had no experience with power tools except a driver. That was CRAZY! But I love my greenhouse. Mostly use it for germinating, seed saving, gardening supplies, space to work on other projects etc. I am in Indiana and this is my second year with winter planting. I do that outside under row covers to extend my season. Thank you for the information.

[juanamador]

I have a similar set up. A couple additional tips I would mention is to seal all leaks with tape not weather stripping This is in most greenhouse instruction manuals. We use clear packing tape so it’s even unnoticeable. We also came to the same conclusion of thermal mass as a passive way to heat but instead of plain buckets of water we installed stock tanks with fish and created a year round aquaponics garden. This also solves the problem of feeding and watering plans. We now primarily take care of fish and the fish take care of the plants. 🌱

[Sypherz]

I'm in 4b (summers get up to 90+F and winters get to colder than -20F) and got a Costco Yardistry greenhouse last fall. I planned to start my veggie garden plants in it as I was tired of seed starting taking over my house in the late winter & spring. I had experimented with winter sowing for a couple years and figured that a greenhouse would be like a giant winter sowing container. Worked great. I didn't have heating but was able to start all my tomatoes, almost all my peppers, beans, cabbage, onions, louffa, gigande beans, squash, melons - pretty much everything. I started the cold tolerant plants in late March and kept adding things through to mid May. My seedlings were almost as big as the ones they were selling at the greenhouses in my area by the time I was ready to put them out. I did have issues with it over-heating when it got in the 80s and 90s, but I replaced the gable end panels with screen - and since they are at the top of the greenhouse, they let out the hot air easily. I haven't had any plants die from the heat since I made this modification and it still stays really warm inside. I figured that the amount I saved not buying seedlings should pay for the greenhouse in about 12 years. But the sanity I've gained in my house and the beauty it added to the garden have made it totally worth it.

[ollady]

I used a portable garage covered in plastic for a green house. Made a hotbed out of concrete blocks. At the end of the growing season, pull back the soil, throw your debris in the hot bed under your soil. It provides all the heat u need, but tent the bedding plants with another sheet of plastic and increase the capture of heat.
All winter, the zone was increased to a 6.
Each layer of plastic increases another zone+ level.
Amish have been using hotbeds forever. A lot of plants can grow perfectly if the soil temp is increased

[Hoomantavakoly]

Install a misting system, that will take care of the heat. I’m in Texas and most of the time, we have temperatures above 80, but since I installed the misting system that problem went away ..

[backwoodscountryboy]

I just want to say right off the bat you are a fantastic communicator. You answered every question I have before I make a purchase like this I like the idea that you bad mouth is a little bit but you also included all the positive and that's just to me a straight-up honest review. I'm in zone 8A in South Central Alabama and I'm thinking this might be something I'm interested in because my Winters are just a little bit milder than yours. I'm going to subscribe to your channel cuz I'm interested in the future to see more about your success and failures in your area so that hopefully I don't have to go there. Like I said a great video man you're a fantastic communicator.

[surgeinc]

I made a dense jungle in mine. Fountain, comfortable chair and fairy lights.
A place to escape.🌿☮️

[MrMrFlyPuppy]

Sorry if its old news but if you do another one, look at geothermal (digging below into the ground and placing air pipes and then by circulating the air from the greenhouse through the buried pipes, will cool in summer and warm in winter with thermistor based automation of the air circulation of course). Also, thermal mass, by placing water barrels inside, the warmth of sun in winter will warm them and then radiate the heat over night...in your area, this may mean you could use the GH 10 or more months of the year even without any supplemental heat.

[janetthornton]

I have a Grandio greenhouse similar to yours. I’m a Master Gardener with my county and what I tell my students who want a greenhouse: you won’t own a greenhouse, it will own you!” I have gone through the very same journey of discovery on how to manage the temperature swings. I am tied to it in ways I didn’t anticipate. I’m checking the temps, I’m opening the doors, I’m closing the doors, I’m checking that plants have not dried out, etc.... I live at. 8, 000 ft elevation at the foot of 14, 000 ft. peaks in Colorado. We have a lot of wind that sweeps down the valley. We put, same as you, a solid timber foundation secured by rebar stakes driven deep into the ground. We used tie down straps to hold it to the foundation. It has withstood 70 mph wind gusts. Like you, we wanted it to be passive solar but learned the black barrels were not enough to warm it this spring. We had 6” of snow a few days ago & our low temps have been in the upper 30’s. So we just got a diesel powered heater that runs off a battery . Looking to hook it up to solar soon. Then our afternoon temps have been in the 90’s. So we got a aluminized shade cloth (like commercial greenhouses use) and that lowered the temps about 10 degrees. We have 3 auto windows in the roof and a louvered window like yours. So, like I said, “the greenhouse owns you!”

[brianrosabeck]

We have had a green house for 10 + years. We grow veggies starters. Starters are EXPENSIVE these days. No problem ! No fuss. No frustration.

[highwayroadrunner]

This summer 2024, I've seen 103-110 temperatures which knocked down the tomato's, cucumbers, etc. growth, it was brutal. Thanks for a very informative video. Greetings from Greenville, NC....

[Melissa-gndv]

I love my greenhouse, but you can lose all of your seed starts in one night if you don't pay close attention to the temperature. Mossy Bottom says to pick a warm place and light it instead of picking a light place and warming it. It's easier. This is a great video. You covered everything!

[eedeescottagegarden]

I have this Greenhouse and I have it full of what I winter over. I use a heat lamp at night and its more than enough to keep all My peppers, Geraniums and many other plants alive through the winter. I did get a Shade screen for it and If I could get another one I would in a heartbeat. Thanks for the videos.

[fleaniswerkhardt]

We cover the top of our 4m x 2.8m greenhouse in 70% shade cloth in summer. Also spent a lot of time on the foundations. They're concrete panels which are insulated on the inside with 100mm foam panels. The floor was excavated down to 300mm and 2 refrigeration panels placed in it. Then 150mm of sand, some geo textile and then a layer of gravel. In the sand layer we've put 20mm Pex pipe for heating. A propane heater with a small flame heats a water tank and a slow flow pump passes the water through the Pex tube. The heat is absorbed by the sand and gently heats the greenhouse day and night in winter. Minimal heat is lost into the ground due to the insulation panels below the sand layer.

[tinamajors]

I adore my greenhouse! I winter over everything and love that because I don’t have to purchase any in the spring. I have a heater in there for really cold temps.

[MrMichaelLudgate]

Really helpful for a prospective buyer, considered the same item. It's not really bad mouthing, just assessing and managing expectations, they also make the versions with various glass panels. For me it makes more sense to save/wait a season, getting the wrong item could put people off entirely.

[sofeyah]

Yep, you right😏 I learned this with my first little plastic house. It gets hotter when it’s hot & colder when it’s cold. I find it great to start plants & for space to do so💖