Build Your Own Greenhouse

If you have the desire to start your seedlings early and store your plants in a warm, safe place until transplanting in your garden, you may want to build your own greenhouse. Check out the slide show of the greenhouse my DH built last spring.at the right hand side of this page. The beautiful thing about this structure is that it is portable and it can be taken down and stored when you need it no longer. Ours is stored in the garage waiting for the moment when we can put it up again for this spring. If you would like more information on materials, etc, please leave a comment and I will get back to you.

A cold frame and a tent house are smaller projects and allow the opportunity to get your plants growing. For information on cold frames check my previous post. For information on tent houses and step-by-step instructions on how to build one, check out the March 19 post at quiltbeagardens for great images and explanation.

Build Your Own Cold Frames

Cold frames are easy and affordable structures to kickstart your seedlings and plants. The minute the warm weather arrives, the frost date passes, you will be ready to get a jump on the growing season by planting strong plants in your vegetable garden.

Location, location, location. Choose a sunny area with good drainage. Placing the cold frame near a building or wind break will shelter the plants from cold spring winds. Oh yes, I know how those lovely spring breezes can change into strong cold, injuring/killing winds. A water source should be close enough that you can easily run a hose to the frames for watering the plants.
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Go to your Habitat for Humanity warehouse, Good Will, your uncle's garage, or wherever you can pick up some used windows. These make excellent tops for cold frames. You can set the glass panes on top of cement blocks making sure you have a way to weight them down to weather the winds. You can also build a "frame" of wood to set the window on. The wood frame allows you to add hinges to the window and attach it to the frame so you can prop open the window allowing air to circulate through the plants.

My DH suggested using 4-6 mm vinyl stapled to a frame if you cannot locate windows. Check the nurseries and lumber companies for the vinyl.

CAUTION: On a sunny day, you must take the cover off the plants or they will bake in the cold frame box. Prop the window up with a stick, but CAUTION that the wind doesn't blow the window over and break it.

Cold frames are an inexpensive way to get a head start on your garden by hardening off the plants--acclimating them for outdoor planting. After the weather turns warm, the cold frame can be taken apart and put away until you need it next year. Best of all, when you get that itch to play in the dirt and start those seeds, you can get to it earlier by protecting the tender seedlings and plants in the cold frame.

PLANTING SEEDS FOR YOUR GARDEN

In this day of money-saving ideas, it just makes sense to start seeds for your garden rather than buying the plant set. A package of seeds will cost under $2.00 for about 20 seeds. A tomato plant in a 4 inch pot may set you back $3.00.

Germinate Seeds in Great Soil
Again I am preaching on the importance of soil or growing medium to germinate your seeds. Plant them in a flat, a paper cup, a plastic box that held a salad, or whatever you choose, but do not, do not, fill those containers with dirt from your garden. The delicate roots don't need to compete with rocks and sand and clay to grow. Make it easy for them to snuggle into a nice comfy home of sterile soil. This will make a stronger plant that will be able to transplant nicely when it is grown from a baby to a teen ager.

Timing Seeds to be Ready to Transplant
Read the back of the seed packet to see how many days it will take until you can enjoy that delicious vegetable. Then you must calculate backwards when the weather will allow you to set the seedlings outdoors. Figure from that point the date to plant the seed inside to grow it to transplant size. Some folks get the urge to plant and start their seedlings so early that soon they have a huge plant that needs to be transplanted but the weather is not favorable for growing. So especially be careful when figuring tomato and pepper plant seedlings.

Troubleshooting
Choose a light area to begin your seeds whether a bright window, grow light, cold frame, or greenhouse. If you see that the plants are growing tall and stringy, then you definitely need more light. Yellowing leaves is usually a result of keeping the soil too dry or too wet. Always, always feel the soil before watering.

Cold Frames and Greenhouses
Cold frames can be constructed as simply as a box with an old window on top of it. Just be sure that you have a way of propping open the top so that the plants won't bake in the spring sunshine.

Greenhouse kits are available in every size, but I can assure you that once you get into raising plants in the greenhouse, you will soon outgrow that greenhouse. It's just a law of nature, I think. Check out the photos here of the greenhouse that my husband constructed this year. It is made of pvc pipe which is inserted into a larger sleeve in the ground. After the plants have been transferred to the garden, he will take down the greenhouse and put it away until next spring. He put two sheets of poly on the house with a small fan to inflate the layers. This helps to keep the cold out and the warm in, and the poly is tight and not blown about in a wind. If you have questions about the construction, please contact me.

Best of luck in seed starting, germination, and transplanting. I bet you can't wait to sink your teeth into those delicious tomatoes, peppers, or your favorite vegetables.