urgent question on hfgh!!

15 years ago

So I am thinking of getting a 10x12 HFGH tomorrow. I see many threads on it here .... seems either you love it or not. But my urgent question is in the summer, can any of the panels be removed easily so that you can use the space for growing but not as a greenhouse? For instance, can the top panels be removed to allow heat out in addition to the four vents?

I want to put it in an area that gets quite hot in the summer but it will not be near to power to run fans. I would want to basically convert it into a screen house in the summer. For instance, drape the walls or open windows and doors with bird netting so that I can grow in it year round and keep birds off.

We are having a terrible problem with quail so I am trying to find a structure that can function both as a greenhouse and a 'bird cage' only in this case, keeping the birds OUT. My garden is small so it can't accommodate a hoop house as the curves of the hoops reduce the growing space too much. Otherwise, I will need to just net individual raised beds but so far, the quail are just scooting under the netting!

So if anyone has used the greenhouse as a dual purpose, I would love to know how and what you are doing! :)

TIA!

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Comments (4)

funnylady
15 years ago
Yes the polycarbonate panels are easy to take out. I take mine out 2 times a year to clean. What zone are you in?
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greenhouser2
15 years ago
Yes, they come out quite easily. We have quail here but they don't bother the gardens. The wild turkeys will eat dropped fruit. We use a 4' tall chicken wire to fence some of the veggie gardens.
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I posted new photos of the greenhouse (3rd box and floor are now complete) http://www.gbdg.net/g2/main.php?g2_itemId=93 as well as the completed garden http://www.gbdg.net/g2/main.php?g2_itemId=16&g2_page=3 There are photos of another HFGH that features fans. I'm quite certain you can rig a fan up there so long as the extention does not conflict with any bracing you installed (such as the 1/2" rigid conduit that I and others used to brace the walls.) The timbers that form the footing of the GH are 2x12 pressure treated fir. I did that a year ago when I started this project, but today I would have used the same rough cedar which I discovered later that summer at a local mill. I used the same PT fir for the outside steps and cedar for the interior steps. The steps make access to the GH a lot more convenient and being in snow country it allowed the base of the GH to be largely above the level of the typical snowfall here. This is our first season growing in the GH but it's mid-July and we just recently pulled out the lettuce and spinach that had gone to seed. A new lettuce crop (seeds)is in the newly built 3rd box - time will tell how that goes. It gets awfully hot in there though. As for weight, someone else might answer that. I strapped the various shelves to the sides and have seen no problem from the weight of the starting trays. However, I plan to replace the shelves (right now we are using the wire closet organizer shelves) with the style that Cactusfreak features in his HFGH photos. I want the additional space they will provide as well as to have them supported by pipes mounted above the raised bed boxes.
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Many folks are attracted to HFGF because of the relatively small cost, not realizing the additional costs/preparations especially for a year 'round setup. Depending upon what sorts of things you want to grow, what your minimum winter temps are, maximum summer temps, and desired interior temps, you might be spending quite a bit more. Given the structural weaknesses with HFGF and necessary augmentations, I would highly recommend investigating other options. I grow orchids in a homebuilt gh in Zone 8a, and have a superior structure with benches, air chiller, etc., for ~$500. My floor is dirt, and I understand that bricks/pavers is the best to keep clean. Gravel drains well, but is impossible to sweep up leaves, etc. Depends upon what you plan to grow. To answer your question about placement, you need the sunniest location in your yard. If you have shade, make the priority morning sun, because this will make the biggest difference in wintertime heating. Orient your gh so that the eight-foot walls are perpendicular to the east, so that the maximum amount of morning solar energy can heat things up quickly. Of course, this will also overheat you in the summer, so you'll have to be equipped to hang shade cloth when necessary. The orientation I've described above is the ONLY reason I've been able to grow orchids here without spending quite a bit more on heating. There's a lot to learn, but the internet and this site are good tools for you. -Bruce C.
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jumpin4joy
15 years ago
I found the pannels are very cheaply made and dont last. The problem is if you have any sort of wind they fly off very easily. I found myself looking for them in he neighbors yard.
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mudhouse_gw
15 years ago
We have quail, but they don't bother my succulents; my mortal enemies are Thrashers, birds with long beaks and brash attitudes! They flip dirt aside to find bugs, stabbing through leaves. In two minutes they permanently disfigured succulents I'd babied for years. Some of my plants looked like they'd been stabbed to death with ice picks!

My HFGH has solved that problem completely. All of the panels are removable, as long as you don't caulk them in place. I believe you'll need to secure them with screws and extra clips to keep the panels in place. As jumpin4joy mentioned, the panels can come loose in strong winds, and that can be disastrous. My blog has pics of how we modified our HFGH to make sure it would withstand high winds (got all the good ideas here from Gardenweb folks!)
Building our 10x12 HFGH

I remove four of my south wall panels every summer and replace them with screens I made out of Aluminet shade cloth. You could also make screens using regular window screen material. Here's an old thread showing what my screens look like. I love them.
Aluminet Screens for Harbor Freight Greenhouse

I also keep the doors open, so I made a curtain of Aluminet shadecloth to hang in the doorway. Slides on shower curtain hooks, and clips to the doorway edges with little clamps like clothespins. Not sure it would keep nosy quail out (it's still loose at the bottom) but my Thrashers haven't stomped in there, so far! Now I can enjoy their song, instead of wishing they were dead. ;-)
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urgent question on hfgh!!

Comments (4)

funnylady

greenhouser2

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