Very nice greenhouse. Only thing is I hope you have room to add on. Because after the first year of doing this you will wish it was twice as big. This being my second year I'm already building mine twice as big. Try this, If using water barrels for heat sinks raise fish in the barrels and you will have free fertilizer all year round. I raise tilapia, koi, goldfish and mosquito fish. I have(3)55 gallon barrels and 1 in ground pond 4 ft deep 10 x 3 with waterfall run by deep cycle battery and a bilge pump, recharged by solar panels and it never stops running. Not to mention all of the plants and propagations I've got going. Greenhouse gardening is awesome and mostly free. I catch all the rain off the roof to water plants and put fresh water in the tanks. I use the fertilized water to water all the plants in the yard and greenhouse. Fish will eat algea and duckweed so thats free food for them. It works trust me. And most of all have fun as I know you will. Bamboo love that water.

Hi Boo

I already wish the greenhouse were bigger...so I know what you mean. The fish idea, I like. So you put fish in the rain barrel? I have it set up where rain water from the roof drains into my rain barrels. Do you use roof water for the fish or clean water from the water hose? We have very cold winters here, and it would be hard to keep water going from a water hose. Could they survive in roof water?

What a lovely greenhouse!We just built our first greenhouse.You look like you have a lot of experience and a green thumb.There is so much to learn,We're I'm having a blast.

Actually, We just had it built in April and May...so experience, not so much. But I keep trying stuff and learning stuff and having fun with it. I'm glad you are having a blast with yours. A greenhouse is just wonderful! Thanks for your post.

loveitgreen, I'm not sure about water coming off a shingled roof, but I use my greenhouse roof(corrrugated plastic) and it never hurts the fish. I've also used water from the hose just let it sit for a day or two so the chlorine will disipate before adding fish. The way I do it is I have three barrels two with fish and one clean water barrel so I have a place for the fish when I clean out the other barrels. This way I always have a barrel ready to go. I also have a pond inside the greenhouse that holds the largest fish. Total all breeds combined I have about 700 to 1000 fish. But I also have 7 watergarden ponds outside. They all breed with no intervention from me. Free profit.

loveitgreen, You should definetly try some cuttings from everblooming hydrangea. They are so easy to propagate. I bought one 2 years ago. I now have 20 all cloned from the same plant I bought. About a 90% success rate. Once you've done this you will taking cuttings from every plant in your yard. I'm having some pretty good success, but I'm also having some failures. I am learning so much I wish I would have done this 25 years ago. Good Luck and have fun.

Boo, How big is your greenhouse that you can have a pond in there? Now, that would be neat! We talked about taking rain or snow melt from the greenhouse roof. Sounds like you've done some real creative things and you've given me a lot to think about.

Lovitgreen, My greenhouse is 10 ft x 16 ft by 12 ft tall by winter it will be 20 x 16 x 12 I'm still working on the addition. The possiblities are endless, I'm working on solar heating the whole thing. I've got some pretty good ideas up my sleeve that I will share later if the experiments and prototypes work well. A little bit of thought goes a long way. If these ideas work it may change the way people heat their greenhouses. Good Luck and I'll talk to ya soon.

Boo, It sounds like it's going to be a wonderful size. And I'd love to hear how it all works out. The solar heating would be really great. I'm still thinking about the pond! Post some pics sometime after you get it finished and if you feel like it. Would love to see.

Very nice, I can't get enough greenhouse pictures. Great retreat from the rest of the world. I feel my blood pressure going down just looking at pictures of greenhouses. Was this a kit or did you buy the materials yourself?

tmc, I am the same way. My blood pressure goes down too just looking at pictures of greenhouses! I just love em. We have a friend who has a small construction company. He built it for me using lumber and stuff from Home Depot and the like. The plastic is a material called Suntuf. The beds I found as kits over a Sams Club. He installed a regular storm door. My husband and I helped in doing a lot of the wood staining, assembling planting beds, laying pavers,installing rain barrels, etc. It is sturdy and solid and was less costly than some of the kits I've seen.

Thanks for the pictures! I too, never tire of looking at pictures of other people's greenhouses. Too bad it's not easier to post pictures on these forums - it would be fun to see a big gallery of what others have done.

I have some pics of my GH - now that the weather has turned bad I will take the time to post some.

Karin, I can't wait to see them. I wish everyone would put more pictures on. Like they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words", when it comes to inspiration, ideas, and lowering blood pressure :).

The photos are great! I'd like to see more. Specifically:
1) The roof vent. I want to do one, but the construction of it eludes me.
2) The gables. My father-in-law is a sheet metal guy. I'd like to give him an idea how to make a topper for my corrugated panels like yours. Both the ridge and the slope edges, please.
3) The window. Again, I'm looking to see how it's made.
4) The base of the side panels where plastic meets the wood.

Yeah, it's a big deal to do this for me. But it never hurts to ask. You can email me the photos if you like. Use my profile page.

I sent you some pics via e-mail. Let me know if you didn't get them. Hope they help.

Been thinking building a greenhouse using materials available from Home Depot. Your greenhouse looks beautiful and give me a lot ideas to think about. Would also love to see more detail photos of your greenhouse if possible. Thank You.

I didn't get the photos. I double-checked the email address and used it to send myself a message which worked. Can you try again?

Turns out I did get the photos. They're nice and large and a big help.

I'm currently working on my own greenhouse. I'm still in the framing stage. I've got more time in the bayous than others do just a hundred miles north of here.

I'm including a link to the forum where I'm documenting the process.

I'm blundering through the process. It looks like I haven't made any critical mistakes yet. I've got the unit framed, and I've only just learned how to put on the Suntuf panels. I thought I was supposed to just screw them on with insulated screws. NOPE! Good thing I learned about horizontal and vertical closure strips and purlins spaced 24" appart!

When I'm done with the greenhouse, I'll post a gallery of photos here. However, the most detailed account of the unit will be at our bonsai discussion forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenhouse Progress At Our Bonsai Discussion Forum

jlgarden, I posted a few more pics at photobucket. I think if you click on any of the pictures here it will take you to that album. Hope that helps. Most of the materials we used were purchased from Home Depot. Good luck with your greenhouse.

billsbayou, Glad you got the pictures. I look forward to seeing your GH. I'll visit your link after I post here.
{{gwi:307609}}

Are cedar wood were use to frame the greenhouse?

Redwood and white pine.

Billbayou, actually we're just a little east of you in Mobile, so I am reading your Bonsai Forum experiences with great interest.

I have an old derelict cement block garage that lost its entire roof structure years ago in a "windstorm." This winter we are about to make it better than new, and I will have some place for my tropical plants besides the 10 x 10 sunporch and DH can have his reading chair back!

I'm new here and already HOOKED ON GREENHOUSES.