Isn't it wonderful? A regular playhouse. Have you moved in a stool for sitting?

Nell

I feel your joy and excitement all the way down here TMan. Hurray for you. Look forward to seeing your little sprouts next.

FlowerLady

I love small spaces like that. I want a greenhouse, but it would only be useful for a few months a year. I'm too far north to not heat it and to cheap to spend the money.

Excellent ThinMan. They'll be up in no time. Don't forget to ventilate.

Libby

Lookin' good! And tomorrow is the first day of spring.

k

Woohoo! Go for it, ThinMan! I've had a greenhouse for a few years now and love it - don't think there's any way I'd survive a long, cold Michigan winter without one. And it is real gardening :-) Have fun and keep us posted.

Foxesearth - stool, bah ... I always leave room for a chair in mine - a great place to relax with a book and a cup of something warm, as my non-gardening husband has already discovered.

Token - You believe, now, that you're too cheap to spend the money, but if you were to try it, you'd probably get hooked just as I did, lol. I'm in coastal NJ, which is also USDA zone 7. There are ways to make the most of the sun's heat and to minimize the heat loss.

If I had that playhouse I'd be in there all day. Fun, fun, fun.

I can hardly wait to see spring pictures ... I'm running out of things to paint. The teacher is not to happy that I've been painting forgeries of Monet and Van Gough.

Ahhhh, I remember the good times in the hoophouse. It is a lovely feeling to be standing in Mother Nature's warmth and it is cold outside. Please do keeping showing pictures as things start to sprout.

In fact, I would love to see pictures of the inside and outside of all your greenhouses. Maybe it will get me motivated to build one again.

Nell, I have a chair that I move in there when the spirit moves me. The greenhouse is so narrow that I can't walk through if I leave it in there, but I keep it handy. For next year, maybe I will build an annex on the end that will be a few feet wider.

Libby, thanks for the ventilation reminder. I thought that opening the top half of the door would do the job, but after a couple of ninety-some degree days inside in late winter, I'm not so sure. I may have to add a vent to the top.

Thanks, all, for sharing my enthusiasm.

ThinMan

Thin Man's Greenhouse is on a blog. It's an inspiration, both the greenhouse and the blog.

If you aspire to a greenhouse, get cracking. If you aspire to a blog, go for it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Thin Man's Blog

I just love your greenhouse and I can imagine how thrilled you are! Happy spring!
Estelle

Happy spring TM, doesn't the warmth of your greenhouse feel good after a long winter, it won't be long before you have it chockablock full of seedlings and you'll be saying to yourself, hmmm, I could use a couple of more feet :o).

Annette

Way to go Thinman! I would so love to have a greenhouse. I go crazy all winter not being able to plant. Can't wait to pics of your babies!

ThinMan, your greenhouse is really awesome! I'm glad you're getting to put it to use now.

If I may ask, what are the black bags for? Are you composting in them? Are they heat sinks? Just wondering because I'm putting my hoop house together next week and I was thinking that I would make planting beds below my shelves to see if I can grow early vegetables in my hoop house during March and again late season, possibly into Novemeber (depending on the temps. of course). I just wondered if you had considered utilizing that space for anything else?

I also wanted to ask, if you had considered adding a swimming pool cover over the plastic for extra insulation during winter, so you could grow earlier and later during the seasons? You can also add shade cloth now to help keep the temps down or a small fan to direct the air towards the door.

Can't wait to see your seeds sprout into seedlings! Good Luck!!

MeMo

Oh what fun! ThinMan, I'm green with envy!

I think your post was the push I needed to get some seeds started in the kitchen window at least.
That should be fun too.

Enjoy!
Patti

I have a greenhouse that I stopped heating because of the expense and boy do I miss it! There are still some warm afternoons in winter when the sun does it, but nothing consistent. You can go out there and do potting on those days and my granddaughter plays with dirt, rocks and water in mid-winter which she loves. But there's nothing like a mass of blooming geraniums in January.

Estelle and Annette - Happy Spring back at ya!

Annette - In the boating world, they talk of a condition called two-foot disease. "If my boat was only two feet longer, it would be perfect." Greenhousers probably get it too.

Thanks, MeMo, the bags are heat sinks. There are two 5 gallon buckets of water inside each one. I was going to spray paint the buckets black, but Nell suggested wrapping them in garbage bags, since I was afraid the black paint wouldn't stick to the plastic buckets. I don't know if 100 gallons of water is enough to do the job, but I am going to stick a max/min thermometer out there tonight and start monitoring temps.

I'm not planning on trying to use the soil inside the greenhouse to grow anything, as there is grass growing there and when I move the greenhouse in the summer, I don't want to step out of my basement door into a garden. :-) I think that there will be a hoop house in my future, depending on how I do with flower sales this year.

OK, Patti. Let's get those seeds started!

Terryanne, I see that you're in zone 5 too, and I hear you about heating expense. I'm just using my greenhouse, along with lights in my basement, as a plant starting area in the spring. My grandsons do love to go out there and play with their toy tractors in the dirt on a sunny day in the winter. I probably won't do any more than use an electric heater at night if I have to.

Thanks for writing, all.

ThinMan

Somebody on the Greenhouse Forum wrote that their heat sink increased the temperature in their GH by 7 degrees, I think it was. The bad news was, the outside temperature was -22!

A heat sink helps to mediate temperatures. It won't heat a space, but it is worthwhile, as it is inexpensive. Think big; use barrels and set plants on top.

Nell

Thanks ThinMan, I guess I didn't realize you'd be moving the greenhouse in the future so obviously ground beds don't make sense for you then. What size hoop house are you dreaming of?

MeMo

TM - so envious!!! Looks great!! Check out Lee Valley, as they have temperature controlled vents. I know that you are retired, but they might be handy for those sunny warmed days, that start cold and end cold!!

Nancy.

We have our own temperature related problems here. We worry about the greenhouse heating up so fast and so hot that it kills our seedlings. We purchased an attic fan that has a thermostat on it, and installed it in the greenhouse. It is wonderful for taking that hot air out of the greenhouse. On the other hand, we do have killing frosts, so the greenhouse is necessary to protect from cold as well. We keep a shade cover on it year 'round.

I love to work in there. This coming week is 'clean out the greenhouse' week!

I'm looking forward to seeing your seedlings, TMan!

Janie

Hmmm that's what it's called two-foot disease, when we went to buy my greenhouse it was one of the standard sizes but I found I could fit another two feet into the space I had so I got them to add another two foot section LOL.

Annette

What size hoop house are you dreaming of?

I dunno, MeMo, but it will probably be homemade, unless we're talking serious dreaming.

Right Nancy, I've seen the heat activated vents and they seem like a good idea. They're not even all that expensive, but I've blown pretty much all my equipment and supplies budget for the year.

Janie, the thermostatically controlled attic fan sounds about perfect, but my greenhouse is so small that I would need a miniature version. Also ... budget. On the other hand, can I afford to cook a thousand plants? Hmmmmmmm.

Annette - Yep, it sounds like you have already caught two foot disease. :-)

ThinMan