"Second, with all the hoop-style greenhouses I've noticed there needs to be a bending of PVC. Is that really a good idea? Will it snap?" PVC is very bendy when warm, just don't try bending the bows during a blizzard ! It's wise to put in a ridgebeam of 2x4's glued in a "T" shape to give the bows support. I attached my bows with "U" shaped conduit brackets. "Use Schedule 80 PVC - it is heavier, grey (therefore more sun resistant). It can be purchased at most large discount stores, Lowes, Home Depot, etc." Unfortunately Sch. 80 is a special order around here. I did the rebar-inside-PVC trick. I'd sure have ordered the Sch. 80 if I'd known I could. "So is there anywhere where I get about that much plastic sheeting for a lesser price? " I've canvassed the home centers and never found any good film wide enough. I don't know where that stuff came from the author of the plan used. I found that I could use our industrial sewing machine to sew 10ft pieces of 6 mil plastic together. However, you can buy cut yardage of decent four year greenhouse film. I went to our local greenhouse and asked where they buy their plastic. They'd just taken down their three year old plastic and put up new, so I said, "Can I buy the old film, please?" They said "sure... oops. Cut it up for scrap." So if you could find this kind of deal you'd have good plastic for a year or so. Ask for testimonials from people who've bought recently. I used the cheap stuff and it has lasted a year with one or two small rips so far. Or you can buy a "solar pool cover". It's a very good, thick type of film designed to be a good insulator. A solar pool cover is peppered with trapped air bubbles and I wish I had one. Ask CactusFreak, I think he uses one. People who do love it. It costs more but if you want to have anything growing when snow flies, it'll pay for itself in the first year. One important tip is to build the greenhouse with two foot high wooden sides. These "kneeboards" give you much more headroom, and they reduce the length of the bows you'll need and, more important, they mean you can use a smaller piece of plastic to cover. I sure wish I'd known that tip last year. ""And will it be hard to heat a hoophouse if it has big holes in the plastic (like near the ground), or is there a way I can make it near air-tight?" You can set up the plastic to be rolled up toward the top of the HoopHouse when you don't need heating and roll it back down in the Fall. That gives you lots better ventilation and prevents overheating. I'd like to figure out how to retrofit my hoophouse to do that. ********* If you happen to have a hill on your property, there's a great money saver called a "Pit" greenhouse. You still use the bows and cover with plastic, but you cut into the hill on the South side. The earth forms the North wall, and insulates your greenhouse from the cold winds. Properly constructed, a Pit greenhouse will never get below freezing in Zone 5. A clever trick is to dig down enough to put in a walkway in front of the plants. The cold air that creeps in sinks and fills the sunken walkway where the earth warms it to above freezing. We have two hills that might work, but I'd end up killing trees to do it. :(

No, I am still thinking 10x20 or something similar in total area. I actually live out on 5 acres on the plains and that's why I said wind is such an issue. This year's spring we got a nasty blizzard at least once every two weeks all the way until May. We had one of our windows broken by flying debris during one of the storms to give you an idea. Sustained 40 mile an hour winds with gusts up to 75. Not fun and that is what's concerning me the most. The smaller one I posted had reviews that it was very sturdy in the wind and I liked that it had a shelving unit you can buy. But I would probably need two because I don't know if it would be big enough. I'm considering that 10x20 one, multiples of the one you posted, or building one. I just have to see what would be the best bang for the buck. I will need to house at least 3 dozen, but it's hard to figure since I want to put some things in larger containers and start some things inside instead of direct seeding. So I will need more space than I did this year.

I appreciate all the input everyone. Here's my last year's pic of Judy, which is how it generally bloomed. I bought it while it was blooming from Dave Bowman [Foxhaven Daylilies]. Even if it isn't Judy, I'm not disappointed. I like it better than the pics above. I don't mind having an excellent NOID, especially for the price paid--he was getting rid of a whole section of his garden for $5-10 each, including some of his past intros! It was a bloom I liked as well as it had 4 or 5 branches. Any ideas based on the picture below what it might be?

It would help to know where you are, what USDA hardiness zone you are in, and how you intend to use the greenhouse. Based on information I saw in this forum, I bought a 6'x8' Harbor Freight greenhouse in November of 2004 and have been pleased with it, considering the price. Of course, a larger, more expensive one would be more to my liking, but is just not feasible at this time. Back in 2004 I think it was $229; currently it is selling for $319. They sometimes go on sale, and if you sign up for their email newsletter, they periodically send out coupons. By the time I was done, I'd spent just under $900 total for the greenhouse plus wood for a base made of 2x10 treated lumber, tape, benches/shelves, fan, heater (~$90), gravel for floor, U-clamps and extra bolts for hanging things from the ceiling, hardware cloth and Reflectix for rodent/draft barrier around the perimeter, and, for winterization, a clear solar pool cover (~$100) and 2" foam board insulation for the north wall.