How Useful Will This Greenhouse Addition on a Shed Really Be?
I have come to the conclusion that we need a shed. I have a couple of the plastic ones and they are not enough. My patio is still covered with things that need a shed to live in. Once I let that sink in, I went looking online at sheds and found that I could get one with a seed-starting greenhouse area at one end. Great! I used to have grow lights that I set up on tables in the house and I started flowers and some food plants, but I don't have room for that anymore.
I need some advice. I am in southeastern Michigan, zone 6. I can put the shed at least 10 feet away from the house, and it can extend up to 10 feet into our side yard (we are a corner lot), so the side where the greenhouse will be will get southern exposure there. I am thinking of using a design similar to this one, but the main storage area will be larger (8x12 or 14) and the exterior door will enter into the storage shed area, not the greenhouse area. I will put a wall between the greenhouse area and the shed area, insulated, and any walls and the ceiling in the greenhouse area will also be insulated. There will be an insulated door between the greenhouse area and the shed area.
I am thinking a 2 ft deep potting bench for plants to sit on, and a 3 ft space for moving around between the wall and bench. I will use this for seed starting beginning in March, with heat mats under some of the seed-starting trays. Would black water-filled containers of some sort stacked against the wall help enough to not need electric heaters at night?
I was planning on the upper half of two windows to have temperature-controlled vent openers on them. Will I need the side windows, and if I have them, should they also have temperature-controlled vent openings? Should I have an air vent opening low on the wall for when it gets really hot inside?
Will a little lean-to like this, about 12 or 14 feet long and 5 feet wide get so hot that by June that it is useless? Or will I be able to use it during the summer to start perennials for fall planting, too? I am trying to decide if this is an indulgence or not. I imagine I will be able to grow salad greens here until November or December. Am I right about that? If I am, it would be worthwhile.
Thanks in advance for any discussion of this idea. I am disabled an unable to reach the ground anymore. I garden on the patio in containers and I miss doing my own seed starting.
Comments (9)
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Comments (1)I had a 10x20 canopy without the tops not being used. So we covered it with 6mil plastic from a greenhouse that was moving one of their greenhouses and replacing the plastic. We did duct tape all joints before sliding the plastic up and over. Attached at bottom with wooden bottom rail 2x6s. We have put wooden screen doors on both ends, but only 1 is open so far. I intend to put a box fan, or maybe 2 inside for circulation. My 'greenhouse' is not keeping as warm as I would like overnight, but it has kept the temps either as warm as outside, without any frost, or alittle above. the highs are much higher than outside temps. Maybe you can do something like this....See MorePotting Sheds verses Greenhouses.
Comments (4)That's a question with a whole lot of aspects. I think of a potting shed as a fairly open structure; three sided or half walled with a lattice roof or (at a minimum) not toally enclosed. I built my dw a "potting shed" that consists of a roof supported over a pavered covered area with sink, benches and shelves, that is totally open to the elements, supported by eight 4x4 posts Bottom line; a potting shed is usually open to some degree to the ambient weather conditions (temp , humidity etc) whereas a greeenhouse is a much more controlled environment. You can , of course, pot in a gh,though once you build one you'll quickly cherish whatever space you have and move basic "potting" outside. You can grow orchids outside in a "potting shed area" in my area of CA during the summer but you can't leave them out there past about mid Oct. You can readily repot large house plants in a potting shed in the middle of Summer but you probably dont' want to drag the them into the gh to do that simple task. You can start seed in flats in a potting shed but, without control of the temp and humidity, you'll have to wait longer into the year (depending of course on your zone) or limit the kinds of plants you can start. That's a start on the question anyway....See MoreBuilding a Greenhouse Shed
Comments (3)I'm trying to picture it and don't quite understand the 4' x 4' window for the long side. Aren't the sides made out of the wavy plastic stuff too? You don't really need a window on one side or a screen for summer. The vents on the top of the short sides will be the best ventilation since the heat will rise. you could put a fan on one end to pull the heat out and that will pull fresh air in through the other end. If you open a large window in summer you will lose your humidity inside and that's one of the things you want to keep in the greenhouse if you are starting seedlings. I have found that seedlings didn't start so well in my greenhouse without heat mats under the flats and supplimental lighting real close to the tops of the flats. The seedlings also like a fan after they have germinated to keep them dry and make them strong, so you should try to plan for electricity in your greenhouse. Other than that, I think your greenhouse lean-to is a great idea....See MoreGreenhouse - garden shed
Comments (17)Idaho, The shed near you live reminds me of a book in my personal library on NE connected farm buildings - "Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn". I actually have a current design client who desires a very large custom house that gives a visitor the sense that it has been expanded through necessity, but with everything connected. Your vision sounds very charming. I can build an outbuilding by right (w/o going through PZ) up to 25% of my lots' total area - minus the main house + garage - which equates to about a 5,000 sf shed/greenhouse. But, it would have to be 20 ft from the rear property line, instead of 3 ft with my current footprint. I do not need a structure that big, since we already have a 2.5 car garage and 10 x 22 shed, and my gardens would be compromised with that setback. Although, as you most likely know, we never have enough space for our toys :). I like your idea of a high window between the shed and greenhouse - or a half-glass door connecting the two spaces - would be great for light, and/or a transom over the door. I also like the relationship of a potting/garden tool shed - perhaps open to the greenhouse with French doors via a set of steps. Thanks for the ideas....See MoreNancy in Mich
6 years agoThank you all, I have been making drawings and even have used SketchUp to work on designing this. I have a patio littered with junk that has no home, a garage that has never seen a car, and every year I say I am going to start plants in the spring, then nothing happens. I am getting weaker and less able each year, and overwhelmed with things getting in my way. Having organization and order over my supplies, knowing that my garden wagon is no longer rusting on the patio in all weather, and being able to safely move around all this stuff when it IS put away would really help me out.
The idea that I could grow greens into early winter, then start my garden seeds in spring again makes me happy and hopeful. I have so much seed-starting stuff that I am not using, tomato tents that fill with water so that I could set them out early in my above-ground beds, and even a hoop-house type top for my big garden trug bed. I could really have fun with the greenhouse side of a shed. Or, I could quickly become more disabled and not be able to use it. So this gives me incentive to do my exercises and get stronger. That is not a bad thing!
Here is the SketchUp shed I made. The Greenhouse part is 5 ft wide and 14 ft long. The shed part is 8 ft wide and 14 ft long and the peak of the roof is 9 ft 7 inches high. The exit door is 4 ft wide, the door to the greenhouse is 3 ft wide.
The slanted part on the left will be all windows. I am having trouble setting up SketchUp 2017 and can't figure out how to get colors and textures into the paint function, so I can't make glass look like glass yet and can't change colors, either.
This one shows the inside of the greenhouse because I made the greenhouse wall section invisible. I have not yet worked out the spacing for the glass panels. You can see the 2 ft wide plant bench here.The shed side may get more windows for light. High ones that can't be used to look inside. I want it to be secure. The little window next to the door is only 2x2 and will be inoperable.
I may extend the roof out a couple of feet in the front, for a porch look. It will face the patio. Now I get to call the shed building guy and see what it will cost!
Nancy in Mich
6 years agoI was able to get the SketchUp Model done with more detail, so that it looks nicer. In real life, I have contacted a shed builder, but he is swamped and has not had time to look at my project. I may find I have to put it along the back fence, instead of next to the patio. It kind of cuts off access to the side yard when by the patio. If I put it at the back fence, it has to be 9 ft out from the fence, due to a utility easement, so I would maybe then make it longer and skinnier. If I don't, it almost reaches the patio. I don't want to get it too close to the Maple tree, though, or in a few years, the greenhouse will be useless!
Same shed as above, just more details.
Nancy in Mich
6 years ago
wyndyacre