engineeredgarden Here's what I used for a small greenhouse... http://www.network54.com/Forum/616213/thread/1215730396/last-1215730396/Grow+lights%2C+greenhouse+and+garden+-+2008 Scroll half way down the page. I went to Walmat to the arts and crafts section. They carry three different thinkness of plastic in rolls. This plastic is mostly used for kitchen table tops. I used the thickest they had. The guage is not marked but I would guess 20mil. If I remember right the rolls are 54 inches wide and was around $3/running yd. it worked great for what I was doing. That plastic has been on going on since early 2008 and is holding up well so far but it not out in the sun year round. You said, 2. It will only be used for approximately 2 months during early spring (mid March - mid May)to help harden off tomato seedlings as they outgrow the constraints of the propagation chamber. Same here with ours. For what you are doing, 6 mil would work fine since your GH is small and you disassemble it each year. You would have to use a new plastic every year. ZIP ties would be good fasteners with the PVC pipe. What I did was build sections and cover each one. I have a plywood floor on wheels, four sides and a roof that just sits on top..I take it apart and store when not using it. I used 3 100w light bulbs on a thermostat set at 60 and threw an old quilt on the top at night to save the heat. You can also use a hair dryer for heat. The quilt made a big difference. My idea was for the GH to hold a large number of plants with easy access without taking up a lot of space. Here is a link that might be useful: Fran's Garden

Brad, I'm going to disagree with Trudi et. al. because I've had similar containers work just fine for me. Also, there are plenty of seed-starting sites and advice from trusted places like Thompson and Morgan, among others, that recommend germinating seeds in a wet paper towel inside your refrigerator. And that's completely dark except when you're grabbing your dinner or a beer out of it - so what's that 23:50 hours out of the day? At the very least, the seeds will germinate just fine. My experience is that the seedlings will grow just fine too, but if you don't believe that, you can slice a window in the side in the spring as soon as you see germination occuring. I would not freak out about the jugs you've already sown because they'll probably be just fine. As for new containers, I personally would use the ones you've already got, and just tape them shut offkilter witha single narrow piece of tape so that some light gets in the sides. I've done that too and it works great.

We put actual glass in ours. So glad we skipped on vinyl panels. They scratch and dull in time. Not windows. And a local glass company was almost the same price and delivered! We are not trying to winterize our deck though. We are in Washington State and that would cost way more than we can afford. We used some boat carpe for the floors, kept the carpet 3 feet in from all sides so it doesn't take on water from the 1/2 inch gap under the sides. We did have to insulate and enclose the tin roof above with tongue and groove so it doesn't get condesation. If you are building, make sure you use real roofing, not tin roof. They condensate big time. That was our one big mistake. We can store stuff out there, as long as we keep them in plastic bins. Nothing cardboard will last. Even though the dirt under the deck has a vapor barrier and we have rain gutters, it's not enough. For air flow we put in 3 large windows that are nothing but wooden blinds. I don't have pics of the tongue and groove yet. Besides a bit of moisture in the air, it's still pretty nice out there. We are going to get a propane heater out there. That will do it for us.

I looked at all the vinyl window options and came across energy wise manufacturing out of Schullber, WI. I could not be happier w this product! I have been wanting a screened in porch for many years, but could not justify the cost if it was not used "most" of the year. I live in Richmond, VA where we have mild winters and it is not uncommon to have sunny 60 degree days in Dec/Jan/Feb. These windows create a "greenhouse effect" and allows me to enjoy my screened in porch most of the year. Alot of people thought this idea was crazy - but I am glad I stuck with it and found a company that makes them and was willing to ship them to me. Besides for retaining heat in the winter, I really enjoy the fact that the room stays clean from dust and pollen most of the time. Some people balked at the idea of taking them in and out, and also storing them. But for me it’s worth the trade off. The shipping cost is high ($300.00) especially in my case bc my window openings were SO LARGE (60 X 66). An added bonus is that the shipping container acts as a heavy duty storage container for the windows when not in use. I store the container under my deck. Eugene is a great guy and extremely responsive to his customers! This a unique product and for people who don’t mind the effort, it is the perfect solution to get more use out of a screened in porch. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND!