hothouse

[pharmakon]

Hey there. I want to put in some kind of greenhouse/hothouse in my garden to keep my tropicals happier (I live in Sydney). I want to do this on a limited budget and have seen the small 4 tier hothouses at places like bunnings. Just wondering if anyone has experience with these, and if they are any good.

I'm also very open to other suggestions. Cheers.

[Cornonthecob]

The one selling at Bunnings will give you the general idea of what is needed...your budget will either let you build something larger or not I guess. If you're able to put your hot house next to the house then that cuts down on one wall. If you can get hold of secondhand glass windows that could be a start.

I'd be thinking of what I can use to make a frame then what is needed for the walls....glass windows...plastic....you might get away with a wall only having glass in the top half...

Then see what friends and family have lying around the place/in their garages...visit the local tip....building sites...never know what you'll find.

:)

[FREE Permaculture]

I got a couple of them i use for the same thing in winter to keep alive a tropical and use them to raise slow growing seedlings in winter for spring.
there ok, they do the job but they don't have air vents so you need to open the zips up, when it is windy they flap about and the plastic tears away from the zip.

but you'll get quite a few good years out of 'em, my 2 tier from last year is a bit ratty with a zip broken but still works good, and i bought a 3 tier this year, with a little more care it's still intact, the 4 tier is $27.95, 3 tier $24.95, 2 tier $19.95
they are quite cheap once you realise all the parts there is, as far as sturdiness, no probs and the frame will last forever it's just the plastic that could of been one or two guages thicker.

here's my two tier last year, before the zip broke :lol:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f13/civon68/Projects/hothouse.jpg

then again you might be talking about their newer style 4 tier that's about $75? is that the one? it doesn't have clear plastic, yeah that looks like a real sturdy job, has a vent, but it's no bigger than the cheaper one.

here's what i'm going to try and build aventually, couldn't be too hard to do, against a wall like corn said would save doing anything to the back, it's perfect against my the nth facing wall of the house, i wanna build three :)

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f13/civon68/Forum%20Pictures/780221-1.jpg

[pharmakon]

Thanks for the replies :)

Cornonthecob: Unfortunately for me I am a klutz when it comes to building anything decent or half complicated. My DIY shadehouse taught me that lesson. Thanks for the advice though, I'll get some books from the library and see if its doable.


Chickadee: I was looking at the same style hot house you have, except the taller version. I should be able to keep it somewhere relatively calm to save the plastic, but I was unsure whether they would keep the humidity inside them pretty high?

The new style looks very tempting as far as aesthetics goes, I wonder if it would have any practical advantages apart from the ventilation, what do you think?

[Cornonthecob]

A few open containers of water in a sunny place should help kep the humidity up.

[FREE Permaculture]

don't know much about regulating humidity but as soon as you zip it up it starts to go foggy a bit, the more plants in it the better it works, but yeah by adding extra water would steam things up more, it's just the ventilation, especially the top level, i've burnt a lot of seedlings forgetting to open the zips on a hot day, for the money it's well worth trying one out.

[Cornonthecob]

I think you'd be far better off with some containers of water otherwise the heat will take moisture from the plants.

[FREE Permaculture]

i'm gonna do that, yeah makes sense :)

[Richard on Maui]

pharmakon,
don't be discouraged by your current ineptitude. everyone has to start somewhere. have a go! measure everything twice. get really good at reading a measuring tape. practise. don't worry too much about making mistakes. think of them as a chance to learn.
:D