Deciding whether to invest in a home greenhouse really depends on what your goals and objectives are.
Beginner gardeners new to gardening might do better starting with a small back yard garden. However, if you are a more experienced gardener and have clear goals and objectives, the right home greenhouse might make sense for you.
What Does a Greenhouse Do for Plants?
Greenhouses help you extend and maximize the growing season for your plants. The greenhouse environment forces plants to grow by retaining heat and light.
This allows you to extend your growing season from a few weeks to multiple months, depending on the climate where you live.
The process of plant growth represents photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a process where plants generate energy required to grow by consuming a combination of carbon dioxide, light, and temperature.
A greenhouse facilitates this plant growth by maximizing these elements within a controlled environment.
Greenhouse Temperatures for Growing
The greenhouse design features elements that allow in light and retain heat. When temperatures get too high or too low, plant growth slows to a stop. If the light intensity and light duration do not meet the right ranges, plant growth also slows to a stop.
A greenhouse environment allows gardeners to manage and maintain more ideal light and temperature conditions to properly facilitate plant growth within a more controlled environment.
Greenhouse Types
Home greenhouses come in multiple types and designs. Each greenhouse type offers pros and cons that need to be considered when choosing a home greenhouse.
Polycarbonate Greenhouses
Polycarbonate greenhouses are great options for home greenhouses because of their shatter resistant quality and strong insulation features.
Polycarbonate greenhouse panels offer flexibility and durability. In comparison, glass greenhouse panels can more easily break have almost no flexibility.
Polycarbonate greenhouse panels provide higher insulation values than single pane glass. Greenhouses with double wall polycarbonate offer some of the strongest insulation available for home greenhouses.
The one main benefit glass greenhouse panels have compared with polycarbonate panels is cost. Polycarbonate greenhouses tend to be more expensive compared to glass greenhouses.
- Learn about the Best Polycarbonate Greenhouse Kits
Polyethylene Plastic Greenhouses
Greenhouses are also available with plastic covering. Plastic greenhouse covering typically comes in the form of polyethylene and includes PVC piping products as framing material.
The big benefit of plastic greenhouses is the cost. Plastic greenhouses tend to be less expensive than glass and polycarbonate greenhouses.
Additional benefits include the following:
- Lightweight material and very flexible and adaptable during installation.
- Available in multiple sizes for customized levels of insulation.
- White and clear colors which are very effective for diffusing light.
The main negatives of plastic greenhouses include:
- Less effective at heat retention compared with polycarbonate.
- Potential of mild sheet discoloration when exposed to sunlight after many years.
Home Greenhouse Goals
Ultimately, whether a home greenhouse kit is worthwhile will depend on your goals.
Home Greenhouses for Beginners
If you are starting out and are still learning about gardening, then you might be best served with a smaller sized plastic greenhouse. These greenhouses are lightweight, portable, and easy to setup in your backyard.
- See our full line of Small Greenhouse Kits for Sale for additional ideas.
Plastic greenhouses are also expandable. This means you could start off with a smaller sized plastic greenhouse and then expand it down the line if you find out you need more room.
Solexx Early Bloomer
The Solexx Early Bloomer is designed for the new gardener. These greenhouses are lightweight and you do not need an existing foundation when you set these up.
The greenhouse gives you plenty of room with a full 6 feet and 3 inches of height. The Early Bloomer is modest in size at 8 feet long by 8 feet wide.
The heavy duty composite frame gives you plenty of support with 2 full length hanging rods capable of holding up to 200 pounds each.
The Early Bloomer includes a lockable front door and everything you need to get started.
The wall panels are available in 3.5mm and 5mm sizes. If you need extra insulation, go for the larger 5mm size which is good for colder climates.
There is also an optional deluxe package available with includes extra accessories.
Solexx Harvester
Another option would be to consider a lean to greenhouse. These are also ideal for new gardeners but setup is even easier because these lean to greenhouses are designed to hug the side of your house or shed.
Ideally you want to setup a lean to greenhouse in close proximity of an outdoor hose so you have easy access to water your plants.
Notable Features of the Solexx Harvester include:
- Easy setup and lightweight plastic panels with PVC framing.
- Sizes start at 8 feet long by 8 feet wide and are available with larger sizes that extend up to 8 feet wide by 24 feet long.
- Plenty of room with 8 feet of indoor height.
- Twin wall panels for additional insulation available in 3.5mm or 5mm sizes.
- Includes lockable front door.
- 2 full length handing rods with 200 pounds of holding capacity.
- Optional Deluxe package available with bundled accessories available at discounted rates.
For more information, see our full line of Solexx Greenhouse Kits.
Home Greenhouses for More Experienced Gardeners
If you have more experience as a gardener and know you will be enjoying the hobby for many years to come, you might be better off with a greenhouse that offers more features but requires a little more work in the initial setup stage.
A polycarbonate greenhouse kit might be a better for an advanced gardener. These kits offer more built in features and offer visually appealing design qualities that will provide you with a home greenhouse that will really make your yard stand out.
Mont Greenhouse
Polycarbonate material offers the benefits of glass in terms of clarity while offering more safety and protection of nearly unbreakable, clear panels that allow substantial light. The 8mm twin wall polycarbonate design offers substantial insulation improvements over single pane glass greenhouses.
The Mont greenhouse includes a durable, yet lightweight aluminum frame. Essentially these greenhouses are designed with the same material typically found in a high end commercial grade greenhouse.
This means your greenhouse has a solid foundation capable of withstanding significant snowfall and tougher winter conditions. The rated snow load capacity is 24 pounds per square foot and the wind load capacity is 65 miles per hour.
The base level package includes a lockable door, automatic vent opener and integrated dual rain water system.
Choose the Mont Greenhouse with premium package which adds a commercial work bench, interior shade system, greenhouse sink, and programmable watering system.
Choose from smaller sizes that start out at 8 feet by 8 feet or larger sizes that extend all the way to 8 feet by 24 feet.
For more information, see our full line of Riverstone Monticello Greenhouse kits.