Walk in Material Greenhouse- any good?

mutley74

Was thinking of buying a walk in greenhouse made from a ripsop fabric from Argos.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7201981/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CGarden+and+DIY%7C14418702/c_2/3%7C15701041%7CSheds%2C+greenhouses+and+storage%7C14418827/c_3/4%7Ccat_14418827%7CGreenhouses%7C14418830.htm

Just wondering if anyone has experience of these? or are they a waste of time/money? Reviews on Argos site seem mixed.

Orange_King

You get what you pay for it seems - a colleague bought a walk in with plastic cover recently and the cover lifted off in the first windy day, taking part of the frame with it.

I also had the mini tiered greenhouse and the zip on the cover frayed away from the plastic in a few months.

Just invested in a polycarb greenhouse which I'm really pleased with so I hope it will be there for years to come.

crux

mutley74 wrote: »

Was thinking of buying a walk in greenhouse made from a ripsop fabric from Argos.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7201981/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CGarden+and+DIY%7C14418702/c_2/3%7C15701041%7CSheds%2C+greenhouses+and+storage%7C14418827/c_3/4%7Ccat_14418827%7CGreenhouses%7C14418830.htm

Just wondering if anyone has experience of these? or are they a waste of time/money? Reviews on Argos site seem mixed.

We have one, I have weighed the base poles down with Yorkshire stone flags, so it is not going anywhere.

If you can secure it and it's in a sheltered spot then they do the job.

Other wise they are just a £30 kite and will be gone in the first decent bit of windy weather.

balloo_2

If your very careful you can fix them copper pipe clips to a wall and they will help hold it. Mine was weighted down with buckets full of earth I thought thats not going anywhere but it did eventually. The other point is you can't remove the shelving at the sides so when you want things like toms to grow up the shelving are in the way. "right little killjoy aren't I"

GarnetLady

I got mine from Focus and the shelves just lift off. Not that I'm trying to be awkward lol.

Lotus-eater

The fabric lasts 2 or 3 seasons in this type of thing, then the plastic goes between the green fabric.
If it lasts that long, many of them rip or blow away.

For £10 a year, if it lasts 3 years, you could do alot worse.

mutley74

Thanks for replies. Was thinking about the 1.2x1.2 glass house from Argos at £119 now.....its can get windy where we live so guess need to consider other options and costs for a cheap proper greenhouse or polycarb one.

dogstarheaven

hey mutley74

i got this one from Wilko's last spring but the woven fabric's in white. it's still going strong so i think i've spent my £30 really well. mine's tied onto a SW facing fence from the bottom and the back tubular poles with rope and it hasn't suffered at all considering when there were a couple of hellish windy nights last yr. with other posters here who suggested that the fabric might rip after a couple of years, then so be it.. it'll do the job until then, and eventually i'll be in a better postion to buy myself a real greenhouse. by may last yr, my shelves were bulging with trays of pots.. this yr, i'm actually growing more than ever now (norty me! but am giving plants away for community projects etc.,). i do wish i have a bigger space and some money, i could do with one twice the size!

if you do buy one, make sure you allow enough ventilation inside on sunny warm days, like the ones we've had recently. i forgot to take off my propagator lid on a tray of peas last week, and they really hated that and died on me:(). i just leave the door opening ajar with a brick to stop it from flapping about in the wind.

tim_n

Fabric doesn't last long in windy conditions - it was rubbing against the poles so much the plastic squares fell out. First season it was fab, second season quite a lot of holes, third season just useless. Now I have it on its side, will be covering it in netting this year as a fruit cage. You can see pics of it on www.waark.com my allotment blog

Orange_King

mutley74 wrote: »

Thanks for replies. Was thinking about the 1.2x1.2 glass house from Argos at £119 now.....its can get windy where we live so guess need to consider other options and costs for a cheap proper greenhouse or polycarb one.

If you do go for a polycarb, I can recommend Gardman - I got the 6 x 6 and once you have overcome a few problems understanding the instructions it is worthwhile and quite a solid construction.

In the sun yesterday, the temperature was about 40 degrees!

londonchihuahua

I bought the bigger version from Argos a few months ago and weighed it down on the edges with a few grow bags.

Mine came with tether ropes which I have secured onto the fence and it has not moved one yet in my wind tunnel of a garden!

Money well spend I think! Its bursting with plants!