Mini greenhouse/growhouse

JMFD

I've got quite a few plugs that are looking a little too fragile to overwinter outside, along with fuscia cuttings and the like. I'm looking and getting a mini greenhouse, but have heard a lot of warnings about them flying away in the breeze. Would also be used for starting off veg next year.

I'd be able to keep it on my "grow zone" of old decking, (which holds all my containers of various veg) so would be able to screw the thing into the decking to stop it from flying away.

I was wondering what peoples experiences of this are, and if anyone has any advice?

Cheers!

Dizzy_Ditzy

I've got bags of compost weighing mine down. It's not gone over yet (touch wood!)

Be ready with the repair tape though as the covers do tend to get a bit battered by the wind

Joyful

I had one last year and I had it tied in many places to a fence. The plastic still ripped in the high winds so I now have a greenhouse. I think because it has many parts that only securing it from the bottom may not be enough for you.

Primrose

We have one and the first spring I had it, it blew over when all four shelves were full of germinating seed trays and I lost most of them. We have now drilled two sturdy brass cup hook bolts into our house wall, and keep the greenhouse structure in place by running a Halfords very long nylon suitcase luggage strap through the bolts and around the greenhouse structure about two thirds of the way up its height. This has worked very well even in high winds and kept the structure stable. However, the plastic covers are not particularly strong and probably only last one season. Mine is on its second season as I have repaired the tears with transparent Duct tape which works quite well.
The other thing to beware of is that in very hot weather, the plastic covers, where they directly come into contact with the metal greenhouse tubes on the top of the structure , tend to melt in the heat and start to tear I have resolved this by wrapped a long Jey cloth strip all around the "roof" part of the tubing. It doesn't look particularly elegant but serve the purpose of protecting the plastic melting.

My plastic greenhouse is currently full of pots and deep trays of Living Salad leaves from a supermarket which I've planted on to give me salads through the winter. These packs worked brilliantly for me during the summer and I currently have planted out another punnet of them under a cloche which I'm hoping will prove some winter salads.

savemoney

I wouldn't bother myself as the wind will get them or they rip.I use cold frames myself and anchor them down with bricks been doing that for a few years and works well in Winter

wallbash

Weights /ties/tapes and melting , a great advert for an ugly object. Go ( as
savemoney suggests) a cold frame .A wooden cold frame screwed to the deck. Will do the job and will look reasonable.

twiglet98

Absolutely useless, the first breath of wind catches them, even if you think of them as disposable novelties they're really throwaway, blowaway rubbish. Having lost four shelves full of seed trays the first time, and having replaced THAT cover, I tried again, with a paving slab across the bottom rungs. They stayed in place next time it was breezy, everything above them blew across the garden. I pierced the cover to tie it to the frame with cable ties - it ripped and blew away. The metal poles survived but every plastic connector has broken. Now it's strapped together with duck tape at every join, I don't bother with a cover, and use the open shelves for drying paper briquettes during summer, and onions, garlic and squashes later in the season.

Mine's against a west facing house wall, maybe if you had somewhere very sheltered you'd have more success, but it didn't work for me.

anotheruser

Mine blew over too

However I put a few bricks on the bottom and it seemed to be okay. It was one of the "grow your own" from Asda in the Spring. The zip broke on the plastic covering within a week so I an planning to do a bit of swapping about and get a new one next year.

However I wouldn't buy one if I knew how they turn out.
Although saying that, the neighbour has a large one which seems to be okay. Just secure it well.

JMFD

Now toying with something like this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0014J855I/

Cross between a mini greenhouse and coldframe - I like the extra space from having shelves I can put seed trays on, but still able to screw down into the decking.

mansars

Ive got one of these

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=527702

Its lasted two winters, and 1/4 mile from the sea on the north coast of Ireland, without any problems.

I use two cheap rachet straps to secure it throughout the winter and one during the summer. It has been great fro overwintering, bringing on and for my tomatoes in summer.

Even better I bought it with nectar points!