Hello

I'm used to garden as a kid with my mother but otherwise I'd consider myself a beginner gardener. Since buying our house in Northern NJ I've been wanting to start a garden. However we have pretty limited room in our backyard and plenty of deer/rabbits/etc. So while too late for this year (maybe), I was considering a greenhouse to both extend our growing season and keep vermin out. Our house faces easterly so the sun in our yard isn't perfect but I think we can get enough sun to keep things warm with a greenhouse. I'm mostly looking to grow typical things, tomatoes, peppers, some herbs, maybe a few lettuces.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to get started. I was looking at a Harbor Freight greenhouse but then as I was researching it I started coming to terms with the fact buying/building it are actually the easy part. It looks like auto vents, proper flooring, fans, heaters, water, and benches are all potentially needed as well. So now I'm hitting some analysis paralysis and was looking for a simple getting started guide.

Thanks

Hi @SSAbraham and to the forum!

I live in northeast PA (Stroudsburg) so I am not far from you. Even here, the buildup of heat in a summer greenhouse might be too much for your plants unless you allow for a very good amount of ventilation and shade cloth (or place your greenhouse strategically to get afternoon shade). I use both my greenhouse to get seeds started and I plant both outside and inside the greenhouse during the summer, but I have both front and back doors on my greenhouse, two roof vents, two oscillating circulation fans, and I use shade cloth. Even then, it can get up into the high nineties in my greenhouse on July afternoons.

One thing you could try is to fence in a portion of your backyard. You can do it inexpensively with welded wire (1" x 2") and metal fence posts. If you also put a 1' to 1 1/2' foot section running on the ground around the perimeter, you will block out just about all the vermin that can attack your garden. There is a place in Mine Hill, NJ, off of Route 80, where you can buy welded wire and fence posts cheaper than any big box store. (https://www.wireclothman.com/) That is where I bought mine.

As far as a greenhouse goes, many folks have a Harbor Freight greenhouse. In fact, there is a whole thread here devoted to Harbor Freight greenhouses. It is a good starter greenhouse.

I would recommend if you don't know much about greenhouse growing, you go on the inexpensive side. (Greenhouses and accessories can get real expensive, real fast!) Try it, and if you like greenhouse growing, you can always upgrade to something that really fits your needs and wants a few years down the line.

Also, remember, you don't have to purchase good greenhouse quality fans, benches, vents, etc. to get started. Use whatever you might have around, can find, can easily make yourself or can buy cheaply to get started to see if you like greenhouse growing and want to continue it.

Here are a couple of good beginners' guides.
https://www.backyardboss.net/h...
https://gardeningfever.com/201...

Remember, you don't have to do all of this at once, and there is a big learning curve when starting to learn how to use and be successful with a backyard greenhouse. I have been doing it for 4 years, and I feel I still have a lot to learn

Hope some of this is helpful.

Jim

I am in northern NJ .. if you need perennials.. can always divide some .. see Jim has you covered with his post .. he is our local-ish expert

I'm in Somerset county county. My gardens are all fenced in. Except every year I am expanding the garden, technically the dear can jump in n out. I started growing milkweed, alliums around all the other plants and I think that helps deter the deer. So far at least. I don't grow vegetables I sadly gave up on that.

The perennials I can divide.. the deer and bunnies haven't eaten yet .. I am by Hackettstown.. not so far

I live in NY and my dream is a "greenhouse" but I think you and I both realize our initial expectations have hit the brick wall of reality-
A green room/porch connected to the house on the north/east side of my home is one thing that I am dying to do - but the idea of an independent structure I've abandoned- too difficult to maintain any temperature range any plant would like- No one likes a super hot day and ice cold night.

My dad's house was built in 1913 and has "sleeping porches" which are basically rooms off the bedrooms that are all windows with vents into the attic which is what you did before there was A/C- before there were even electric fans! You let convection do the work.

When its hot, you open the windows. WHen its cool, you shut them and the sun warms the room. When the sun is strong, it vents into the attic, but when it cools off fast you get a cap
of moist cool air on top (in the attic) to keep the warmer moist air below it- like a tenny tiny weather system that maintains a more consistent temp- because that warm air won't move down out the windows (heat rises) and it blocks the cold air from coming in- ..

If you have the time, see if your local community college has a fluid dynamics class that you can audit (i.e. take for free without paying for or receiving credits) I thought it was super fascinating- I learned a ton even though I would have failed the class hands down because the math was way beyond me- but the ideas are easy to understand- I could never calculate how many BTUs escaped through attic vents or came in through windows- but I definitely understood warmer/cooler. An independent structure? WAY more complicated and I;ve abandoned that idea completely

Yeah automatic vents .. fans and a really good heater are needed.. watering is a challenge for us cold regions.. bought this home because it has a sunroom... way easier to maintain with lights and some what heated on it's own

Having a space connected to the house that is dedicated to plants is very nice, but the infrastructure of the home is what makes the climate palatable (and obviously the sunlight) Regulating temperatures is a drain on time (check the weather- windows open or closed, interior doors open or closed?).

If the structure is exposed to the sun on 5 sides without insulation and opens to the exterior (where temp could be 90 or 40, opposed to opening to a home where its usually ~70)- so much can go wrong so fast especially as seasons change.. It is not going to buy you much time. That one October 87 degree daytime high, or 22 degree nightime fluke (and we always get at least one) all that work was for nothing. They basically make temperature changes exponentially greater.

I have had better luck planting things outside and using these:
https://www.mrmiddleton.com/ki...
I would NEVER pay $50- I think I bought mine at the christmas tree shop for $20 ea.
but the fact they are narrow (so roots still benefit from moisture/rain) gives you a lot of freedom...

"tender perennials" like thyme and rosemary, parsley, cilantro, and cruciferous plants like kale all flourished through winter with these things, but they like cool weather. In late February/early March, If I put them over a section of cleared ground and heaped leaf mulch around the base, I got much faster germination and better results with other cool plants like sugar snap peas and lettuces. I could go out and play or stay inside - but only because the stuff that lived under them was pretty cold hardy, and they are narrow enough that I didn't have to water.

Once it starts to get warm, you can move them over your tomatoes/cukes/basil and get a jump on them too- not more than a week- but they will fruit earlier or more abundantly if they have a pleasant childhood.
I'd buy some of these, or DIY something similar WAY before I ever considered spending money or donating garden space a real greenhouse- It will be too cold in winter, and too hot in summer- you'd basically be trading 3 weeks each spring/fall for 6 weeks in the summer. Same difference

That cover might be good for me too .. 33 last night going to 60 today.. some of my tender stuff is gone .. I'm sure