@josieskid

I have a 8x20 foot lean2 redwood greenhouse. I bought it years ago as a kit. The benches have held up well, being redwood. A couple of years ago, several sections of the roof blew of. I was going to repair, but I like it better without a complete roof. In the winter, snow covers the plants. In the summer, rain waters the plants on the side of the greenhouse sans roof. It has a door on each end. In the winter I close both doors. On the center walk, I used rubber mulch, it is much nicer to walk on:).

I like how it's more of a shelter than a house. I think that might take some of the pressure off. Every little detail might not have to be of such monumental importance.

A natural watering system, with exquisite ventilation!

I suppose you really have to get the cactus and jade out of there in the winter, in your zone?

I love your greenhouse! I think someone could make the same, with an eye toward your innovations!

Yes, the houseplants spend the summer in the greenhouse. Then they go back inside:)

I love the way your greenhouse has ended up. Very functional and fun @frankrichards16.

I have a Growing Dome greenhouse we got 3 years ago. It's been so much fun having it. Before I got it was dragging about 100 plants inside in winter and outside in Spring. I've kept both cacti and tropicals in it. Now I'm wanting a separate one for cacti and succulents. They do much better with a drier environment. I heat this one to 60 degrees in winter.

Very nice, Karen. What kind of winter temps do you get?

We have had rare lows of -22F, but most years the worst we get is about 20F. I keep the greenhouse heated to 60F. I tried a propane heater but we are at 6500 ft elevation and the un-vented units all have safety devices that turn them off when oxygen is low. Ours turned off in less than 5 minutes and had to be manually restarted. Now we just use an electric heater. It hasn't been too expensive. What we need to do is put in a small vented propane heater which would be much cheaper.

Here in SE Michigan, we get some cool nights in April, so I have a 2x4 foot garden heating pad that I power up over night. Has been working well for me.

Where did you find a heating pad that large? I have small ones to go under seed starters.

That's exactly what it is, a seed starting heating pad. It allows you to heat 4 standard trays. I have the single tray model as well.

I bought mine in 2011 at amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000E3B8XG/

When I start seeds indoors, I like to move them out to the greenhouse as soon as I can. The heating pad allows me to do this before the last freeze.

Thanks, Frank. I had no idea they came that large. It's good to know.

Karen; Just love your "Dome" greenhouse!!!!! I bought a greenhouse many years ago, with an extension, so it now measures 8' x 12' and the height is way over my head. The two roof vents have blown out three or four times in hurricaines over the past few years, but I found the polycarbonate panes, and made an even better frame with thin aluminum tubing, and hinges from an innertube. I made a point many years ago, of anchoring it soooo firmly into the ground, that it will never move. So I took a couple of pics today, because I suddenly realized that I am using mine, in a much different manner than all of you are! Not for a second to suggest that one is better than another, BUT I am actually growing plants IN THE SOIL permentely inside the greenhouse. Actually, exclusively "cutting roses"! I did use it one time for trays of started seedlings, tomatoes, tropicals, and on and on, but I do have indoor lighting and heating pads and tons of "tropicals" that I put outside when the weather warms up. I also hill up all my 5 gal. pails of "patio deck" roses, and put same in the unheated greenhouse, and hope for the best! LOL.
A couple pics: First, the outside where my "HOSPITAL ROSE" bed is located. Every Spring, if I am not certain if a rose is still alive, into the hospital bed it goes. Note: Couldn't believe what bloomed in there this year, and I never got to release them from the hospital and transplant!! True!
My "Hospital Rose" bed just outside my greenhouse.

Peering inside my greenhouse, showing only "cutting rose" canes, the middle still open to put my "deck rose" pots in to overwinter, and also my "deck oriental lilies" to over winter there as well.

I have probably bored you all with rose pictures over the past year, but my "cutting roses" come almost exclusively from this greenhouse. Down the left side peering in, there are at least a dozen beautiful red "Olympiad" roses, producing all summer long, with even a couple of "Caribia (nee Harry Wheatcroft", a couple of "Love" and even a "Mr. Lincoln". There are also on that side, two yellows, "Irish Gold" and "Terese Latrech" (SP) the latter puts out two yellow blooms per season that are knockdown-dead unbelievable!! The right side, has five beautiful "Berolina" roses which are pale yelow and huge, and three "Elina" roses, slightly yellow, and one red showing in the pic, which should be planted outdside. Most widely sold rose in the World, can't think of the name.
Some of my "tropicals" in my basement "greenhouse"! "Adeniums & Plumarias"

"Bouganvilleas and a "Persian Lime" tree (with four fruit right now) all over six years old.

Newly picked green tomatoes, ripening (very quickly) under "basement greenhouse" lights,

Hope I didn't bore you to death, but that's my input on my Greenhouse. Cheers

Love your greenhouse and all of your plants, Frank. I like your adeniums. I have a few, and need to get more, lol!

My husband built raised beds in the greenhouse and at first I just planted those. Then I found out it was better to have potted plants. If they got spider mites or mealy bugs, I could take them out of the greenhouse and treat them. Treating or spraying off things in the beds was problematic. Our water is hard, and when it hits the polycarbonate glazing, it turns them solid white and it's difficult to clean it off. I had to get rid of the misting system for that reason.

here are some random photos of mine

Very nice, Gina. You have amazing tropicals! Your greenhouse looks huge. How large is it? I'm also envious of what you can grow outdoors!

It is interesting and fun to see other greenhouses and what other people are doing. I think we all buy/build our greenhouses with something in mind, but "grow" into them over time to meet our particular wants and needs...sorry about the pun!

Frank...that "open roof style" is a new one for me. Thanks for the seed mat link. Nice size and reasonably priced.
Karen...We've talked many times. You know I love those growing domes and I eventually want one as my dream greenhouse.
Frank M...not bored at all...I always get a lot out of your posts, and I like the way you plant right in the natural soil in your greenhouse.
Gina...love the size of your GH...mine feels so tiny to me now.

As some of you know, I have a Sunshine Garden House 8x16 Mt. Rainier Redwood greenhouse with twin wall poly glazing, two doors and two roof vents. I have used it mainly for seed starting (flowers and vegetables) to get a jump on the season, but this past year I made some modifications (insulation, built two large raised cold frames [greenhouse within a greenhouse] and designed and built a solar powered warm water heating and storage system for thermal gain). My goal is to be able to grow year round here in the Pocono Mountains, zone 6b. My greenhouse is probably one of the most enjoyable experiences (and sometimes challenging and frustrating) I've had in my life.



You can see a video of our original build from my YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Here are a couple of pictures of the raised cold frames I built





And here is a YouTube video of the water system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

I could go on and on telling you about my greenhouse, but some of you already know a lot about my greenhouse from this and another venue, so I'll stop. If you have any questions or suggestions, I'm all .

You guys! Fabulous! Thank you, for sharing your pics and talking about your greenhouses.

Jim, I thoroughly enjoyed your videos!

Thanks, Mary. Do you have a greenhouse....or want one?

plantmanager said:Very nice, Gina. You have amazing tropicals! Your greenhouse looks huge. How large is it? I'm also envious of what you can grow outdoors!

It is 48 x 36 which makes it 1728 square feet. The sides are 12 feet at the top cross struts and the gable of the roof slants up to 20 ft at the gable. Its a kinda long story why I have it, I won't bore you with it LOL. But it has been great to have all these years. I had a company from Apopka FL build it for me

That's some big greenhouse Gina. The square footage is bigger than the square footage of my house.

Jim, no, I just always wanted one, but couldn't afford one!