We had some rain and now wind which I'm guessing is the leftovers from the hurricane. This morning I looked out at my greenhouse and thought something didn't look right, so went out to check and this is what I found. Two of the pvc pipes snapped at the top. Now I hope there is going to be a good day to fix it before winter sets in (probably have to take the plastic partly off, so it needs to be a calm day). Arrgh! I guess I should just be thankful it didn't happen in the middle of winter.

Lucky that you found it...hope it's an easy fix.....will you be growing winter greens in it?

Nice greenhouse, hope it gets fixed quickly.

I did overwinter spinach in it one year, but I use it mostly for seedlings in spring and for tomatoes whcih don't do very well outdoors in our cool damp summers.

RobinD said:Lucky that you found it...hope it's an easy fix.....will you be growing winter greens in it?

Thanks! It is a good greenhouse but has already been through a lot since we put it up in 2015. Snow and heavy winds are what I worry about most...last winter was especially brutal and I was out there when it was -5F with a windchill of -30, desperately shoveling away drifts from the sides to keep it from getting buried and crushed! Then in April our neighbors cat climbed it, leaving several gashes in the plastic (you can see where it's taped in one of the pictures I think).

Newyorkrita said:Nice greenhouse, hope it gets fixed quickly.

Hope it's an easy fix for you, Joanna.

It's fixed...I hope! At least it's temporarily patched and I hope it will last the winter. I used FiberFix tape on the broken PVC pipes. It seems to be holding well, but my only concern is how the plastic will react to it. I'll probably need to replace the plastic next year anyway, so when I do I'll just replace those PVC pipes too.

Looks like you've solved the damage problem, Joanna. Sorry you had the damage.

Hope it holds up to the snow this winter.

and then some!

Joanna, there is no way in the World that I am going to be able to offer you advice that you might want to hear! Lets face facts: You are in Maine (love Maine, love every 'Maniac" I ever met, worked there for two of the best summers in my college era life a zillion years ago), but your climate is identical to ours here in Nova Scotia. It can and usually is hell through the Winter, and a plastic cover over plastic pipes will simply not withstand our conditions! It just won't! With all due respect, you are throwing good money after bad? The weight of the snow alone will break every load-bearing PVC pipe in the structure, not even a basic physics question. And we haven't even mentioned ice accumulation yet, or severe winds, and then there is the cat issue? My suggestions: If you want to try and save it, (not my preferred suggestion), the next time you have to make repairs in the PVC piping, you can insert wooden dowels/cut off broom handles, whatever fits the lumen of the PVC pipes, and then tape it, to distribute the load throughout the piping in an attempt to keep it together! You can also look for a rigid polycarbonate pane structure with aluminum frame greenhouse-not that expensive, and I am on the 19th. year of mine, just had to make new ventilating frames for roof vents several times, once I found the panes! LOL. My final respectfully submitted advice, is to save all the piping and structure of the unit you have now, whenever and if ever (giving you a chance there) you decide you may want to try something else, because that piping can be used in a variety of ways, case in point: Tomato /Pepper covering structures on the ground, (already preformed with the arch) and on and on. It can also be incorporated into fish ponds, rainwater accumulation, watering inside a different greenhouse, and on and on! Don't shoot the messenger!! Cheers!

@FrankMosher, yes I wish I had known more about greenhouses before I got this one. The company I got it from is in VT and claimed that it was built to hold up against high winds and heavy snow, but until this happened I didn't realize how weak the PVC really is. This greenhouse has been through a lot already like I said earlier, and last winter was a nightmare just to try to keep it from getting buried and crushed by all the snow (here's a picture of it from last January!). If we had a heavy snow overnight I would get up a couple of times to clear it off.
Once the FiberFix tape cures it won't come off, but I'm already having doubts it's going to hold...it turned windy right after I taped it and the pipes are bending and looking pretty weak. I wish I had thought of putting something inside the pipes before I taped them this time. That would have helped a lot!
Right now I'm just focusing on getting it through another winter so I have something to start seeds in next Spring. It's a little late in the season for a major rebuilding project. But I will keep your advice in mind. The rigid polycarbonate sounds like it would be a lot better here!
Thank you!!

Joanna: I just happened to take a look at your web site to check your seed offerings - very impressive, particularly impressive not only for the unique offerings, but for the way in which they are presented- i.e. You only stare at an offering for a couple seconds, and then up come up several other versions of that same offering, in different colours, etc. Most impressive! I am a huge fan of Hesperis, 1/2 of one yard is covered with them each year, the fragrance and the pastel colours, and probably the biggest bee attractor plant I have in my gardens! Pastel colours of either pink, mauve, purple, white, and all shades in between. When I think of the money I have spent on Phlox over the years, what a waste when Hesperes is available. Exceptional cut flowers -like having a Lilac tree on your Dining Room Table!! ! So I am already sold on Hesperes!!! However, you feature some exceptional poppy offerings (the white-ish ones) which I have never seen before, and am definitely interested in. I buy seeds from the US every so often, no problem. Will be in touch! Cheers!

Yes, the Hesperis is wonderful! A prolific self-seeder, but then it's so lovely when in bloom I don't mind! I don't know much about shipping seeds out of the country which is why I say US only, but that's good to know you've not had a problem with it.

Good luck with the greenhouse....hoping this won't be a snowy winter...HA! Will have to check out your seeds.....

Thanks Marilyn. That is my hope too. We deserve a mild winter after surviving the last two!

Thanks for an awesome blog....loved the photos.....quite scary getting lost in the woods....hopefully your dog got an extra treat that day!

Thank you for checking it out! Yes, it was a little scary, but apparently I wasn't too far off track. Nellie did get an extra treat.

Great! Loved some of the seeds, i.e. poppy & mallow......will be looking forward to the catalog in Jan.

I received your catalog request, but it didn't include your city, state, and zip. If you want to you can treemail me those and I can add you to my mailing list.