Growing your own produce is more sustainable and often healthier than buying produce in a grocery store. While gardening is great, the seasons and climate you live in may limit what you can grow outside. Greenhouses let you bypass those limitations and safely grow the produce you want. Keep reading to learn some tips for building your own greenhouse so you can make this healthy, eco-friendly change to your home.
Starting tip: kit vs. custom made
Once you decide to build a greenhouse, you have to decide what type of greenhouse you want. People with limited time and money may want to consider a pre-made greenhouse kit. Pre-made kits come in various sizes and materials and don’t require a building permit. With a pre-made greenhouse, you can start gardening and growing much faster than building your own, although the materials are often less eco-friendly.
To be more eco-friendly, build a custom greenhouse. By building your greenhouse from scratch, you can consider using salvaged materials and customize it to be exactly what your home needs. Building from scratch may be more expensive, may require a building permit, and will take longer, but it’s better for the environment.
Building tip: good materials
If you’ve decided to build a custom greenhouse, then the next step is choosing the right materials. To keep your greenhouse as eco-friendly as possible, choose sustainable, salvaged, or recycled materials. Wood and plastic lumber are the best choices for the frame, as long as you use salvaged or sustainably grown wood and plastic lumber made from recycled materials.
Plastic or glass are the best choices for the walls and ceiling. The world is so full of plastic that reusing it for your greenhouse is a great way to give it new life. You can use plastic bottles for a more open greenhouse that will stay ten degrees warmer than outside or build windows out of plastic CD cases. Another option is to reuse salvaged glass window panes for the walls and ceiling. These are great because you can open them for more natural ventilation during warmer weather.
Finishing tip: regular maintenance
Finishing a greenhouse is a great feat, whether you’ve constructed it from a kit or built it from scratch. But the work doesn’t end there. No matter what type of greenhouse you have, it will require regular maintenance inside and out.
Weeding inside will protect your plants, and weeding outside will protect the structure. Your walls and ceiling will require cleaning to let in the appropriate amount of sunlight. You may need to add mesh screening to keep pests out, and you’ll need to make sure that you’re maintaining the correct temperatures to prevent disease.
These are just a few tips for building your greenhouse that should help with each step of the process. While building a greenhouse is a big undertaking, it is a great sustainable choice for the environment and for yourself.
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