Ron Terry works with greenhouses, but his are a bit bigger than
anything a homeowner might be thinking of putting in the back
yard.
Ron Terry works with greenhouses, but his are a bit bigger than anything a homeowner might be thinking of putting in the back yard.
As branch manager of El Modeno Gardens, Inc. in Hollister, Terry oversees the growth of plants in fiberglass buildings longer and wider than a football field, but, aside from size, his plant incubators bear little difference from the small enclosures gardening enthusiasts may consider putting up at home.
“It’s about environmental control,” said Terry. “If you’re trying to grow anything that’s frost-sensitive at all, it’ll be better off inside. You can also put shade over it to control the sunlight or vent it to control the humidity and the heat.”
This exacting level of control allows devoted gardeners to cultivate even fragile plants year-round provided their shelters get enough light during the day, but it’s not an inexpensive hobby to get into. Contractor-assembled buildings can cost as much as $10,000, said Colin Hawkes, owner of greenhouse builder Buena Vista Sunrooms.
Even most self-assembly kits start around $2,000, said Merrill Jensen, director of horticulture at Elizabeth F. Gambel Gardens in Palo Alto.
“It’s for the hard-core plant geeks out there,” said Jensen. “For the casual gardener, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a lot of extra funds floating around.”
In colder parts of the country, greenhouses are used primarily to beat frost, allowing users to develop seedlings before the last frosts of winter have cleared away, and extending the lives of summer gardens as the first months of cool weather descend, Jensen said.
Sunny areas like California, however, have a different purpose for greenhouses. Here, they’re mostly used for environmental control, especially for people who are growing orchids, said Hawkes, who founded his Ventura, Calif.-based company in 1978. The buildings, which go together in most cases with nothing more complex than a drill, level, saw and screwdriver, help to keep tropical plants from succumbing to the dry heat of the state, he said.
Greenhouses come in a variety of styles – everything from simple wooden structures fitted with ultraviolet-resistant plastic to complex structures with fiberglass panels, cement floors, swamp coolers and exhaust fans. For homeowners who don’t want to jump directly into the expense of one, there are even temporary greenhouses, sold in most markets as season extenders.
Tent producer Anchor Industries, Inc. in Evansville, Ind. produces two of these products – a 5-by-8-foot and an 8-by-8-foot greenhouse tent – under the product name “The Germinator,” using ultraviolet-resistant, light-transmitting coverings held in place by a solid metal frames and tent pegs.
“The Germinator is what you would call a hobby greenhouse,” said Bix Branson, contract sales manager for Anchor Industries. “It’s not permanent in structure, where you actually put it in concrete, but it’s easy to put up and take down when you don’t need it.”
Retailing for less than $500, the hobby greenhouse is a low-cost alternative to the real thing, and, provided that it doesn’t snow where you live, a viable option for year-round use, said Branson. The hobby house’s life span is limited, though, when compared to a regular greenhouse. While most solid structures last 10 to 15 years before they succumb to rust or rot, the hobby tents are estimated to last four to six years with constant use, said Branson.
“A lot of people buy them to try it out,” said Branson. “They may have been thinking of putting one in, but they think, ‘What if I after 6 months I don’t like it all that much?'”
For gardeners who simply plan to grow seedlings, there are even less expensive options, said Diana Bebbington of the Santa Clara County Master Gardeners. Cold frames – basically box planters with lids – are an excellent and inconspicuous way to keep small plants healthy in their initial growing period, she said.
The planters are most often used in fall and winter, when overnight frosts may still threaten young sprouts, said Jensen.
“The idea is that you have a glass lid that you can lift, because it helps to set young plants out in cooler weather to get them a little hardy,” said Jensen. “But in the evening, you can close the windows down on them so they’re not exposed to the cold directly. It beats warming them on the top of your refrigerator.”
To really save on material costs, Bebbington suggested using an old window or set of shower doors.
The box in which the plants grow should be about knee-high, Jensen said, and filled with soil about halfway to allow plants room for growth. The box’s glass top can then be hinged to the edge of the container.
If you’re considering building your own greenhouse, most kit projects can be competed in one or two weekends, said Hawkes. They will include directions, but if you would prefer to go it alone, nearly any slant-roofed structure will do as long as its exterior skin can be rolled up in several places – preferably top and bottom – for entry and venting, he said.
For more information on Buena Vista Sunrooms, visit www.sunroom.com, and for information on Germinator hobby greenhouses, visit www.germinators.com.
