What I Wish I Knew BEFORE I Got A Greenhouse

I bet after a year you will want a bigger one.

Your greenhouse is immaculate! The joke in my house is that my greenhouse is now my home office ❤ Sometimes I just watch my phone while chilling on a camping chair

North side of the middle of your garden is always the best place. I would never put gravel in a greenhouse. It's impossible to kneel on it and it's very difficult to get rid of it.

Over 30 years ago, I thought I wanted a greenhouse. I knocked on the doors of strangers who had hobby greenhouses and asked for a tour. I visited a few in different seasons. I concluded that for me, it was a bad idea, especially in my area of the mid-Atlantic. I simply could not justify the cost and energy demand. With cold frames and a little ingenuity (similar to my grandmother's), I'm able to grow all the bedding plants I need--and my neighbors too.

All glass or all clear plastic Greenhouses on all sides is an inefficient design and wastes a lot of heat. There is no reason to have the North face of a greenhouse clear. The best Greenhouse design is to orient your greenhouse long ways facing South and entirely insulate the North half of the greenhouse so only the South,West,and East walls are clear. This can potentially double the amount of effective ground geothermal heat to wall heat loss ratio. In simple terms, on cold days and nights, the 55 deg ground is a heat source and all your greenhouse walls are heat loss surfaces. The ratio of heat loss wall and ceiling surface area to heat source ground surface area determines the final inside temperature (in simple terms not taking into account the amount of thermal mass inside for heat storage, the more thermal mass the more potential heat storage) . By heavily insulating the North side of the Greenhouse you drastically reduce that surface area as a heat loss source, and the longer your greenhouse is, the more of a positive difference it makes.

I really need a green house. I live in Hoedspruit, one of the warmenst towns in south africa. I am really struggling keeping plants alive in this heat! Would a green house work?

ALL non around

a glacier is also considered a glasshouse CORRECT

I love that green temperature gauge it just adds to the perfection of that greenhouse!

How much did yours cost

What do you mean you set the gravel down in the wrong orientation, shifted 90 degrees?

Please may I ask you where did you get your two green pendant lights with pull chains? I live in Chula Vista - so local to same stores if you bought them around SD.

I sent it before I had finished, are the panes plastic or glass? And the roof, it looks frosted, is it? Or maybe it is another material? Thnks.

Is it glass or plastic

Hard to build soil when it keeps getting leveled for looks and plant racism runs rampant

I have a 10x12 wood and polycarbonate greenhouse. It gets 120 in summer! Nothing lives but a few succulents. In spring I started seeds but because I had to put two layers of shade cloth over the greenhouse, so that it wouldn’t burn up now I’m going to have to install grill lights in order to use it to get good strong ceilings. Tried a window air conditioner but it just couldn’t handle it. I do have a fan and I do have an exhaust fan but it’s just too hot to use in the summer. Any suggestions?

Just wanted to reach out. To say I’m so happy you’re doing so well. God bless you. My friend. Keep doing what you’re doing. It makes all of us happy and you at the same time making it a win-win win. PS if you’re ever in West Palm Beach Florida, give us a shout.

We ordered a 12 x 14 and are pleased with how it performed for us here in Ocean Shores, WA.. Now we are interested in what will grow in the winter season for us. Keeping my beets, chard going and maybe see if couple tomatoes plants. Husband has a hydro bucket area and two towers going and our winters are pretty calm. we are 8b to 9a zone mild winters some time cold reaches 28% for one or 2 days. Love how it has worked this season. 76 old lady learning from the young guys.

Offering another perspective here…I bought a $600 greenhouse 2-3 years ago. Polycarbonate panels on aluminum frame. I’m located in central texas and after a few seasons of hail and UV my ceiling panels are toast. I imagine a greenhouse is like anything else, you get what you pay for but for anyone eyeing a cheaper price point, consider what panel replacement might cost or upkeep and maintenance in general.

I’ve unsuccessfully “grown” coffee plants before (indoor coastal San Diego)😞 I love to see yours doing well in the greenhouse! Great content as always 🙏

Yeah, a greenhouse having to be flat is the deal breaker for my sloped yard. 😩 The property drains down to the back yard, changing slope would be bad.

Adding your tips to my list of things to consider before purchasing, thanks for the great info! Plus, that's a pretty boss shirt, Kevin :)

In central Georgia (zone 8A), high humidity and heat would make a greenhouse only useful for winters unless other design information is given to get the temperatures down for fall seedlings and from freezing inside in the winter. A lot of careful design information would be needed to use this greenhouse all year long in our area. Would this company help this way?

Beautiful greenhouse!

Hi !
Welldone Brother !
your job is great ❤

Are you of Polynesian decent?

Sometimes things take a lot of patience and perseverance and you have done very well! A photography teacher gave us an assignment one year to go out in different spots of your yard during different times of day during the year just to see how the sunlight comes and goes was interesting

Not to be critical, but you've said it in multiple videos, but I'm pretty sure that's not a 2x10 for the shelves. Looks like a 1x10. 😅 It triggers my carpentry OCD

Amazing

It’s beautiful perfect size it looks like it’s a perfect size. What is the size of it? I don’t have that much space I was thinking about getting one maybe 5 x 8 something like that and I would definitely want to Lectric in it. Thanks so much.

So glad I seen your show. It’s so great. You have a lot of experience as far as I’m concerned showing all these little things about the water. I love it I want it to get a greenhouse and now I’m really thinking about it. I’ll let you know. Thanks so much for all your great information.

Omg. COFFEE ☕️. LOVE THIS. I WONDER IF I CAN HROW COFFEE. IM IN STATEN ISLAND NY. 10309.

I don't know why I haven't thought about putting it in the middle of the garden. I'm glad I saw this before we put ours in!!

Hi, thank you for the video. Very informative. One question, is the greenhouse made of glass of plexiglass? Thank you.

I want a greenhouse so bad. I'm planning on homesteading one day and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I found myself building my greenhouse before I build my house. I grew up in Wisconsin and I really want to grow mangoes. One day, I hope to have dwarf mango, citrus, and pomegranate trees.

This is great information Kevin 👍🏽

Man I wish I could have a green house like this. Right now I have a 30, dollar one from Amazon lol. It works for starting seedlings and I keep my carnivorous plants in it.

Cold frames and mini-greenhouses are an option if you can't afford a larger greenhouse or don't have the space of one. Cold frames can be great for seed raising

So disappointed to learn Kevin is not what he appears now. Once I learned he bought Botanical Interests seed company, I knew something wasn’t the same. Goodbye Kevin. It’s been swell! Former San Diego native now in Vermont. I want the real thing!

building permit?

I wish I could post a picture of the greenhouse my husband and I built for me last spring. It looks like a playhouse but is a fully functional greenhouse. I absolutely love it.

OK Now, do a video talking to someone who grows in an area like Michigan or upstate NY or Wisconsin or Vermont, where we have to deal with snow and not just pretty fluffy powdery snow. Our snow is wet and heavy. Everything you're talking about is wonderful - but totally useless to us whose major decision factor is: what's the snow load factor on this?

yea somebody built it for you. Which is cool, but I did mine myself, it was interesting and a challenge, Chicken coop is next

I had bought a greenhouse kit a couple of years ago, and last december we tried to put it together and the frame was so crappy. So in June, I finally got the lumber to build it myself and utilize the panels from the kit, its way bigger than the kit. I get great sunlight, I'm in Texas so we had a hot summer, but I didn't have it done yet. Omgoodness you're in California, I'm from northern calif, but I have lived in Texas a long time. But my from scratch greenhouse looks fabulous, I do not have electricity to it, but a cool solar lamp for it. I have very good ventilation with really good screen material.

My wife and I designed and built a 20ft geodesic greenhouse this spring. I 100% agree with you about being paralyzed with the space and options. We also found that the intake/exhaust fans were a must with the summer heat, but I think we still struggle with airflow based on how well some of the plants did. You talked about opening up better options - If I recall, coffee is solidly a tropical plant? That would be fantastic. I want to move our citrus and olives in this winter. I am in 6b/7, and hoping that with the proper setup we can keep that greenhouse above 60F throughout the winter.

To be honest, I wish we had gone with something simpler and easier to take care of. It looks cool as hell, but I already know what I need to replace and I need to schedule maintenance around the grow season to make sure I am not trampling everything inside.

thats a glasshouse

Beautiful! Thank you.

I like your green house but I’m going to make a cheaper bench of just wood frame and cattle panel top so dirt and water fall thru and it’s very sturdy just not as spendy as all the wood ….