Don't buy my greenhouse!

 Don't buy this greenhouse kit! I was excited to share with you all 

this little 6x4 greenhouse I ordered from Amazon and I blogged about it

two days ago, with the link and our progress setting up the foundation area.

Well here it sits looking all innocent, but let me say this was a very trying project.

There were a million parts with two million nuts and bolts and a poor set

of instructions.  But since we are accomplished DIYers I thought surely

we could handle this build.  However it took two days, all three of us 

on the job as it would blow over as you tried to build it.  And it wasn't even

that windy out....a few what the F's were tossed about, and since the instructions were

so bad, we had varying opinions on how to interpret them. Which meant for

heated family discussions or some of us running into the house to hide.

By nightfall it was mostly constructed, and we all agreed it was an awful project.

This morning hubby finished putting the door on and then it started.  The wind picked up.

 Around lunch time I noticed one of the panels was loose and about to go flying off....so I ran

outside with the duct tape and reattached the panel from the inside.  Not a great start!

We aren't sure if this thing will survive at all, but I had to get a blog post up quickly to say if

you were inspired to buy the same greenhouse we did from Amazon, well DON"T!!!

I heard from a friend via Instagram that she was pleased with her greenhouse kit

from Harborfreight. I will share the link but can't attest to it myself.

To check out her greenhouse kit click here; harborfreight greenhouse

This one is 6'x8', mine is 4'x6'.  Hubs said we should have just built a wooden

one from scratch, and maybe he is right...so if we ever end up moving to the lake,

after the Coronavirus dust settles, then maybe that is what we will do.

Stay home and stay safe!

To read part one of my greenhouse kit, click here.

Building a Greenhouse kit

There are greenhouse kits, like this beautiful brick based kit from BC Greenhouse, and 

then there are the inexpensive hobby greenhouse kits on Amazon.

This is the greenhouse kit I purchased last week. Its my way of dealing with

the onset of this nasty Coronavirus situation, and having a greenhouse

in our backyard to give our garden plants a head start seemed like a good idea.

 Hubs arranged for making a foundation for the 4x6 unit

using supplies we had in the backyard. Some 6x6 railroad ties

coming out from the stone wall will hold the crushed stone

that will be the floor of the small greenhouse.

Our 18 year old son who is home like the rest of us, has

been hired on as the project manager, and I will be his 

assistant.  The kit has metal frame work, painted green,

that gets assembled, and then corrugated polycarbonate plastic panels

get inserted into the framework. Its not hard, its just time consuming.

During this time of self isolation, having a project to work

on together has been wonderful.  It should be completed this week,

and then it will be lots of fun to go to the next phase of starting

seedlings and watch them grow.  Before too long we will 

be serving salads from our own leaf lettuce varieties!

My friend Laurie has an old greenhouse that she purchased from

someone getting rid of theirs, but she has never put the glass in it.

She told me my little project has inspired her to get her own greenhouse

up and running. Laurie specializes in selling vintage garden furniture,

and you can find her on Instagram at 'plainandelegantantiques'.

Another friend from Instagram, Lisa, has been inspired by

my garden shed, and has one being built to look just like mine!

(Our shed in Nora Murphy's Country House book)

Lisa and her husband are building a potager to hold kitchen garden staples.

I think many of us feel that growing and planting things in our gardens

are ways to handle the stress of the siege of the virus on our world.

Last year we didn't plant our garden as we were up at the lake, but

this year the garden will be re-established.

Greenhouse gardening, however, is a new thing for me.
A book on greenhouse basics came from Amazon in just a few days,

as did the greenhouse, my potting soil and other supplies.

Each day more things arrive for our greenhouse project.

I will be back to show you the finished greenhouse, and 

hopefully it will be very very soon!!

Stay safe and stay home, and find a project that will bring you

satisfaction and comfort during these difficult days ahead.

PS. We were very unhappy with this greenhouse kit and do

not recommend it...read part 2 to see why, click here.