Quality greenhouse kit for extreme weather changes

[utah]

Hey all,

I was looking forward to building an attached greenhouse this summer but my health (and wealth) may not allow. I'm in need of a good, reliable greenhouse to take care of my 150+ babies this winter (yeah, I went a bit overboard).

Problem is, in Utah we can have 4' of snow and temps that don't get above the 30's for months then in the summer we are often battling 100+ degree days (Sunday was 108 degrees as measured on three different thermometers).

I have seen a *ton* of different greenhouse kits but they don't give enough information so I'm turning to my expert friends for recommendations. I will be using electric heat (working on converting to solar) and an evaporative cooler in the summer but I need something that will handle the temperature extremes.

I'm going to have to make due with something about 8x10. Any suggestions of a quality greenhouse kit that won't break the bank but will protect my 'chids??

Help

Thanks all!

[BikerDoc5968]

I son't know if you've seen the GH's at SunGlo. They are twin wall acrylic and include among other things a 15oooBTU electric heater with fan, grow lites and some other high-powered lite, benches, thermostatically controlled exhaust fan and potting basin. Sunglo Greenhouses If you happen to be a Costco member, there are discounts for this greenhouse. I made some changes to accomodate my situation in Michigan, like using natural gas heat and the electic heater as backup and redesigned the utility board to suit me. I added the regular lites rather than grow lites

[utah]

Wow! I checked them out in a couple of web sites and forums and they look amazing. I'm shocked that the price is lower at Costco than from the manufacturer. I'll have to check and see if I can get the size I need since it's not listed on the Costco web site.

Thanks BikerDoc!!

[BikerDoc5968]

When I purchased mine the size offered by costco was the 8 x 12 and I wanted larger so I got the larger size directly from SunGlo. Maybe you could call sunglo and work out a deal. I saved enough so my 8 x 15 was the same price as the 8 x 12 from sunglo.....I just checked Costco and they are selling the 8 x 12 for $3200.00 delivered. The same GH on the SunGlo website is $3600.00.

[missann]

Utah, have you considered getting 3 little greenhouses-the 75 dollar kind that you can get at lowes or fred myer? I bet you could jam 150 plants in there. Maybe even into one greenhouse if you use the back, sides and shelves. I have 30 on one shelf, and none of them touch. The smaller the space, the less you have to heat. They are only thin plastic, but you could insulate with bubble wrap or the 3 or 4 ply polycrylic greenhouse stuff to beef up insulation. I might try it this year myself. Oh yeah, I am in SE ID, so if you live anywhere near slc we have the same conditions.

[horses_too]

I must admit I'm very partial to Turner houses - I've been living with a 14x18 Biltmore for12+ years here in Oklahoma, and another couple of years (same greenhouse - disassembled and moved it here) back in North Carolina. I built it with one set of aging hands and the creative use of ladders, cables, c-clamps, etc.. it can be done! It's the fiberglass skin with bubblecap insulation - and is surprisingly economical to operate!

Remember that a smaller house has a more radical environment than a larger one, so with your weather conditions I'd opt for a larger house that offers some moderation of growing conditions. Of course, if you have indoor space, you can look at a hydro-hut or something similar - I do grow my overflow indoors on light-stands with 3 sides enclosed, humidity trays, grow lamps, small circulation fans ($5 at wally world in season), etc. Especially if you're growing multiple genera and like to grow warm/intermediate/cool, those micro-climates are necessary. Most of my collection is of phals (something over 350 of them at this point), so I don't have to face that particular challenge. I do have a few of other genera that prefer cool to intermediate conditions, so the light-stands and selective placememt are my only real option.

[Royal]

Hey BikerDoc,

Did you have yours delivered? How did it come packaged?

[Ross]

Howard's is a really nice pakage!