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Greenhouse or Outdoor?

outlaw

outlaw

Hey everyone,
 
Sorry if this has been brought up before, but I am debating on what I want to do with my garden going forward. I currently have two 3ft x 6ft raised beds and a 10ft x12 ft in-ground section fenced off in the corner of my yard (total area 25ish ft x12ft) 
 
I was planning on building a small greenhouse or hoophouse (like DawgNuttz - http://thehotpepper.com/topic/47552-hoop-house-greenhouse/#entry1006257) over the in-ground section and maybe expand the area a little bit, but then got to thinking - why not the entire garden area? My main goals with this is to be able to plant earlier and maintain growing conditions later in the year.
 
What are the main disadvantages to a greenhouse compared to open? Should I keep one section of the garden open?
Thanks for any and all advice, I included pictures below..
 
Trev
 

 
 
Just off the top of the dome,
 
With a greenhouse your plants will be better protected from the harsher parts of the earth such as gust of wind, thunderstorms, sun scorching, insects, etc. However, the heat inside of a greenhouse and the lack of natural water will have be dealt with accordingly. Fans or vents for the heat and watering systems need to be run to the inside, unless you can pull a hose to it with no problems. With the green house you could actually increase your garden area instead of leaving room between your garden and the fence. Filling the greenhouse from wall to wall (optimizing for standing or walk ways) would increase your garden square footage significantly. As well as you could use it as protective storage for all of your gardening supplies. A 25ftx12ft greenhouse gives you 300 square feet to work with and, using the square foot gardening technique, that's a lot of production. 
 
As for leaving as is, its easier and cheaper. It's already set up for you. Maybe a better fence and gate would be a good investment. Have it a little more secure with some room to grow in the future. You can always expand your raised beds to hold more plants. The in ground area would be a low maintenance, easy route to go.
 
Just some thoughts. 
 
Might look at the idea of a hoop house as well. There is a tremendous amount of Knowledge on this site. I wish I had space to do a green house. I have to rent a garden space, ether way you go good luck and keep us posted with your endever.
 
Both.
It's what I do in my short season area.
 
Removable greenhouse for spring and fall, open for the summer when a greenhouse gets too hot.
 
LS929 said:
Just off the top of the dome,
 
With a greenhouse your plants will be better protected from the harsher parts of the earth such as gust of wind, thunderstorms, sun scorching, insects, etc. However, the heat inside of a greenhouse and the lack of natural water will have be dealt with accordingly. Fans or vents for the heat and watering systems need to be run to the inside, unless you can pull a hose to it with no problems. With the green house you could actually increase your garden area instead of leaving room between your garden and the fence. Filling the greenhouse from wall to wall (optimizing for standing or walk ways) would increase your garden square footage significantly. As well as you could use it as protective storage for all of your gardening supplies. A 25ftx12ft greenhouse gives you 300 square feet to work with and, using the square foot gardening technique, that's a lot of production. 
 
As for leaving as is, its easier and cheaper. It's already set up for you. Maybe a better fence and gate would be a good investment. Have it a little more secure with some room to grow in the future. You can always expand your raised beds to hold more plants. The in ground area would be a low maintenance, easy route to go.
 
Just some thoughts. 
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the thought out response and feedback LS! I was thinking about the heat and air flow being the major obstacles for me. The area is accessbile to water and electricity, so I should be ok in that aspect. I initially thought about expanding the beds and buidling two more, but I'm just leaning towards spending the money on the greenhouse instead, as I really would like to "stretch" my season here in NE.
 
 
Gotrox said:
Both.
It's what I do in my short season area.
 
Removable greenhouse for spring and fall, open for the summer when a greenhouse gets too hot.
Click to expand...
 
I was thinking about the greenhouse being a more permanent structure, however, I am definitely open to any other ideas. Do you have any pics of your early spring/late fall setup? I would love to see them!
 
You could always go with a combination of the greenhouse/outdoor build. I know that some greenhouses can open up. The sides or walls can fold up if they are softer/designed for it. Also you could do sliding doors or have a sliding middle frame on the green house so it could open partially during the summer. 
 
outlaw said:
 
Thanks for the thought out response and feedback LS! I was thinking about the heat and air flow being the major obstacles for me. The area is accessbile to water and electricity, so I should be ok in that aspect. I initially thought about expanding the beds and buidling two more, but I'm just leaning towards spending the money on the greenhouse instead, as I really would like to "stretch" my season here in NE.
 
 
 
I was thinking about the greenhouse being a more permanent structure, however, I am definitely open to any other ideas. Do you have any pics of your early spring/late fall setup? I would love to see them!
Click to expand...
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/37271-gotrox-2013-grow/page-2?hl=gotrox
 
There ya go.
 
LS929 said:
You could always go with a combination of the greenhouse/outdoor build. I know that some greenhouses can open up. The sides or walls can fold up if they are softer/designed for it. Also you could do sliding doors or have a sliding middle frame on the green house so it could open partially during the summer.
Click to expand...
Great ideas man, I like the idea of somehow being convertible.

Gotrox said:
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/37271-gotrox-2013-grow/page-2?hl=gotrox
 
There ya go.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
 
LS929 said:
With a greenhouse your plants will be better protected from the harsher parts of the earth such as gust of wind, thunderstorms, sun scorching, insects, etc.
Click to expand...
 
[my emphasis in the quote] At all costs! Keep the bloody plague at bay!
On the other hand, fertilizing manually can be a pain in the a..uhh, I mean arm. And if something nasty does manage to get inside...
 
plaisir8 said:
 
[my emphasis in the quote] At all costs! Keep the bloody plague at bay!
On the other hand, fertilizing manually can be a pain in the a..uhh, I mean arm. And if something nasty does manage to get inside...
Click to expand...
 
They usually balance each other out.
But if they get out of hand, some predator insects help a bunch.
Ladybugs tear up aphids.
 
Gotrox said:
 
They usually balance each other out.
But if they get out of hand, some predator insects help a bunch.
Ladybugs tear up aphids.
Click to expand...
RIght on! Would love to have more predators visiting my grow though.
An imbalance in the force there is. Do you sense it?
 
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