If you could dream up your perfect portable greenhouse, what features would it have?

How would you customize your greenhouse if you could add attachment points and internal/external features?

What do you feel like is missing from greenhouses these days?

They need to be expandable!!

Hi @greenhousequestions and

I don't have a portable greenhouse, so it is hard for me to say, but I wanted to welcome you to the forum. I'm sure others will be along who can be of more help.

karmahappytoes said: They need to be expandable!!

What sizes? Anything else that you would change/add?

MoonShadows said: Hi @greenhousequestions and

I don't have a portable greenhouse, so it is hard for me to say, but I wanted to welcome you to the forum. I'm sure others will be along who can be of more help.

Thanks for the welcome! What about features for a non-portable greenhouse? Anything you wish you could add or have built-in?

I have a stationary greenhouse that was once a garage. It has floor-heating and pretty good lights and it's big enough. I wish we had not used glass panels for the roof: several have broken and they're difficult to replace. I wish we had insulated it better, so I wouldn't have to keep tacking up plastic sheeting.
Otherwise, it's all right. We've had good years and not so good years.

greenhousequestions said: Thanks for the welcome! What about features for a non-portable greenhouse? Anything you wish you could add or have built-in?

The one thing I'm sorry I bought with my greenhouse were the two 16' redwood tables that ran along both sides of the greenhouse. They wound up being too tall for growing a lot of the plants I grow. They plants were hitting the sloped part of the roof before long. I ripped them out after the first season (repurposed the wood for a number of other projects) and replaced them with wire shelving units, which I liked even less as I had to adjust the units as the plants grew. What I have now is best for me. I bought about 10- 5 x 2.5 plastic nursery bench tops (below). I can arrange and set these at any height I want simply using concrete blocks. In addition, it makes it so much easier cleaning the greenhouse after each season. I simple pick up the shelves, put them outside, spray them down with a hose, and clean the rest of the greenhouse.

Dura-Bench Plastic Benchtop

My dream greenhouse definitely wouldn't be portable - it would be a huge dome over my entire house, yard and garden. And bear proof

But, to be a little bit more realistic (only a little bit) - my DGH would have self-regulating ventilation and shading, in-ground heating and cooling, and automatic watering and fertilizing. On second thought - then what would I do with all my time?

I do wish I had used anti-condensate greenhouse film on my high tunnel, however!

This is what you need WW.

I do have a dream greenhouse, but don't know if I'll ever get it at this point in my life.

A Growing Spaces Growing Dome. However, I would want one of the huge ones, and they are pricey.



My greenhouse probably has about 5 years left in it. I may just go with a metal fabricated high tunnel after that. Let's see....

I'm with WW, but I want my whole yard!!

karmahappytoes said: I'm with WW, but I want my whole yard!!

Me too, Karma - plus, of course, my whole garden. (If this seems unreasonable to anyone, I DID stop short of saying our entire 14 acres...)

Come on Weedwacker, we are dreaming here. Do it all as you know you will need more room sooner than later!!

MoonShadows
https://magidome.com/products/...

Karma, I'm afraid I'm at the point of needing to downsize, not add more room

Every morning I have to remind myself - do NOT start any new garden projects, there are already plenty of half-finished ones that need to be worked on!!

Weedwhacker, I hear ya! But I look at it this way.....do I want to mow or do I want to tend to the flower beds that gives me more joy? Just take one bed at a time and finish that first, then move to the next. Oh to have 14 acres of flower beds would be a dream!! Is there a high school/college close by that has an agriculture department?
Check to see is they have students that might want to help out for credits. I had a friend taking classes at a local college and when I was asked to come in for a visit I was shocked by the professor telling me I should teach the class!

Unfortunately (or probably fortunately LOL) most of the 14 acres is forested, mainly cedar, spruce and balsam!

My dream greenhouse is one that doesn't make more work for me I'm in Zone 4b so I don't want to heat it in the winter, I don't want to have to cool it in the summer, I don't want to have to add it to housekeeping work at the end of the gardening year, I don't want to have to shade the glass or paint it with whitewash to keep down the temperature, I don't want to have to water the plants inside every day or so and I don't want to have to move plants in and out all year.
What I would be interested in is some idea why people want greenhouses - am I just in the wrong Zone for these expensive buildings?
And in case anyone asks, I still start seeds every year - just not in a greenhouse

I can relate to all of your "don't want to have to do" items, Val! My actual GH is an unheated 16x20-foot high tunnel that I use for growing seedlings from around the beginning of May to the beginning of June (when they can go outdoors), after starting the seeds under lights indoors, and also for planting my tomatoes in the ground inside the high tunnel. Growing them under that high tunnel has essentially eliminated all the tomato disease problems that my plants had every year - some sort of "wilt," I think. They ARE a bit more work this way, since I have to water them pretty much every day, but at least I get the full growing season from them. I have a potting bench in there as well, but it's often too hot to be working inside. It also serves as a storage area for pots and tools. I have a smaller (7x15-foot) high tunnel as well, and plant smaller varieties of tomatoes in there.

Wow Sandy - that's a VERY impressive greenhouse (it's way too glam to call it a tunnel ) I also start my tomatoes etc under lights in the house but after a token hardening off on the porch they go straight into the garden. Last year I used half the ventilation 'slot' of our granary pad for tomatoes (the granary rings sold after the roof caved in ) to great success so this year they are going in the other 'slot' and I've already planted snow peas here. My main veggie area is full and it seemed a waste of space if I didn't try planting here; trellises were left over from my plant sale booth of many years.

Great repurposing of that area!

Now I'm envisioning you putting a nice dome greenhouse over the whole thing...