How to build a greenhouse
After the days being in the 70's and the nights in the 50's, we suddenly got the news: Texas was expecting a freak freeze in the lower 20's tomorrow night!
I love gardening, and I have potted kitchen herbs that I cook with...and wasn't ready to part with!
I had some scraps of wood in the garage, and some plastic dropcloths left over from a painting project, so I decided to make a greenhouse!
It was free for me, since I had the supplies already, but if you were to make it yourself, you would need:
- 12 boards, all 4 feet long (I'd go with 2x4's instead of the weird thin plywood that I had)
- Screws or nails (I also used wood glue, but you wouldn't need it if you had proper nails/screws)
- Staple gun
- Plastic dropcloth (Less than $2 at Lowe's)
- Two hinges (I used old cabinet hinges from the redo of my kitchen)
Step one, make a frame.
I both glued and nailed the corners together.
Step two, attach the upright beams to your frame. (I had to lay my frame on its back to do this).
I wanted the back of my frame to be twice as high as the front, so I made the back legs 4 feet, and the front legs 2 feet.
Step three, you will want side braces to help support the plastic; so I added some. I also made a sort of shelf along the top of the back legs so that I could attach hinges to it.
Step four, attach beams along the top to make a frame at the top of the contraption. I didn't do this because I didn't have enough wood, and Dear Husband has put me on a spending freeze, so I had to make do with what I had.
Step five, make a "door" that will open and close, and rest on top of your existing frame. it only really needs three sides, since you'll attach it to the shelf.
And attach your door with hinges to the shelf.
I know my setup above looks a little funny - I couldn't screw through the thin side rails or they would split. Cabinet hinges work like a vice - there are two pieces of metal on each half of the hinge, and a screw brings them closer together so they can clamp onto the cabinet door. So I clamped the thin rail tightly in the hinge, while the top of the hing is screwed into the shelf.
Now you have a door on your greenhouse so you can open it to water your plants!
Step six, staple your plastic to your frame. You will want to make sure you got thick plastic from Lowe's, not the thin stuff. It helps to roll the edges of the plastic, then staple on top of the roll. It gives more strength to the plastic so the staples don't tear it out.
Add your plants...
And the lid opens so you can water them!
Ta da!
Finished makeshift greenhouse!
You will want it on the south side of your house - the side that gets the most sun in the winter (depending on your hemisphere).
