7 Simple DIY Greenhouse Projects to Grow Your Own Plants

Gardening enthusiasts, get ready to extend your growing season and create your very own backyard greenhouse! This article will guide you through seven easy DIY greenhouse projects that will help you cultivate a thriving garden throughout the year. Whether you’re a seasoned green thumb or a budding gardener, these homemade greenhouse options cater to a variety of skill levels and space requirements.

Short growing seasons can be a challenge for many gardeners, but with the right planning and a little bit of DIY know-how, you can overcome those obstacles. These DIY greenhouse projects offer a cost-effective solution compared to pre-fabricated options, making them an attractive choice for gardeners on a budget.

Key Takeaways

• Discover 7 simple DIY greenhouse projects to extend your growing season
• Learn about the benefits of having a backyard greenhouse for your garden
• Explore a range of greenhouse designs suitable for various skill levels and space requirements
• Find affordable DIY greenhouse options compared to pre-fabricated models
• Gain access to step-by-step instructions and materials lists for each greenhouse project

Extend Your Growing Season with DIY Greenhouses

Many regions have short growing seasons, so having a greenhouse can be crucial for extending the time gardeners can grow their own plants. Greenhouses provide seedlings and plants with warmth in the winter and cooling in the, allowing gardeners to grow their favorite flowers, vegetables, and herbs year-round. DIY greenhouses are often more affordable than pre-fabricated options, and can be customized to fit any available space.

Benefits of Having a Greenhouse

Constructing a DIY greenhouse offers several benefits for home gardeners:

• Extend Growing Season: Greenhouses can lengthen the growing season by up to 67%, allowing gardeners to enjoy fresh produce for 10 months instead of just 6 months.
• Increased Crop Yield: Plants in a greenhouse often grow faster and produce higher yields, with tomatoes and cucumbers yielding earlier.
• Year-Round Gardening: Greenhouses provide the necessary warmth and protection to grow a variety of plants, even during the colder months.

Materials Needed for DIY Greenhouses

The key materials needed for building a DIY greenhouse typically include:

1. Wood
2. Plastic sheeting or polycarbonate panels
3. PVC pipes
4. Recycled items like windows or plastic bottles

A PVC hoop house, for example, requires replacing the plastic sheeting every 4-10 years, depending on its thickness and quality. Meanwhile, a wooden frame greenhouse offers a solid, durable, and aesthetically pleasing addition to your backyard garden at a reasonably low cost.

Building smaller structures like cold frames or row covers can also help extend your growing season and conserve outdoor space. While the initial investment in a backyard greenhouse and other gardening infrastructure may be high, the long-term benefits of extending your growing season and enjoying earlier harvests can make it a worthwhile investment for many home gardeners.

Hay Bale Cold Frame

Gardeners seeking an easy and budget-friendly way to extend their growing season can turn to the hay bale cold frame. This simple greenhouse structure requires minimal materials and construction, making it an accessible option for those with limited building skills or resources.

An Affordable Greenhouse Solution

The hay bale cold frame utilizes readily available materials – hay bales and old windows or clear plastic – to create a functional greenhouse. The straw bales form the walls of the structure, while the transparent covering on top traps heat and creates a protected environment for plants to thrive. This type of simple greenhouse is an affordable greenhouse solution, perfect for gardeners on a budget.

Building the Hay Bale Cold Frame

1. Arrange the hay bale cold frame in the desired location, ensuring it receives ample sunlight.
2. Place the old windows or clear plastic sheeting over the top of the hay bales, creating a slanted roof to allow for proper drainage.
3. Secure the transparent cover in place using weights or other fasteners, if needed, to prevent it from blowing away.
4. Consider adding a layer of insulation, such as straw or hay, around the exterior of the bales to enhance the cold frame’s heat-retaining capabilities.

With these simple steps, you can create a functional and affordable greenhouse that will extend your growing season and provide a protected environment for your plants to thrive.

“The hay bale cold frame has been a game-changer for my gardening efforts. It’s an easy and cost-effective way to grow a variety of vegetables year-round, even in our unpredictable climate.”

Maintaining the hay bale cold frame is relatively straightforward, requiring regular venting on sunny days, watering until the ground freezes, and removing any snow accumulation to ensure adequate light penetration. By following these basic guidelines, gardeners can enjoy a bountiful harvest of cold-hardy crops, such as kale, leeks, cabbage, broccoli, and artichokes, well into the fall and even winter seasons.

Raised Bed Cold Frames

For a more substantial raised bed cold frame, the sturdy and durable design offers an excellent option for extending your growing season. While it may require more time and effort to construct compared to a simple hay bale cold frame, a raised bed cold frame is a reliable choice that can better withstand the elements.

This greenhouse-like structure is built using wood to create a raised garden bed, which is then covered with a clear material to form the protective enclosure. The airtight design and sturdier construction make a raised bed cold frame a superior choice over more basic cold frame options.

The dimensions of a raised bed cold frame are typically designed to sit atop a standard 4′ x 4′ raised garden bed, providing an efficient use of space and a stable foundation. The frame can be built to any desired height, allowing you to customize the internal growing environment to suit your needs.

Compared to a simple hay bale structure, a raised bed cold frame offers more protection from the elements and better heat retention, making it a worthwhile investment for serious gardeners looking to extend their growing season. Its sturdy greenhouse-like design ensures a durable and reliable solution for your cold-weather planting efforts.

Convertible Hoop House

Versatile for All Seasons

For gardeners seeking a versatile greenhouse solution that can adapt to their needs throughout the year, the convertible hoop house is a remarkable DIY project. This unique structure utilizes a cattle panel to create a hoop shape, which can then be covered with heavy-duty plastic to form a greenhouse. The beauty of this design lies in its adaptability – in the summer months, the plastic can be removed, allowing the hoop structure to serve as a trellis for vining plants like tomatoes or green beans.

Construction Guide

Building a convertible hoop house is a relatively straightforward process. The key components include a cattle panel, heavy-duty plastic sheeting, and a few basic tools. With a helper, the entire project can be completed in as little as 2 hours, making it an accessible DIY option for gardeners of all skill levels.

1. Start by securing the cattle panel in the desired location, burying the ends of the panel in the ground to create a stable hoop shape.
2. Attach the heavy-duty plastic sheeting to the cattle panel, using spring clamps or utility chain to ensure a secure fit.
3. Consider adding additional support, such as rebar rods or wooden frames, to reinforce the structure and provide added stability.
4. Finish the project by securing the plastic sheeting at the base, ensuring a tight seal to protect your plants from the elements.

The versatility of the convertible hoop house makes it an excellent choice for gardeners who want to maximize their growing space and extend their seasons. By transitioning between a greenhouse and a trellis, this DIY project offers the best of both worlds, providing a cost-effective and adaptable solution for your gardening needs.

The convertible hoop house offers gardeners a versatile and cost-effective solution for extending their growing seasons. By transitioning between a greenhouse and a trellis, this DIY project provides the adaptability needed to thrive in any greenhouse construction scenario.

Row Cover Hoop House

For gardeners seeking a simpler greenhouse project, a row cover hoop house can be an excellent option. This type of DIY greenhouse utilizes PVC pipes or flexible branches to create a hoop structure, which is then covered with a frost blanket or plastic sheeting. The beauty of a row cover hoop house is that it allows you to protect only the crops that need it, while leaving more cold-tolerant plants exposed to the elements.

The row cover hoop house is a cost-effective and easy-to-build solution for extending your growing season. It can provide up to 8 degrees of extra protection on freezing nights, helping your plants thrive during the transitional spring weather. The hoops, typically made from 1-inch diameter PVC pipe or rebar, are placed approximately 2 feet apart to prevent sagging and ensure the structure’s stability.

To build a row cover hoop house, you’ll need flexible PVC pipes, rebar stakes, spun-bond row cover material or frost blankets, twist ties or twine, and bricks for anchoring. The hoops are simply hammered into the ground, leaving 4 to 6 inches above the surface. The row cover material is then draped over the hoop structure and secured with twist ties or twine, creating a protective micro-environment for your plants.

One of the key benefits of a row cover hoop house is its versatility. It can serve as a trellis for crops like tomatoes, melons, and cucumbers, allowing you to maximize your growing space. The structure also offers protection from the sun, enabling the cultivation of cooler-weather crops and extending your growing season.

Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, a row cover hoop house can be an excellent addition to your backyard. Its simplicity, affordability, and customizable nature make it an attractive option for those looking to extend their growing season and protect their plants from the elements.

Repurposed Windows Greenhouse

For gardeners seeking a larger, more captivating greenhouse, a structure crafted from repurposed windows can be an eco-friendly and unique solution. By collecting old windows, often available at low cost, you can build a greenhouse that serves as both a functional growing space and a decorative element in your yard.

Eco-Friendly and Unique Design

Repurposing old windows for a greenhouse project is a sustainable and creative approach. Not only does it give new life to materials that may have otherwise ended up in a landfill, but the resulting structure also has a charming, one-of-a-kind appearance. The interplay of various window sizes, shapes, and styles creates a visually striking greenhouse that adds character to your outdoor space.

Building Tips

Constructing a repurposed windows greenhouse requires some planning and effort, but the end result is well worth it. Here are some key building tips to keep in mind:

• Collect and organize your windows in advance, as the sourcing process can be time-consuming. Aim to have at least 24 windows and a matching glass door to create a cohesive structure.
• Carefully arrange the windows to maximize light and ensure the greenhouse’s stability. Use wood framing to support the windows and create a sturdy, weatherproof enclosure.
• Seal any gaps between the windows with caulk or weatherstripping to maintain the greenhouse’s insulation and prevent drafts.
• Consider adding a polycarbonate or UV-stabilized plastic roof to protect your plants from the elements while allowing ample sunlight to enter.

By incorporating repurposed windows, you can build an eco-friendly greenhouse that adds a unique and charming touch to your gardening space. With the right planning and execution, your repurposed windows greenhouse will become a beautiful and functional addition to your outdoor oasis.

Plastic Bottle Greenhouse

Gardeners looking to create an eco-friendly and cost-effective greenhouse can consider the innovative plastic bottle greenhouse. By repurposing discarded plastic bottles, you can construct a unique and visually striking structure that not only provides a growing space but also promotes sustainability.

The plastic bottle greenhouse is an excellent example of upcycling, where ordinary waste materials are transformed into something functional and valuable. The bottles are carefully arranged and stacked to form the walls and roof of the greenhouse, creating a greenhouse that is both practical and aesthetically pleasing.

Benefits of a Plastic Bottle Greenhouse

Building a plastic bottle greenhouse offers several advantages for the eco-conscious gardener:

• Reduces waste by repurposing plastic bottles
• Provides an insulating layer, trapping heat and maintaining a cozy microclimate for plant growth
• Offers flexibility in design, allowing customization to suit individual needs and preferences
• Serves as an educational and engaging project, fostering a connection with nature and environmental awareness

The plastic bottle greenhouse has been successfully implemented in various community gardens, such as the Gleann na Bearu garden in Ireland, which built a greenhouse using approximately 2,000 water and mineral bottles. This eco-friendly project not only provided a growing space but also won the Carlow’s Pride of Place Upcycle Challenge in 2017, showcasing the beauty and practicality of this innovative approach.

To build a large-sized plastic bottle greenhouse, you’ll typically need around 1,500 pieces of 2-litre plastic bottles. The bottles serve as effective insulating panels, trapping heat and creating the ideal microclimate for plant growth. With a bit of creativity and recycling, you can transform your backyard into a thriving, eco-friendly greenhouse that showcases your commitment to sustainability and upcycling.

diy greenhouse

For gardeners on a tight budget who want to build a pallet greenhouse, this DIY project can be a cost-effective and sustainable option. By using discarded wood pallets as the primary building material, you can construct a sturdy greenhouse structure at a fraction of the cost of a pre-fabricated model. Pallets can be repurposed for the walls, tables, planters, and other components, making this affordable greenhouse both eco-friendly and practical.

The cost of materials for building a DIY greenhouse at the beginning of 2021 was around $1,600, significantly less than purchasing a similar size greenhouse kit which cost closer to three times the amount. Additionally, township regulations may require a permit for greenhouse structures larger than 200 sq ft, emphasizing the need to check with the local building department regarding permitting requirements.

One example of a successful pallet greenhouse project had the dimensions of 8ft wide by 16ft long, with treated lumber used for the construction. The greenhouse was designed with windows in the peak for ventilation, and an IPower Electric Heating Fan with a cooling thermostat controller was installed to maintain a suitable temperature for optimal plant growth.

The use of treated lumber was detailed, including treated 4×6 pine for the foundation and tongue and groove treated pine for the lower half of the walls. Specific building techniques, such as drilling holes in the frame and securing it with rebar, and spacing out studs to accommodate the width of the corrugated sheets used for the walls and roof, were also employed.

The pallet greenhouse was stained to match DIY raised garden beds and trim, showcasing a cohesive aesthetic in the garden setup. The benefits of a greenhouse in extending the growing season were also highlighted, emphasizing the positive impact on plant cultivation and food production.

“The entire project took about seven months from start to finish, and they collected windows for the greenhouse from five different houses in their area.”

Building a pallet greenhouse is a fantastic way for gardeners to create a functional and sustainable growing space without breaking the bank. By repurposing materials and utilizing cost-effective construction methods, this DIY project offers an accessible and eco-friendly solution for extending the growing season and cultivating thriving plants.

Kid-Friendly DIY Greenhouse

Gardening can be a wonderful educational and hands-on activity for children, and a kid-friendly greenhouse project can be a great way to engage them in the process. One simple greenhouse idea involves using two clear cups, one inverted on top of the other, to create a miniature educational greenhouse. This project allows children to watch the seeds they’ve planted sprout and grow, fostering their interest in gardening and the natural world.

Simple and Educational Project

The materials and instructions for this simple greenhouse project are straightforward, making it a fun and easy activity for kids to participate in. Children can learn about the importance of sunlight, water, and soil for plant growth as they observe their mini greenhouse in action.

1. Gather two clear plastic cups, soil, and a selection of seeds (such as Tatsoi, Butter King Lettuce, Chard, and Sugar Snap Bush Peas).
2. Fill the bottom cup with soil and plant the seeds.
3. Invert the second cup and place it on top of the first, creating a mini greenhouse.
4. Monitor the greenhouse and water the soil as needed, watching the seeds sprout and grow.

This kid-friendly greenhouse project is an excellent way to introduce children to the joys of gardening and the wonders of the natural world. By engaging in hands-on activities, kids can develop a deeper appreciation for the environment and the importance of sustainable practices.

“Gardening with children is a wonderful way to foster their curiosity and love for the natural world.”

Conclusion

This article has provided readers with a comprehensive guide to seven easy-to-build DIY greenhouse projects that can help them extend their growing season and cultivate their own fresh produce year-round. From simple and affordable options like hay bale cold frames and repurposed windows greenhouses to more complex and versatile designs like convertible hoop houses and pallet greenhouses, there are DIY greenhouse solutions to suit gardeners of all skill levels and budgets.

By constructing their own DIY greenhouses, readers can enjoy the benefits of a longer growing season, greater control over their crops, and the satisfaction of growing their own plants. Whether they are interested in starting seeds, growing houseplants, or cultivating produce, these DIY greenhouse projects offer a cost-effective and eco-friendly way to bring the joys of gardening closer to home.

The increasing interest in home greenhouses, as evidenced by the rise in consumer inquiries and the availability of greenhouse options on popular retailers’ websites, underscores the growing demand for such projects. By following the detailed instructions and utilizing budget-friendly materials, readers can create their own backyard oasis and take their gardening skills to new heights.

FAQ

What are the benefits of having a greenhouse?

Greenhouses provide seedlings and plants with warmth in the winter and cooling in the summer, allowing gardeners to grow their favorite flowers, vegetables, and herbs year-round. They can also extend the growing season in regions with short seasons.

What materials are typically needed for DIY greenhouses?

The key materials needed for DIY greenhouses typically include wood, plastic sheeting or panels, PVC pipes, and recycled items like windows or plastic bottles.

How do I build a hay bale cold frame greenhouse?

A hay bale cold frame is an easy DIY greenhouse option that requires only hay bales and old windows or clear plastic to construct. The hay bales form the walls, and the clear material is used to cover the top, creating a simple greenhouse structure.

What are the benefits of a raised bed cold frame greenhouse?

A raised bed cold frame greenhouse is a more substantial and durable structure compared to a hay bale cold frame. It is built using wood to create a raised bed, which is then covered with clear material to form the greenhouse. This design is more airtight and better able to withstand the elements.

How does a convertible hoop house work?

A convertible hoop house is a unique DIY greenhouse project that can be used in different ways throughout the seasons. The structure is made by using a cattle panel to create a hoop shape, which can then be covered with heavy-duty plastic to create a greenhouse. In the summer, the plastic can be removed, and the hoop structure can be used as a trellis for growing vining plants.

What is a row cover hoop house?

A row cover hoop house is a simple greenhouse project made using PVC pipes or branches to create a hoop structure, which is then covered with a frost blanket or plastic sheeting. This allows gardeners to protect only the crops that need it, while leaving more cold-tolerant plants exposed to the elements.

How can I build a greenhouse using repurposed windows?

By collecting old windows, often available for a low cost, gardeners can build a unique and eco-friendly greenhouse that serves as both a functional growing space and a decorative element in the yard. The building tips include advice on how to arrange the windows, seal the gaps, and ensure the structure is stable and weatherproof.

What is a plastic bottle greenhouse?

A plastic bottle greenhouse is an innovative DIY project that uses discarded plastic bottles to create the walls and roof of the greenhouse. This project is an excellent way to upcycle materials and build an eco-friendly greenhouse for the backyard.

How can I build a greenhouse using pallets?

A pallet greenhouse is a cost-effective and sustainable option for gardeners on a tight budget. By using discarded wood pallets as the primary building material, gardeners can construct a sturdy greenhouse structure at a fraction of the cost of a pre-fabricated model.

What is a simple DIY greenhouse project for kids?

A kid-friendly DIY greenhouse project involves using two clear cups, one inverted on top of the other, to create a miniature greenhouse. This project allows children to watch the seeds they’ve planted sprout and grow, fostering their interest in gardening and the natural world.