Building Your Own Greenhouse

by Mark Freeman

The fundamentals of assembling a greenhouse and custom designing it to the gardener's needs, from simple cold frames to large free-standing and attached-to-the-house structures.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811727750
• ISBN13: 9780811727754
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Going from garden to greenhouse!

It made a giant leap into a small step: From a gardener to a greenhouse operator. Buy the book and enjoy transformation and success!

I built one of the Greenhouses from this book

This book was well written and offered many interesting greenhouse plans. I built a 22x40 foot model from the plans and have been very happy with the results.

The Least Expensive Way to Get Started

This is simply a magnificent book on how to construct your own hobby greenhouse as well as other gardening structures such as simple cold frames or installing a bay window with a nice ledge in your home. The main advantage of building your own greenhouse is cost-savings; manufactured greenhouses are very expensive to buy and even more expensive to have assembled. And you don't need to be a handyman to put one together - in most cases you'll be building a frame to hold plastic sheeting to keep out the cold and let in the sun's rays. So what if it's a little crooked here or there? Chances are neither you nor anyone else will notice, but the flowering assortment of vegetables, fruits, and specimen plants will grab everyone's attention! The author, Mark Freeman, shares his own experiences as well as the experiences of others in building greenhouse structures. First he explains how greenhouses work. Then he shows you every step toward the completion of your own hobby greenhouse. The rest of the chapters are 'Site Selection and Laying a Foundation', 'Framing', 'Glazing', 'Ventilation' (a very important chapter because successful greenhouse gardening hinges on this), 'Supplemental Heating, Insulation, and Heat Sinks', 'Plumbing and Wiring', and 'Shutters and Shades'. Sources for suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors are also listed in appendices. In conclusion, he shares designs for eleven different DIY greenhouse structures including a hoop house. Another design is called Mary's Madhouse (an attached second-floor solar greenhouse built lean-to fashion over top of an adjoining shed) and Alwin's Plumber's Friend is a greenhouse made from PVC pipe. Mark Freeman's greenhouse is attached to his home and includes a hot tub nestled among his seedlings and houseplants. In short, this is a great resource for the home gardener who has thought about building his or her first little greenhouse because you will no doubt experience success without too much fuss.

Just what we need to be self relient!

Fun and informative reading. Many ideas to increase you excitement while growing your own food and herbs all year and selling the extra, for a good profitable hobby. See also "Secrets to a Successful Greenhouse and Business"