Greenhouses and Plans - Here is How You Can Build Your First Simple Greenhouse Fast!

Greenhouses and Plans go hand in hand. But if you have no skills and are a little hesitant to get started, don't worry. Hundreds of everyday people have built greenhouse plans, and you will also.

Here are some basic tips to get you started:

1. Select your type: Attached or Freestanding?

For simplicity sake, I'm going to assume that you're looking into freestanding greenhouse. A freestanding greenhouse is a structure on it's own. Built from scratch and placed with good sunlight. These greenhouses have better flexibility with location and styles.

Styles come in all shapes and sizes, you'll hear about lean-to's, Quonset, dome, gothic, slant, A-frame, Gable and on and on. Some of these are better suited to flexible covers like polyethylene, while others are better with something a little stiffer like fiberglass.

Your situation with space and budget are major points that need to be addressed before your greenhouse build. I would suggest starting out with a smaller greenhouse. The one drawback with a smaller greenhouse though, is that most owners want to expand. Keep that in mind if you have enough space.

2. Your growing plans

Are you planning to start something tropical, growing your own veggies and herbs, or maybe you want to have something harvestable in the upcoming months?

If so, factor in scheduling times for your build. For example, if you're wanting some crops for early summer, get started ASAP. It's a good time to be sowing tomatoes, peppers and herbs. Let's take tomatoes for example.

You'll need to start your seeds in starting soil mix. Tomato seeds germinate in 80 degrees and should be up in a little more than a week. The sprouts would be under growing lights, which are on 24 hours a day.

Tomatoes flower in a little over 2 months. You will want to pollinate the flowers everyday while it's warm and humid.

So again, if you want to grow your own tomatoes in your very own greenhouse. Get started now.

3. Location, Location, Location

The location for your greenhouse should be properly assessed. A greenhouse needs a lot of direct sunlight and needs to be oriented so it gets as much southern exposure as possible. You also want to make sure that your greenhouse will have easy access to water and electricity. Once you found the best location, you will need to prep the ground.

Once you figured out what you want in a greenhouse, it's a good idea to compare if you want a kit or an easy do-it-yourself build. I would suggest building a very simple greenhouse for a start. It's a project that you can be proud of - your own greenhouse and your own indoor garden.