Building a portable greenhouse might be a worthwhile effort if you wish to prolong the growing season or start plants early. By definition, a portable greenhouse can be assembled and erected in a short period of time. It is a no-fuss structure that meets the fundamental requirement of a greenhouse – that of providing warmth, appropriate moisture, protection and controlled environment to your plants. In this context, building a portable greenhouse revolves around the right choice of framing and covering material, ease of assembly and storage.
Frame: Since you are going to be assembling and packing away your greenhouse based on the season and your requirement, you want a frame that is made of lightweight, but relatively strong material. It should allow you to fit pieces together with ease and without assistance. Usually, you need some wood treated with environmentally friendly preservatives, some metal – 10 mm rebars are great, and PVC pipe that you can use to make the ribs. The easiest design for a portable greenhouse is the hoop house.
Covering material: Glazing that you use in a portable greenhouse is prone to wear and tear due to cyclic assembly and dismantling of the greenhouse structure. Though ordinary standard clear plastic film available at hardware stores would work, you should think of using sturdy UV stabilized poly film or plastic films that are treated to prevent condensed moisture from dripping down on to your plants and that allow effective transmission of sunlight.
Ease of assembly: You can either go in for portable greenhouse kits that come complete with everything, including instructions, that you would need to assemble and erect the structure, or make your own structure using appropriate materials. The kits take no more than an hour or two to set up, while building a portable greenhouse yourself would need more time and effort. Whatever option you pick, make sure you end up with a set of pieces that can be easily assembled or dismantled with minimum confusion or fuss. Store all fasteners, clamps or securing material safely as these can be easily misplaced.
Storage: Your portable greenhouse must form a compact package that can be easily stored. Preferably, all the dismantled material should be housed in a single casing that can be stored in a limited space. The covering material itself can be used as a waterproof wrapping to keep the other material dry.
If you have a kit, building a portable greenhouse is a fun-filled activity. Building from scratch by sourcing all your material and equipment may take a little longer, but would be challenging and equally fun! In both cases, you can chase your passion and fulfill your dream…!
