Hello again everyone!
Grab a cuppa coffee and sit a while! How are things? With all the chaotic weather we've had here in the US recently, things may be a bit skewed. We were fortunate that the bad weather that came through our part of Ga over the weekend had weakened to just a thunderstorm , but many faced a much scarier time. My prayers go out to anyone affected by this huge system that made it's way across the US.
This time of year is the most exciting for me; good and bad. The good is getting out into the garden after a cold dreary winter. The bad is the upswing of thunderstorms as the seasons change. Severe Thunderstorms make me nervous because we live in a doublewide mobile home with no basement or storm shelter. That's changing in the future. After this last time my husband and I have plans to get a storm shelter. I love where we live; the house, garden ,city, county. The only thing I don't love is the lack of emergency shelter in case of a tornado. So we're saving to get a storm shelter. I know it sounds like we're always saving for something, but that's only because we're always saving for something! We save because, aside from our mortgage, we have no debt. Once we paid off car loans, student loans, and credit cards; we were done! We have no plans to have debt. EVER.
With that frame of mind, a greenhouse seemed out of my reach. Even now, the only way I was able to afford the greenhouse I now have is that my mother shared some of her small inheritance from my grandmother. Because I didn't have a greenhouse prior to this one, but wanted to get a jump start on the gardening season; I made do to extend the season in other ways. I wanted to share some of those with you.
Hoop and cover- Regardless of it being a row or a raised bed, PVC hoops covered with 6 mil plastic make a wonderful little "like greenhouse". It's rather simple to do. Simply take thin stakes or rebar of 18 inches in length. Drive them into the ground; one on each side of your raised bed or row. Move down the bed or row about 3 ft and do it again. Once you have the rebar driven in where you want it, take 3/4 inch pvc pipe. Slip each end over the rebar, pushing it down to the ground. Once all the PVC pipe is in place, simply cover with 6 mil plastic. You'll want some small spring clamps to hold it in place. Make sure during the day to open each end of your "Greenhouse" to let heat escape. It can get really hot in there. Right before sunset, seal the ends back up to hold warmth in over night. If it's going to be too low during the night, you can always add electric warming mats or heat lamps of 100 watt bulbs.
Walk in hoop greenhouse- This is the same concept as above, but you can walk in to it. It takes a little more effort to set it up, but it does the job. Here's a link for your entertainment! Our hoop greenhouse is now a hoop coop. So it is a versatile item.
Pop up Greenhouse- What we like to call the green tent. I bought this one about 3 years ago. It has served me well. It isn't a permanent structure, and so over time it will wear. It's inexpensive enough to give you the benefits of a greenhouse without a crazy amount of money. You will need some form of supplemental heat during the dangerous temp times, but I found simply adding some utility lamps with 100 watt bulbs did the trick. Extremely low temps, I'd cart your seedlings into the house until the cold temps pass, but this does extend the growing season. Plus it's wonderful to be able to go out and work in the green tent even with it raining and still be dry. Ironically, we'd been using the green tent for our riding mower this past winter. I'd moved it when the greenhouse was built, but had not really installed it per package directions. I simply anchored it with clothesline over the sides tied to stakes driven into the ground. Well. My advice is to follow the directions. I did initially, just not after I moved it. Here's what I found when I went outside yesterday after a good windstorm. So yea, guess what I'm doing today!
The cheapest alternative for staring seeds and/or extending your growing season is still using a sunny window in your house. This is how I first started growing seeds. We don't really have a lot of great sunny windows in our house. Grow light bulb put into your every day table lamps did the trick, but once the babies emerged, and weather permitted; I'd move them out to our back porch during the day and back in at night.😁 This insured a workout for me!
Regardless of what method you use, starting your plants from seeds is the least expensive. Using saved seeds too is even better, but you'll get to that later. Just start! Start small, and work your way up. That way you aren't overwhelmed. Happy Spring!