Greenhouses

My wife wanted a greenhouse to start seeds AND grow vegatables all year long (if possible). After extensive research, we selected Riga V. It was the largest greenhouse we could afford to buy and we are very satisfied with the purchase. The greenhouse came with 4 roof windows and automatic openers, which work like magic. The 8 mm polycarbonate panels (10 mm for the ends) are a must for year round gardening. The onion shape had no problem with the 20+ mph wind we occasionally have here in Oakwood. The design I like most about the greenhouse is that the aluminum extrusions are continuous pieces even for the 17' long Riga V. This makes the greenhouse very sturdy. The mid-section of the greenhouse roof does not sack due to the bending reaction of the side polycarbonate panels, even with no internal trusses. The greenhouse mounted perfectly fine on my level concrete footing without the optional base kit. It came with 10 brackets (supposed to be 12) for me to screw onto the concrete footing. The assembly was slightly tricky and took three of us a full day to install the major pieces and finish up the rest the next day. We could have gotten it done in one day if we didn't have to go to [...]for missing M6 screws and brackets (both floor and window brackets). Riga V is apparently not a very popular model that the retailer sells. It got mixed up with the Riga IV part count. The only drawback is that the roof windows do not seal very well and they leak when it is raining. Overall, a very functional greenhouse that is going to last a long time. I consider it good looking also."..."  Read more

This is not a project to rush into - at least we tried to take our time to ensure area, foundation, etc. would be just right for our yard, wind, and garden space. We selected the 6'x8' and ordered the 6'x 4' entension. I have wanted a greenhouse for a few years. We built the wood deck, setting 4 posts in concrete, then extended it beyond the 6x12' size. This worked nicely for us. The greenhouse directions are all visuals, which caused us to back up and revisit a few steps, but we did it in one day. When we set the frame on the wood deck base, we had to rescrew to make adjustments for the sides - as was expected. So we were glad we only set a few screws into the base. The windows (we have 2 with the extension)gave some problem as one side won't sit correctly in the hinge track, so we modified with their tape. Other that working out a few kinks as we went along, I have to say this greenhouse stood up to 50-60 mph winds! We had just installed the inside supports when the storm hit! So, this project - backyard hobby greenhouse, turned out well for us. I would caution to purchase/add any extension prior to assembly, as this appears to work much better. We would not want to dismantel it to add a section later (just a thought). [...]"..."  Read more

I bought my first Dreamhouse 3 years ago. The idea being to make sure I would actually use a greenhouse prior to investing a lot of money in building a permanent one. This has been so easy to use that I decided to add-on to the one I have instead. Climate is easily controlled with the many windows and doors. I still don't know much about greenhouse growing, but I know I'm getting stronger, healthier plants to put in my gardens and I don't use as much water doing it thanks to the humid environment. Primarily I use it to get a headstart on vegetables, but also propogate grapes from prunings and experiment with seeds I've collected. The zippers are somewhat stiff at times though I think that is to be expected as it is out in the weather and it does get dirty. I also live in heavy Georgia clay (and rock) but had no problems using the stakes provided. Set up is a bit tricky, I was able to set it up myself the first time, though it took much longer than suggested. The second time, my husband assisted and it was much faster and easier. One caution: check the ends of the fiberglass poles for splintering - he and I both learned the hard way. Overall, unless you're going into the plant business I can't think of a better way to go. I have recommended the DreamHouse to friends, neighbors, and perfect strangers too."..."  Read more

Over all, I found this to be well made and easy to set up, (After I had cut the poles down to length). From starts, my lettuce was ready to eat in about three weeks. I had to build shelfs to accommodate the tremendous growth! By putting landscaping mat on the ground, it creates a nice protected environment. I read the reviews, and found others had problems with the poles. I expressed this to the sales person, who promised the poles would be right...Wrong! I not only had to cut every pole down by @1 1/2" AFTER setting it up, but I also had to cut the ridge pole down by a full 4". This wasted quite a lot of my time. In addition, there was a hole in one of the screens and No pockets for the poles in two corners. This is really bad QC, there is no way the factory did not know about this. When I called a sales person said they would "look into it" they Never called back , as expected. If you can deal with the problems, a little extra work, then you have a nice little greenhouse."..."  Read more