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

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

I ordered this greenhouse so I would have a place to overwinter all the tropical plants and ferns on my patio. Generally south Louisiana has a few nights that get below freezing each year and I was trying to avoid dragging the plants in and out of my house (where my cats love to play in them and get dirt and leaves all over the floor) as I had in previous winters. This greenhouse was easy to put up and so far has worked great. Since it has no bottom, it is really easy to water the plants without worrying about wetting a floor. It also has a fabric screen that we put over the top for shade as most of the plants don't like direct sunlight. We have already had some nights below freezing and, with the help of a small portable electric space heater, my plants are still happy and healthy. I also have to say that I was amazed at how fast this greenhouse was shipped to me. I don't think I've ever made an internet purchase that arrived that quickly"..."  Read more