I want a greenhouse - advice please

[nomadwantshome]

We have a small garden and there's only 1 place it can go and we'd probably have to get rid of the shed- have to convince dh first. We could go with one of those lean to ones although the shed is diplapidated. Or go for a bigger one and bin the shed.

I've seen 2 kinds that i like. One is for about £300 for a wooden frame one. The other is those hexagonal ones in green - on eBay second hand. The only thing id worry about is the glass and accidents with the kids - more that it would hurt them than the damage iyswim.

Also our garden is north facing and the greenhouse woul have to go fairly close to the house. It would get enough sun in the summer as the sun is high but I'd worry about spring time. Any thoughts?

Also if we were to get rid of the shed, what about replacing it with a potting shed? Would that double up as a greenhouse? I'd want to grow tomatoes and such. I tried growing them outdoors last year - along with a lot of other things - and I don't think the soil is good enough and I think it's too wet.

I've a greenhouse and love it.
being close to house is good as it means it would be closer to outside tap/ electric/etc; also stuff needs watered even when is raining and grim outside.
You can get the potting sheds with glass on one side - if that side is South facing / very sunny might work OK. I've not tried one though.

Check the type of glass - toughened safety glass is what you need, NOT old-fashioned horticultural glass. The latter will break into bigger pieces, safety glass goes into lots of littler bits (like a car windscreen) so less chance of big injury. The advantage of horticultural glass is that it is clearer so will transmit more sunlight. But not worth the risk for tiny extra benefit.
Get something with automatic vents (or that you can fit auto-vents to). You need them. Really, you do.
Am not sure about the worth of attaching a lean-to to a knackered shed, as surely if the shed is that bad then the greenhouse won't have much life expectancy either?
I absolutely love mine. But you do need to be prepared to water often, damp-down, etc etc - they are time -consuming, way more so than veg patch etc.