Mini greenhouse - worth it ?

[StandardLampski]

Just wondering whether you rate your little greenhouse ( one of those 3 or 4 tier plastic clock together jobs with a cover)

Have quite a few tomato seedlings (and few other thjngs) but taking up too much space on windowsill now they need bugger pots...

I normally just pop outside but results are a bit hit ans miss...

Anyway, do you reccomend a little greenhouse?

(The wind made me reconsider over the weekend too!)

apologies for my terrible typing! Too sunny - not a complaint though

Mine isn’t as small as those, it is 6x4 though which is about as small a regular greenhouse you can get. It’s great, my plants are really happy in there & I can grow stuff like cucumbers that don’t like being outside.
I think anything will be better than nothing?

My wife loves her 6ft
one from Wilko it being the first year she has grown veggies .She's bringing up lettuce,radishes and cucumbers all doing nicely but beware we caught a snail climbing one of the racks .It didn't rip or fly away in the wind and we haven't even pegged it down yet.My drunk ex family member put it up cause alot of pieces so I didn't fancy leaving my comfy seat on a nice sunny day.Think there are ways to strengthen it for winter on YouTube ,go for it my wife loves her and saved me a packet on a new wood framed glass one👍

I'm missing mine. I had it next to a fence so I could the it down as I was on top of hill. They don't cost much and at start of season means you don't have lots of dress growing on windows

I saw a fab little wooden one in my friends neighbours garden and would love to know where it was from. Not one of the usual websites. If I find it I'll post it here. I think they are essential but not sure I could be arsed with a plastic one.

Maybe buy some strips of wood, hinges and horticultural Perspex and make one? Use pallets for the shelves etc? If you've got a jigsaw it would be easy peasy. Then it's the right size, looks cute and not only can you do tomato's but also chillis and over winter begonias so they are amazing and big when everyone else's are just growing shoots 😁.

Depends on how windy it is where you are.

I got mine v cheap secondhand (even tho they're quite cheap anyway) & tie it in place on the fence. I feel I get quite a lot started in there: tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkin, peppers, sunflowers & other flowers, so I like it. I can't do stuff on the windowsil inside as our cats mess it up. You can still get slugs in them though if you're not careful!

Ok, thanks for slugs tip, will keep an eye out .

Sound pretty positive all in all!

I used to have one (I've got a bigger walk-in one now). I start any seeds that need warmth indoors in a windowsill incubator (with a rigid cover which the cats like lying on) then move them to the greenhouse once germinated. The tiny greenhouses are great for small plants in little pots or seed trays but once they get to any size it's harder to reach in and water them and it fills up quickly as they start to grow. Definitely better than nothing though. You do need to tie or weigh them down, I used to put bricks on the bottom shelf but that takes up shelf space.

In my experience the cheap wilco type ones rip after about a year. I've had more durable ones with the green mesh stuff which last several years longer. However tbh I've never liked them much because the opening and closing dance that you have to do all the time. You have to be so careful not to cook young seedlings as it can easily get up to 40c with just a bit of sunshine and they aren't great at keeping the heat in for the overnight temps. Ive opted for a cold frame instead which is much better at regulating the fluctuating day/night temps. I think they're OK for storing overwintering stuff and warming the space with the winter sun but not much else.

They make a nice tomato shelter later in the season. So Start Seeds off in it then as tomatoes get bigger put them in grow bag on the floor. As they grow remove shelves so they end up as the only things in there.

Just to add I put some red bark on the ground after levelling so no real need for a concrete base , you can renew every year for a fiver.Hopefully if secured down over winter my wife will still be loving it next year.But to keep a bit cooler have to flap door over roof or tie in when hot and good if you have a corner which is not too hot during the day.Have a problem with flies stuck in there now which I have to sort but all in a good starter for us before going all out with a wood/glass set up.Also beetroot is in there and we use a fine spray for watering.

I got one of those pvc three tier walk in jobs last year.
It's got a LOT of holes around the seams this year...

I've had my green re-enforced 6 tier one (you can walk into it!) and 3 shelf ones for about 5 years.

I luvs them... I luvs them so much. Was very ill last couple of years so only got back into gardening this year. Amazed they are still in one piece!

The bigger one I've grown ALL sorts of things this year and they are waiting to be potted out next week ( i may have gone a bit dwarf bean and sugar snap pea mad....) The smaller one I used as an overspill but will take the shelves out later for some other toms.

I secured both of mine to the fence using wire (we do not speak of the year of the winds and falling over of them and the spilling of all the seedlings ) and also you need to secure the shelves as well. I've just used wire (used for making jewellery) so its easy to take off as i will grow toms and some chillis inside.

Definitely get the re-enforced types.

Mine is very similar to this one but green and didn't come with pegs or peg holes to fix it to the ground.

www.thompson-morgan.com/p/garden-grow-premium-6-shelf-greenhouse/G2179TM

My other one is again like this one but green and lacking peg holes (dammit!)

www.thompson-morgan.com/p/garden-grow-premium-portable-4-tier-greenhouse/g2160TM

Pondering moving things around in my garden so I can get another 6 shelf one. eyes it up again

I love them, too. I've had a succession of them over the years. As others have said, the reinforced green mesh covers last longer than the clear plastic, although both can be replaced fairly cheaply. I've generally found that by the time I'm onto about my third cover, the frame has rusted away and the whole thing needs to be junked.

I agree too that the walk-in ones are better, as they provide somewhere to store bigger, tender plants over winter. My walk-in greehouse expired just before lockdown and I regret that I was a cheapskate and reverted to the smaller, cheaper type, because I've spent lockdown sowing ancient seeds retrieved from the back of the shed and am running out of space.

Mine never lasted long. The green mesh shelves are useful though!

I’d get one for this year, and then build a cold frame if you can. A few bricks or wood for sides (no need to mortar etc) and a solid plastic sheet or old window for the roof. It will cost about the same and last so much longer.

But the problem I found (when I had a coldframe) is that you get much less storage space relative to the footprint. I've just been eyeing up some rather fancy coldframes, more like a glazed cupboard, on the Waitrose website.

I bought 2 walk in mini greenhouses from wilko during lockdown and have been delighted with them. I'm growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, chillies and courgettes as well as herbs. I started the seedlings off on windowsills first before moving them out but they've come on so well in the greenhouses. I'd highly recommend them... Just make sure you position them in a relatively sheltered spot and tie down well!

I recently put up a new one from Aldi (DP complained as I've had one before that didn't last although it earned its keep). This one has much stronger cover than previous ones and has survived our weekend 40mph weighed down by coping stones on bottom frame (it's on concrete).

I had bumper tomatoes and peppers one year from one and keen to repeat that!

I suppose it depends on how windy it is where you live. My basic plastic greenhouses do not cope well with the wind we have. The plastic - which ties to the frame - has coped well but it means that the whole frame gets blown over instead, despite weights. The frame just falls apart under the horizontal pressure.