Look For Flower House Fhfh700 Farmhouse Greenhouse at Amazon
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful. In spite of the size, the greenhouses will fill quickly when you add workspace inside. That’s why we bought the second one. They zip together to form one unit as advertised. However, they only zip together one way, something not noticed in the instructions. If you put the wrong ends together, one will have to be turned around to make the ends fit. The greenhouses are relatively easy to set up, taking less than an hour, and don’t violate city ordinances about foundations as they have none. They are essentially large translucent plastic tents. The plants grow inside quite well, but as with all greenhouses they need a lot of attention since the temperatures can skyrocket even on a cold day if they are in direct sunshine. Flowerhouse includes a shade cloth that really helps with this, especially in the winter. Mine are set up under a large pecan tree and thus are shaded and open during the summer. In the winter there is a large propane heater and some fans inside that keep the greenhouse about 30 degrees above ambient. The heater is attached to a 50 gallon tank that I rent for $40 a year from the propane company and they can reach it from the street with their long fill hose. It’s good for about ten days constant use – longer if the weather is not cold. Propane heating this winter cost $460 dollars, but it was a relatively cold winter for us in central Texas. Inside, we are able to keep a number of tropical plants going over the winter and then move them out of doors when it warms up. It is also a good place to start seeds. The rear greenhouse has potting benches and storage we added, the front one has cinderblock shelves that were inexpensive. The floor is made from the pine mulch that is always on sale in the spring. There are small velcro closeable ports built in for hoses and electrical cords. If the greenhouses are not heated, they offer absolutely no protection against the cold during the night and the inside and outside temperatures will equilibrate within 30 minutes. We use a wireless barbecue thermometer to monitor the temperature from inside the house so that if the pilot light of the heater goes out we see it and can stop a disaster from happening. You might give this point some thought. Most people want a greenhouse so that they can keep plants going in inclement weather. This one offers no protection from cold at night and will rapidly overheat in the day, meaning it requires constant monitoring. You can’t go away on an overnight trip in cold weather unless there is someone around to open and close it and to set the heater and check the pilot light. No automation is possible because of the zippers. Electric heaters do not heat well and two of them will pull some 3000 watts, a load on any circuit if the cold snap is a long one. Even with fans going, we could not keep it warm enough electrically to protect the plants above 50F on a cold night. The travel issue has not been too much of a constraint since we don’t often travel but it means going to the early service at church so we can rush back and open things up on a frosty, bright morning. Even though we are at home a lot, the constant monitoring does get old. As with most of the Flowerhouse products, the zippers are what crater an otherwise good idea. At first, they worked well. It was less than a year before they began to stick and become a problem. We lubricated them with beeswax, including a tacky type that does not dry. It didn’t matter, they just got worse mostly from the excess tension put on them by the greenhouse frame – a design flaw in my mind. Now the doors are not closable with the zippers and will need to be cobbled together with velcro strips. Neither are the zippers repairable. Teeth have broken, the material has frayed and the screen on one inner door has rotted and torn after only a year and a half and it is only a matter of time for the rest. I am very dismayed at the product durability given the cost. The plastic shell has held up well and continues to do its job, but these are slowly turning into expensive hoop houses and will certainly be a difficulty this winter. Had I known then what I know now, I probably would not have made the purchase. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Reading the review posted above, I note the reviewer is using the greenhouse as a year round greenhouse. While I have never used it for that purpose, I can understand his complaints. It is not designed for 12 month use. The zippers (rather than doors/windows) do degrade over time and the lack of heat controlled roof vents makes for, at least, twice daily trips outside to adjust the windows, etc. So, do not view this greenhouse as comparable to a permanent greenhouse. Why not 5 Stars? The zippers do get difficult to use at times. I use WD-40 so dirt does not accumulate in the zippers as much. Another trick I learned is to put up the greenhouse with all the zippers zipped. Not easy, but doing it this way reduces the pull on the zippers. |
A good idea that doesn’t work very well in practice
Good portable greenhouse