Are Home Greenhouses Worth It?
Many plant enthusiasts have toyed with the idea of installing a greenhouse at home. After all, they afford many opportunities you can’t enjoy if you live in certain regions, like the Midwest. So, is a home greenhouse worth it?
A home greenhouse is worth it if you live in a climate with a short growing season, as they allow you to garden into colder seasons. A greenhouse can also help you protect your plants from pests; however, you may still struggle with pests. That said, installing and running a greenhouse is expensive, as it can raise your power and water bills.
It’s worth making a list of pros and cons before you decide to buy a greenhouse. Follow along as we explore the pros and cons of greenhouses, so you can decide if it’s worth getting one.
Home Greenhouse Benefits
Having a home greenhouse is a luxury, especially if you’re a passionate gardener. A greenhouse has many great benefits, such as:
Moisture And Heat Retention
Growing plants can be tricky at the beginning and the end of the growing season. Depending on where you live, temperatures may fluctuate a lot early in the growing season. This is true even after the last frost of the season, and such temperature fluctuations can harm your plants.
These changes can also happen at the end of the growing season when temperatures start dropping. This can cause problems in some cases, as you wait for temperatures to level out. However, that’s not much of a problem with a greenhouse, as it retains heat and moisture.
Temperature drops won’t affect the plants in your greenhouse, whether it’s spring or fall. You can even improve the heat retention in your greenhouse with insulation and even water barrels. Black water barrels absorb a lot of heat and release it in your greenhouse throughout the day.
Enjoy A Longer Growing Season
In many cases, you can enjoy a 60% longer growing season if you put your plants in a greenhouse. That’s because they are protected from temperature fluctuations, rain, hail, and frost. This is why so many people start their growing seasons early and end them later if they have an at-home greenhouse.
Some people even put space heaters in their greenhouse to extend the growing season as much as possible. Granted, this is more common in garden centers and plant nurseries than it is in the average yard. However, it’s worth doing as much as you can to extend the growing season if you grow lots of vegetables to eat and or sell.
Proper ventilation and insulation are also essential if you want to enjoy a longer growing season in your greenhouse. It costs between $0.50 and $3 per square foot to insulate a greenhouse. Doing so is worth the cost, because you can save up to 50% on heating your greenhouse.
Easier Pest Management
Greenhouses aren’t immune to pests, but they are much less vulnerable to them than an outdoor garden, and you’ll typically find fewer types of pests in a greenhouse. People don’t usually need to use pesticides as much in a greenhouse, which can protect your plants and the environment.
That said, a greenhouse is still vulnerable to some pests, especially ones that are drawn to humid environments. Even still, it’s easier to get rid of pests in a greenhouse because it’s a controlled environment. However, pests can quickly spread among plants in a greenhouse because of how close they are.
There is a small trade-off, but pest management is something many people love about greenhouses. The lower pest diversity and reduced need for pesticides are enough to entice any gardener.
You Can Grow A Wide Variety Of Plants
No matter how green your thumb is, you may still struggle to grow many types of plants in your garden. For example, growing tropical plants is much harder in Missouri than in Florida, where they’re meant to grow. You’d need to water them more and take special care to ensure they grow as well as your native plants.
However, you have more freedom if you have a greenhouse, as a greenhouse is a controlled environment. You can mimic the conditions that tropical plants need to grow. This makes having your dream garden easier, even if the plants you love aren’t meant to grow in your climate.
You must still do plenty of research to ensure you can provide enough water, humidity, and sunlight. As long as the greenhouse is hot and humid, you will have more success with tropical plants than you would outside. It’s still important to group your plants based on how much water they need to conserve water and encourage growth.
Home Greenhouse Downsides
Greenhouses have many benefits, but they also come with some downsides, such as:
They Can Become Too Hot
Many people understandably do a lot to make sure their greenhouse stays as hot as possible. However, having your greenhouse get too hot can cause a lot of problems. First, your greenhouse will feel uncomfortable, and you may struggle to spend time in there.
Even worse, extreme heat can damage your plants, scorch the leaves, and quickly dry out the soil. This can cause serious problems if you plan to grow fruit and vegetables, as the yield may be low. There is also a risk that the materials in your greenhouse, like plastic, may warp and threaten the structural integrity.
Some people run fans and use evaporator cooling pads to prevent overheating in their greenhouse. Naturally, you must water your plants more often when they’re overheated, or else they may wilt.
Expensive Installation And Operation
Installing a greenhouse can cost anywhere from $300 to over $10,000. Naturally, a small greenhouse only costs a few hundred dollars, but it isn't typically as nice and don’t have many features. However, you can expect to spend between $3,000 and $16,000 to build a commercial-quality greenhouse.
You must also consider the high operation and maintenance costs that come with owning a greenhouse. For example, many people run fans, space heaters, misters, and irrigation systems in their greenhouse. All of those extras can add thousands of dollars to your startup costs, and they’ll continually increase your power and water bills.
You can save money on operating costs if you carefully insulate your greenhouse, so you don’t need to heat it as much. It also helps to save money if you collect rainwater and use it to water the plants in your greenhouse.
Pollination Struggles
The world relies on pollinators, like bees and butterflies, much more than some people understand. However, any seasoned gardener can tell you how grateful they are to see pollinators in their yards. Unfortunately, many types of greenhouses keep bugs out, and that includes pollinators, which plants rely on.
The low airflow, lack of pollinators, and high heat can make it hard for some plants to grow. That can lead to underdeveloped fruit and vegetables for people looking to grow food at home. You can manually pollinate your greenhouse plants, but that’s not as effective as the natural way.
While you can put bees in a greenhouse, that itself can cause problems, especially if you’re allergic to them. Greenhouses don’t provide the best conditions for honeybees, but they’re better for bumblebees.
They Take Up A Lot Of Space
Many people have limited space in their yard and must think carefully about building structures. Whether it be a shed or a greenhouse, each structure you put in your yard can take up a lot of space. You must commit to it and be sure you can justify giving up that allotted area.
Not only does building a greenhouse take up a lot of space, but you may need a permit. You must look into laws and regulations in your local municipality. Otherwise, you may face penalties and fines if you don’t get a permit before building a greenhouse.
Summing It Up
It is worth getting a home greenhouse if you want to extend the growing season and grow a wide range of plants. However, you must be aware of some downsides, like overheating and pollination struggles. Think about the type of plants you want to grow, what your climate allows, and whether or not you can justify the cost of building a greenhouse.
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Nick Durante is a professional writer with a primary focus on home improvement. When he is not writing about home improvement or taking on projects around the house, he likes to read and create art. He is always looking towards the newest trends in home improvement.
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