If you follow me over on Instagram, you’ll know that I am excited as I have recently got started with my own greenhouse. It’s a small greenhouse for beginners and I am having fun pottering about out there and propagating various plants. I wouldn’t have guessed that I would need and use something so much that I have never had before! As such, I thought it would be worth sharing some of my initial thoughts and experiences with it, in case you are looking into getting a small greenhouse for beginners too.
Why get a small greenhouse?
My main reason for getting a greenhouse was to take cuttings from the garden and my house plants and grow them on in there, along with seeds.
I love propagating my plants and a greenhouse gives me a space to do this without taking over all of my kitchen surfaces! It is also a great place to work in and store all that you need in one place.
For me, I also had a little space in the garden that I had always felt was dead space as nothing was growing there and it was more of a walkway. Well now it is a useful space, and a favourite spot for me in our garden.
You might be far more interested in growing your own vegetables or perhaps starting your own herb garden, but whatever your motivation, today I want to share with you some top tips around setting up a small greenhouse for beginners.
Choosing a greenhouse
I spent some time doing my research and opted to buy the biggest cheapest small greenhouse that I could, if that makes sense?!
I didn’t want to go all out and commit to an expensive greenhouse in case my interest waned, or in case my son kicked his ball into it – both are feasible. So far, neither have happened, and it may be that in time I upgrade it, but it is suiting me perfectly for now.
I measured the space I had available and then looked around for a PVC cover version. I went for this as it was very easy to assemble, easy to move in case I want to have it closer to the house during the winter months and it was a good price.
When it arrived it was assembled, set up and ready for me to plant in within the hour.
If you are looking for a small greenhouse for beginners, think about where it is going to be best positioned first and foremost, as it has to get sunshine for a few hours each day. After this, measure out your space and set yourself a realistic budget.
Setting up your greenhouse
I know there are smaller greenhouses than mine, and then there are those that are considerably larger! My advice when setting up your greenhouse would be to focus on what you want to use it for and then maximise the space that you have available.
Once you have it all assembled, ensure that you secure it in place. I have bricks across the base of mine along with bags of compost. If you know that you are putting yours in a windy spot, it will be worth securing it to any walls or fences behind it too.
Once it is all safe and secure, you are ready to fill it up, which is the fun part!
My first tip would be to keep it all organised.
If you have them, use tubs, trays, old washing up bowls and the like to keep everything tidy in there. The washing up bowl is actually a great tip as along with using it to keep your pots and seedlings in, it is useful item when you are potting up. It contains any spare and over spilling compost neatly for you and then you can pop it back into your bag without wasting any.
Then put a space aside for all of the tools that you know you are going to want to keep at hand.
For example, a small tub housing your secateurs, gloves, trowel, string and so forth. It can also be worth keeping an old towel in there, it can be useful for wiping your hands down when you get very muddy!
I always keep an old milk carton in there, full up of water. It’s a cheap way to keep it in there without buying yet another watering can, and because it has a lid on, you needn’t worry about knocking it over.
Of course, if your greenhouse is right next to a tap, you won’t need this, but it saves me walking up and down the garden every time I want to give the plants a little water.
I then ensure that I have all of my spare pots, seed trays, labels and compost in there, all to hand for the many cuttings that I like to try. I have also positioned the garden bin right next to it so that I can pop debris straight into it. It’s very handy.
As you can see, there is room in there for several trays and pots, as well as all that you will need. I can easily move out things like the trug and watering can for more floor space too, if I need it at some point.
I have actually been surprised by how much I have been able to house in there, it really is big enough for everything that I need.
Tending to your greenhouse plants
In the warmer months, you are going to need to open up your greenhouse each morning as it really will heat up in there quickly. As the weather cools down, it will be fine to leave it closed up.
I would suggest checking in on all that you are propagating at least every couple of days in the warmer weather to ensure that they are OK for water. And if you are anything like me you will want to anyway, it’s good to see it all growing nicely.
Patience is key, and the good thing about having this dedicated space is that you can leave a cutting or seed tray for quite some time in case it still takes as it isn’t taking up room in your house.
I have only had this greenhouse for a little over a month now, but I now feel like I wouldn’t be without it. With my many house plants, I always have a few cuttings on the go and I currently have hydrangeas and roses growing in there too. With autumn on the horizon, I will be cutting down all of my roses so I foresee a greenhouse full of rose cuttings this time next month!
Do you have a small greenhouse? What do you use yours for?
I did think about getting a little greenhouse at the start of this year but wanted to give gardening a try before buying one. I’m hooked on it now so I will be getting before the spring. Yours looks great and it looks like you’re very organised. Well done with the growing. x
You will absolutely love it, it’s amazing how often you will find yourself pottering about in there! Good to hear you’re loving your gardening, such a great hobby x
Wow that is great. This is something I’d love to do. This is really informative and doesn’t make it sound like something out with my means. Thank you x
Yes, do it! It really is so simple to get started if you do something on this scale, and it’s not too daunting or tricky. I hope you go for it and enjoy it x
Looks like fun in your new green house. Fun. Can’t wait to hear all about how you use it in the coming years.
I love it in there! Thanks, I am sure to share again!