The Frugal Hobby Greenhouse Gardener
You will find that for most everything you want to do or grow in your hobby greenhouse will require special plants, stakes, pots, seeds, fans, etc that imply a financial investment. But, when you are like me and are still on a family budget, you’ll need new ways to cut corners. Please take these ideas and implement them in your own greenhouse to save money in your greenhouse.

Posted Thursday, April 13, 2006

One idea I implement to save money is to reuse seeds from year to year. If I didn’t plant them all in one season I use them in the next. While the majority of them will grow, and just a few might not, I took chances and still produced some beautiful plants.

When you are starting seeds, water lightly or you may find that your seeds will simply float to the top of the dirt! This is why many gardeners’ users watering systems so the water is through out the greenhouse like a mist or a rain, but I simply couldn’t afford one when I started gardening so I used a spray bottle instead. This took me a little longer to water everything in my greenhouse but the final effect was worth it: my number of plants tripled.

I have a bad habit of growing everything that I can get my hands on, which often leaves me short on pots. I like to cut off the tops of milk or tea cartons and use them as pots. I also use butter and sour cream containers that I clean out and make holes in for drainage. Sometimes if I get a beautiful flower that I want to give away and they are stuck in an ugly pot I will wrap it up with some colored aluminum foil for a finished look!

When I know the night is gong to be super cold on a winter night, I fill up ten to fifteen milk jugs with hot water. While this only takes a few minutes, (my tap water is very hot) I use this method to keep the inside of my greenhouse warm as night falls. That way the heater doesn’t have to work as hard for that first hour or two.

In the winter, I don’t make a path around my greenhouse I just leave the snow against the walls. The snow makes great insulation along the walls and the bottom areas of the greenhouse where wind might otherwise get through. I do however keep all the snow off the top of my greenhouse roof so the full benefit of the sun can get in.

If you have an old boot, you can fill it with dirt and plant seeds in it. The water will escape through the sole and the sides of the boot; a very functional and stylish pot!

One last thing I will discuss is simply that if it is already dark outside, I try not to go into the greenhouse. This is simply because the night air is chill, and when I open the door any heat will escape. Sure there are times when I go in and it isn’t a problem, but I feel that when I go to my greenhouse during the morning or the afternoon hours, I do not waste as much heat in the greenhouse as I would when I go in the evening.