Building a DIY Indoor Greenhouse

It is relatively easy to build a sophisticated homemade indoor greenhouse using materials that you can find in any garden supply store. Here are some suggestions for how to go about it.

Materials You May Need

This article is not a hard and fast guide to building your DIY indoor greenhouse. There is a lot of latitude as to what exactly you will need to use, depending on your needs and budget. A DIY indoor greenhouse can be a relatively simple affair made from ordinary household building materials, but we will be concentrating here on a more complex effort aimed at the serious gardener.

The first thing you will need is something to build the frame out of, usually wood, metal or plastic. A frame can be constructed in up to four tiers, like a shelving unit, to create a lot of space with a very small footprint. Once you have built your frame, you need to cover it with something to regulate heat and humidity. Plastic sheeting can be used, preferably of a commercial greenhouse grade made especially for this purpose.

You will then want to give thought to climate control in your DIY indoor greenhouse. It is possible to buy all in one units that combine heating, cooling and air circulation functions, all controlled by a thermostat. If you decide to go that route, it is probably worth paying a little bit of extra money for a unit that has a remote sensor that measures the heat all around your greenhouse, to ensure that it is evenly distributed. Otherwise, you may find that all the heat rises to the top and leaves the plants nearer the ground out in the cold.

Watering your plants is, of course, essential. If you are able to devote the time and attention necessary, hand watering using a watering can or hose is perfectly acceptable. But if you are out of the house most of the time, you might want to invest in an automatic watering or misting system with a timer attached, to ensure that your plants are watered at regular intervals.

Finally, soil. If you are not growing your plants hydroponically, you will need a good potting soil or peat. Garden soil is not usually acceptable, as it tends to be high in clay, which makes it hard for your plants to get the nutrients they need.

Follow these general principles, and with a bit of creativity and flair, you should be able to design and build a DIY indoor greenhouse that will give you pleasure for many years to come.

Tags: Greenhouses