My New Greenhouse!

Winter gets very long in North Idaho, and by mid-January most of us find ourselves pouring over seed catalogs and dreaming of days spent in the garden.  That was me, this winter.  I decided, for the first time that I was going to try my hand at seed-starting.  I took a class from our local Bonner County Gardner's Association and went to work filling trays and hanging lights.

I had no idea how addicting it would be to watch something come to life!  So, I planted more things and hung more lights!  Pretty soon my house and office cottage looked like this:

Time to make a change and fulfill a desire I have had for a few years, time for a greenhouse!
Now, I had been planning for a long time to make one out of salvaged windows, but due to time and supply I knew that this was not going to be a reality for us anytime soon, so we chose to go with a kit greenhouse from Harbor freight .  Our Friends, Ned and Lucille Davis have had this particular greenhouse for years and love it!  I find that is the best research, to see one in living proof and hear the review from a trustworthy source.  The best part is that the whole kit (with coupon) runs $589!
The box was not as big as we thought, and it loaded easy into our truck.  Nathan was so excited about this kit because in his words it was a "like a giant lego kit!"!

We researched "harbor freight greenhouse modifications",because we wanted to avoid any problems that might come up. We found many blogs, and youtube videos that helped immensely.

We had a supply of salvaged railroad ties we found at the refuse station (fancy word for dump), we buried them for an anchored base frame.

We chose to add a wooden frame inside to help support the structure and incorporate our shelves.

 Another benefit to this, is that I can have something to hang pots from too.

 I need to give some major credit to my amazing husband who came up with all of the ideas for the support system!  The man is a genius!

We chose to make the shelves out of rabbit wire, because it is inexpensive a durable in moisture.  We also sealed the top of each panel with aluminum tape to insure moisture and bug control.

Here it is!  

 And the end result!  Words cannot explain the peace I find in the quite hours that I stand and water my plants in this warm space, it is a calmness that comes from all the life growing around you and the smell of tomato plants, warm dirt and wet pine. This is a place where I can now grow as many plants that I need or want, a place to plant peppers for success in the colder climate here, and a very nice place to enjoy a glass of wine in the evening and give thanks.