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Woodframe GreenhouseEstablishing and utilizing a home greenhouse is an excellent way to save money on groceries, follow a healthier and more nutritious diet, conserve on energy, and help the environment at the same time.

But greenhouses don’t grow on trees – they have to be built.

Not all of us have a professional builder in the family, or the budget to hire a specialist. This is where greenhouse kits come in handy. If you aren’t looking for elaborate design but you need a basic and simple greenhouse for home use, this is a great way to get started without a large investment of time or money. Greenhouse kits vary widely in cost and design.

A very simple and economical variety can be found for under $40.00 or $50.00. This small greenhouse might consist of nothing more than a 2 foot square fabric tent where you can house a few plants and extend their growing season. Planthouse In this price-range, you can also find a basic enclosure system for a greenhouse, which will provide the framework and support that can then be covered in the material of your choice.

Moving up the line, you can find a more serious set-up for anywhere between $400 and $900, which includes either fabric or glass walls, and provides enough space to grow a full set of vegetables or other plants. Larger greenhouses, from 10 to 20 square feet in size, cost a few thousand dollars. But this might still be far simpler than building the entire structure on your own.

Once you’ve found and purchased the greenhouse kit that’s right for you, you will need to assemble it yourself, just as you would with any other kit. But you will have step-by-step instructions and all the parts you need, cut and sized to fit, and tested by the manufacturers.

While setting up a greenhouse requires an investment of time and money, you should be able to recoup your investment over time, providing that you actually use your greenhouse. The amount of money that can be saved by growing one’s own food is easy to underestimate – particularly where large families are concerned. Growing food inside a greenhouse is extroverting, fun, and educational. It can make it possible for you to grow foods at all times of year, instead of being limited to certain seasons. It can be very frustrating to go out and buy gardening equipment and seeds, only to become so busy with work that by the time you are ready to work on your garden, it is too late in the year.

A greenhouse can give you the extra leeway you need, and make it possible to have fresh home-grown vegetables year-round. It might also make it possible for you to grow the plants which normally wouldn’t grow in your region at all.

Such as – who knows, habaneros in Montana?