Michelene Rocco of Lemont had a free-standing sun shed installed in her back yard in April to start seedlings and geraniums early in the season so they’d be ready to transplant to her yard when it got warmer.
She has also started a couple of tomato plants in 5-gallon buckets that she hopes will provide a tomato harvest for her through December.
“I really look forward to spending cool mornings in my sun shed, having my morning coffee around my plants,” said Rocco, who is a master gardener.
Rocco is not alone in finding creative ways to use greenhouses to extend the Chicago area’s growing season, which runs roughly from mid-May through mid-October.
Darlene Keating of Elmhurst uses her greenhouse to extend the growing season as well as grow plants that normally thrive in warmer climates to the south.
Keating transformed a sunken terrace on the south side of her home into a 15-by-24-foot lean-to greenhouse.
“I have primroses that bloom in February and March. Normally, they wouldn’t bloom outside until May or June,” said Keating, who is a member of the Elmhurst Garden Club and the Gardening Consultant Council, which is part of the Garden Clubs of Illinois.
Tim Pollak, a floriculturist at Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, said in addition to using it to grow plants, many people use their greenhouses as sitting areas.
“It’s very enjoyable. It’s not just for people who have a green thumb. You really get to see it right in front of you. It’s therapy,” Pollak said.
Pat Gee, a retired teacher from Tinley Park, agreed.
“You’re constantly learning. The joy of going in there and working is a stress reliever. It’s just a joy everyday because it’s a new discovery. Something new and different happens in there everyday,” said Gee, who is also a master gardener, a title home gardeners earn after completing horticulture courses and community volunteer work through local university extension programs.
Gee grows tropical plants in her greenhouse, which is attached to her home. She also likes to get unusual plants on her travels and grow them in the greenhouse.
Gee grows herbs like basil and parsley to use in cooking, started caladium from bulbs this year and starts plants from seeds. In the fall, she digs up annuals and other plants in her yard and keeps them in the greenhouse over the winter.
Denise Koers, an independent contractor and distributor for the National Greenhouse Co., based in Pana, Ill., said most of her clients are retired empty nesters who have time to devote to gardening and a greenhouse.
“Very seldom do we sell to people with kids. It’s usually people who have money and time,” Koers said. “Most of mine have been people getting into orchids.”
You don’t need to be a master gardener to have a greenhouse, but it helps to learn all you can about them before installing one. There are many good books that can help you learn the ropes, as well as useful information on the Internet (The Hobby Greenhouse Association has a helpful Web site at www.hobbygreenhouse.org).
You’ll need to decide what kind of greenhouse suits your needs best, be it a lean-to, freestanding or even a window-mounted unit. Other things to consider are whether the windows will be glass, fiberglass or plastic; and how you will provide electricity, heating, plumbing and ventilation for the greenhouse.
The average cost for a greenhouse is $8,000 to $10,000, but smaller ones start at about $3,000, Koers said. The final cost of installing a greenhouse usually doubles once you include utilities and other add-ons, such as a foundation, she said. You can save on the cost of utilities if you place it near the house in close proximity to existing utilities, she said.
To get started, Pollak recommends reading books on greenhouses and making up a plan complete with diagrams of everything you want.
“You have to put a lot of thought into where you want to locate it. Do a little bit of research,” Pollak said. Southern, eastern or western exposures are best, he said.
Phil Schaafsma, co-owner and president of Sid’s Home & Garden Showplace in Bolingbrook, said, “You need to start by figuring out what you want it for. You need to make sure it can handle the wind and cold. The south side is the most protected from the wind and cold.”
But Koers said a southern exposure is also the hottest and will probably need protection from getting too much sun at times, especially in the summer. A greenhouse needs a minimum of four hours of sun daily.
Ventilation, fans and shade cloths help cool off a greenhouse, she said.
“Venting in a greenhouse is one of the most important things. You will burn up your plants if you don’t have proper venting,” Koers said.
Pollak said if you build a greenhouse attached to a house, “take into consideration the effect the greenhouse will have on the house, as far as heat, humidity and drainage go.”
Gee’s greenhouse, which is attached to her home, is used to help heat the home in the winter. But in the summer, it can make it difficult to keep the home cool. There is a double set of doors between the house and the greenhouse that reduce the heat from the greenhouse, which can reach temperatures of 150 degrees, from making the house too hot, Gee said.
Make sure your greenhouse is engineered to meet local building codes. For example, in the Chicago area, the snow load is 30 pounds per square foot, Koers said.
Start planning in the spring for a fall greenhouse, Koers said.
Rocco said she spent months on research before she bought her sun shed. She plotted out how the sun would fall on the shed in the winter and spring and how nearby trees would shade the shed, Rocco said.
“You have to be careful about placing it in proximity to trees,” said Rocco, who took pictures of the shadows from nearby trees at two- to three-week intervals in February and March to see the impact their shade would have on her shed.
Yvonne Procuniar and her husband, Tim, designed and built a combination greenhouse/storage shed in the back yard of their home in Bellbrook, Ohio, just outside of Dayton. (You can see pictures of the shed on their Web site: ygh.home.att.net).
“I didn’t want anything elaborate. But we talked about it over the winter, and it kept getting bigger and bigger. We built it in 1997,” Yvonne Procuniar said.
The Procuniars’ freestanding greenhouse/shed is 20 by 16 feet with a wall down the center that separates the greenhouse from the shed. The south side is the greenhouse; the north side is the shed. “I start my geraniums in December. I also take cuttings of things like amaryllis, and I grow orchids and poinsettias. I overwinter some of my favorite annuals. I don’t have to buy any bedding plants in the spring,” Procuniar said.
The Procuniars’ greenhouse has electricity, plumbing, and exhaust fans. The fans are on a thermostat and the temperature is set at 83 degrees in the summer. They use a propane heater in the winter to keep the temperature between 55 and 60 degrees, Procuniar said.
It’s important to keep your greenhouse as clean as possible. When this is overlooked, diseases and insects can rapidly become a problem.
“The first year, the thing that got me was insects. It’s the perfect environment for them. You need to have very healthy plants,” Procuniar said.
Procuniar said she wards off insects and disease by keeping plants healthy with fertilizer.
“I’m not a master gardener. It’s just a hobby that I love doing. It’s a lot of trial and error. I looked at a lot of different kits and magazines,” she said.
Types of greenhouses
A home greenhouse can be attached to a house or garage, or it can be a free-standing structure. When deciding on the type of structure, be sure to plan for adequate bench space, storage space and room for future expansion.
Lean-to. A lean-to greenhouse is a half greenhouse, split along the peak of the roof, or ridge line. Lean-tos are useful where space is limited to a width of about 7 to 12 feet, and they are the least expensive structures. The ridge of the lean-to is attached to a building using one side and an existing doorway, if available.
Even-span. An even-span is a full-size structure that has one gable end attached to another building. It is usually the largest and most costly option, but it provides more usable space and can be lengthened. The even-span has a better shape than a lean-to for air circulation to maintain uniform temperatures during the winter heating season.
Window-mounted. A window-mounted greenhouse can be attached on the south or east side of a house. This glass enclosure gives space for conveniently growing a few plants at relatively low cost. The special window extends outward from the house a foot or so and can contain two or three shelves.
Free-standing. Free-standing greenhouses are separate structures; they can be set apart from other buildings to get more sun and can be made as large or small as desired. A separate heating system is needed, and electricity and water must be installed.
Source: University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service
