The Profitable Greenhouse

I still didn’t feel I was making enough to expand the greenhouse. So, what I did instead was double the growing space by switching to a double deck bench system inside the greenhouse. This actually was beneficial to me twofold. Not only did it provide me with a larger growing area, it also solved a shading problem I was having.

What I did was put a full length bench, which measured about 2 feet wide, as opposed to the two 3 foot wide benches I already had. These benches also had legs which made them stand about 2 feet high. I put one 2 foot wide bench on top of each of the original 3 foot wide benches I had in the greenhouse.

I also customized the top benches by inlaying 3 inch deep steel trays. These steel trays are made out of galvanized steel, for better durability. The purpose of these galvanized metal trays was to prevent dripping of water from the upper benches to the lower benches.

As mentioned above, these additional benches maximized my growing space; they also gave me some much needed shade for some of my plants. These upper level benches cut off some of the light to the lower level benches. The partial shade created, made an excellent place to grow African violets in.

I could use any space closest to the glass on the south side as well as all the space on the upper level benches to put sun loving plants. These areas were still getting full sunshine. By using the double deck bench system, I was able to give the plants more room.

One sure killer of plants is overcrowding. If a plant is too overcrowded it will not be able to grow symmetrically or worse yet, die. It also allowed for better air flow around each plant. Good air circulation is a must, to help combat fungus and plant diseases.

In your greenhouse, you may work out the use of space a little or a lot differently. It always depends on what you want to grow and also on the limitations your particular site may have as to light. It’s usually a good idea to solve some of the space problems gradually as experience indicates.

On the south-side, top-deck bench, I place potted seedlings of gloxinias (hybrids from crosses involving gloxinias and rechsteinerias). Here, too, I place starting tubers as well as plants which have finished flowering and are ripening seeds. On the north-side top deck, I set flats of episcias and rooted glox-inera cuttings. Trailers such as aeschynanthus, columnea, cissus, ceropegia (rosary vine), and plectranthus take up little space and do a good job of covering the sides of the galvanized tray.

On the lowest bench, close to the windows on the south side, I have slipper gloxinias and their South American relatives, the red- and orange-flowered rechsteinerias, as well as more gloxinias, a few species amaryllis and pink polka-dot plants. The rest of the first-level bench area, shaded by the top deck, is devoted to African violets. Additional space is gained by hanging baskets from the ceiling. I plant kohleria, columnea, and some orchids in these. I think hanging baskets always make a greenhouse more attractive.

Another great source for potential revenue is sub divisions. Most people who live in a sub division don’t have the time, energy, or interest for gardening.

However, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t like to add a touch of beauty to their home, by the way of your colourful plants. Especially, if you can offer these plants to these home owners at a cost, they just couldn’t say no to.

These types of people aren’t the clientele that local florists would target. The only other competition you’d have is places that sell plants at their locations. However, if you went door to door, and took the plants to these home owners, you could be very successful at selling your plants. After all, people are pressed for time, if you add the convenience of bringing the plants to them, you’re that much further ahead.

“No Heat” Greenhouse Design

Heat is not essential for all kinds of greenhouse gardening. Although gloxinias, for instance, usually are grown in a well-heated house, a Minneapolis man has found out how to make a tidy profit from them without heat. In late February, he starts seedlings in his kitchen windows and in his basement under fluorescent lights. When the weather warms up in late April, he moves the seedlings to an unheated pit greenhouse. By August, when the local market is just right for selling gloxinias in flower, he has quantities-and florists clamor for them. Actually he could sell many more if he wanted to expand his little project. And this is carried on in a greenhouse, without heat, in Minnesota’s cold north country.

Two important pieces of equipment you must have inside your greenhouse are benches and shelves. You can have the benches constructed from various types of material.

For example, you can have benches which are made from redwood, cypress, asbestos with slatted or solid surfaces. While some growers put the plants they are growing right on top of the benches, it’s not the best way.

It’s better if you can inset some trays into the benches, to help prevent the moisture from ruining the bench. For the benches in my greenhouse, I prefer to use steel trays, which are galvanized steel, to put the plants on. For added protection, I put 2 inches of pea rock inside the trays, and then I put the potted plants on top of the pea rock in the steel trays.

Some people create a wooden tray into the benches. Some growers construct a wooden tray for the bench and put soil and build it into the bench. They then put potting soil in the wooden tray and grow the plants directly in the bench. You could also put sand in the tray and push pots down into the sand. If you keep the sand damp, it will give your pot some additional humidity and will also keep the pot cooler.

An asbestos bench 3 feet wide, up to 49 feet long, with 6½-inch sides, including pipe and fittings, retails for about $4.00 per linear foot (or at least it did when I bought one a while ago). Shelves can be of glass or wood. You can purchase ready-made ones, or start out by making a few of your own and adding more as your operation expands.

One typical, small, portable, plastic greenhouse comes packed in a do-it-yourself kit. The 6- by 8- by 7-foot model sells for under $80.00.

Extra 4-foot sections are available so you can extend the house as much as you wish. The manufacturer claims it will stand up under 50-degree-below-zero weather. He recommends for it a $15.00 electric heater.

A manufacturer of portable greenhouses puts out a delightful 10- by 12-foot Fiberglas house with an aluminum frame. This house eliminates hail damage, glass replacement, and periodic painting. Still another manufacturer of portable greenhouses includes with his greenhouses a Fiberglas roof.

Crops for the Transparent Portable Greenhouse

The uses for the portable plastic greenhouses are the same as you would have for a cold greenhouse. You would want to put spring bedding plants and vegetables in it. In the summer time you can use it to put bigger types of specimen plants in it. You may also use your portable plastic greenhouse for such plants as African violets, wax begonias, geraniums,  and others.

The conditions inside the plastic portable greenhouse create a fantastic environment for your plants. These types of greenhouses are ventilated well and the climate inside isn’t much different than the climate inside traditional glass greenhouses.

One thing to mention about ventilation; if your portable plastic greenhouse comes with only one side ventilation area, you should put a fan inside. This fan will help to ensure there is ample circulation of fresh air in both winter and summer time.

If you prefer to grow plants which like shade, whatever you do, don’t use anything which is constructed from a linseed oil base. This linseed oil will be absorbed by the plastic and you will never be able to get it out of the plastic.

Other Uses for Plastic

You can use either transparent or corrugated plastic for the glazing of your cold frame or lath greenhouse. You can use these structures for hardening off your annual and perennial seedlings.

Glass-House Gardener’s Club

One fantastic idea which you may consider emulating is one that comes from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They call themselves the ”Glass House Gardener’s Club.”

What makes this group so special is how they are there to help each other.

They get together on a regular basis and talk about their successful growing methods. They also talk about any testing they may have done. As well as sharing their mistakes, so others can not make them, or to learn from the others where they possibly went wrong. This makes for easier under-glass growing for all and offers pleasant social contact, too.

Once you have established your own greenhouse business, you won’t mind the fact that most of the plants are only rent-paying tenants (or profit-making transients). You will enjoy these plant “guests” because they pay expenses and net you some profit too-profit that, if nothing else, will permit you to enjoy your own plants without tight-budget worries. ”Money doesn’t grow on trees,” you’ll find, but you can make it grow in a home greenhouse.

Before she knew it, this hobby was actually becoming a full blown business venture.

In fact, she became so successful thanks to her greenhouse supply business; she now owns four large greenhouses. It all started with her specializing in the following types of plants: gesneriads, (African violets, etc…) and bedding plants such as: Coleus, wax begonias, and geraniums.

Believe it or not, you can actually sometimes make more money from the seeds of the plants; then you can the actual plants. For example, there is one type of seed, the newer variety of saintpaulias. These seeds can fetch up to $750 per ounce. You will never have a problem finding buyers if you can specialize in seeds which come from rare types of plants or extra fine strains of garden and house plants.

Help Yourself-Take Courses

If you would like to become more of a professional, it’s not difficult to do. All you would need to do is take some courses. You can either take courses to become a florist, or you can learn to be a landscape nurseryman.

Did you know that on average it takes a new business 5-7 years to turn a profit? What If I told you that my greenhouse plant growing business paid for the greenhouse I built within and was turning a nice profit within 9 months of operation? My greenhouse is by no means a small one either.

My greenhouse is a 12 foot greenhouse that also has an annex area in it, which I use as a work space. The best part of all is that my original greenhouse, the one mentioned above, did so fabulously well, I was able to use some of my profits and expand my greenhouse to twice the size. That only took me 4 short years to accomplish. In the time frame other kinds of businesses’ struggle just to stay above water; I was already producing healthy profits. What follows is my story; feel free to use any of the information for your own profit making greenhouse.

Unlike most other types of business my initial cash outlay, was peanuts, compared to the costs of getting other types of businesses’ up and running. I had a 12 foot greenhouse built with an annex.

The cost including labour and materials was a measly $900. If you think it took a long time for the greenhouse to be put together from start to finish, think again. It took a mere 3 weeks for my greenhouse to be constructed. In fact, I can even give you the specific days, the foundation was put down on May first; I had plants inside the greenhouse ready to grow by May twenty first.

The annex mentioned above, is actually situated between the opening into our house and the main entrance into the greenhouse. I had the greenhouse built so that it would be attached to the house. The annex into my greenhouse, that comes in very handy as a work room, measures 11 feet wide and is 552 feet long.

The greenhouse I originally built isn’t gigantic, by any means, nor is it a small greenhouse. It measured 9 feet wide by 12 feet long. When I was planning on having this greenhouse built, I planned ahead. I ensured that the greenhouse could be expanded upon.

In doing so, I bought a bigger and more costly heating unit than what was necessary for the size greenhouse I initially built. I’m very happy I made this decision. I did, as mentioned, double the size of my greenhouse in 4 short years. Now I am getting maximum use from the larger heating unit I purchased.

When I think about the greenhouse, it’s kind of a very fascinating concept. I can grow many different types of plants inside of it, yet they all grow and flourish together. I chose to have the greenhouse constructed so that it is attached on the west side of the house. The longer sides of the greenhouse are north and southern facing.

You shouldn’t limit yourself on the types of plants you grow. You should try and grow both sun and shade loving types of plants. Both types of plants can produce a very tidy profit when grown in a greenhouse. The plants which need the direct sunlight I put on the south side of my greenhouse. The temperature range inside my greenhouse is 70-75 degrees F during the day. At night the temperature can fluctuate between 60-65 degrees.

Or you can purchase the material you need (new or used), and have some local labor come in and build your greenhouse. Or you can do it yourself, perhaps with some help from your family.

If you are a little bit handy when it comes to building things, a pre-built greenhouse may be a good option for you. In fact, a pre-built greenhouse isn’t very difficult to put together at all. You may need some minor help from friends or family to put the larger pieces together.

You also have three options when it comes to glazing your prefabricated greenhouse. You can use either regulation greenhouse glass panels, fibreglass, and lastly plastic. These materials are offered by a vast number of companies; you can easily obtain them and shop around for the best prices. As the planning stages of your greenhouse progresses, you’ll find that you have other choices that you will have to make a decision about.

Where to Place Your Greenhouse

One critical decision you will have to make is where exactly on your property you’ll want to have the greenhouse built. This actually isn’t as simple as you may think. It’s imperative that where you put the greenhouse you’ll have easy access to it. What will take some planning on your part is to be sure the location gets maximum sun exposure. This is absolutely necessary for a greenhouse.

It doesn’t matter if you only plan on growing plants that grow best in full or partial shade. You’ll still want to make sure you have the greenhouse built where it gets ample sunlight. Just because you plan on growing shade lovers today, doesn’t mean you won’t want to grow some sun loving plants in the future.

You’ll find there are many profitable sun loving plants too. You don’t want to limit your income potential because you didn’t choose a sunny spot for your greenhouse. It’s much easier to shade a greenhouse than it is to get sunshine into a greenhouse. Put your greenhouse in a sun filled location.

One substitute you can use for natural sunshine are Fluorescent and incandescent lighting. This type of lighting can help to ensure your plants get the critical light they need for photosynthesis in the winter or during overcast days. However, you do not want this type of lighting to be your primary source for light. Especially, considering you’re paying to have those lights on and the sunlight doesn’t cost anything. These types of lighting are okay for special situations or areas that have lighting problems, which will be talked about further down.

When planning your greenhouse, be sure to properly plan for a potting bench. Make sure you allow ample room for the potting bench.

Some of you may not want to waste the space on a potting bench. You’d rather use the maximum space you can for growing surface area. This is completely understandable. This can be overcome. If you have the greenhouse built so that it attaches to your house, you can emulate what I have done.

In my house, I have a utility room and this is where the opening into the greenhouse is. Within this room, I have a cabinet which has a 5/2 foot base. The top part of this cabinet serves as my potting bench. The shelves come in very handy for me. I put all the pots and potting materials inside of them. I also have a greenhouse annex. The annex is between the utility room and the greenhouse itself. In this annex, I have also put another cabinet. This cabinet also comes in very handy. I store all my plant maintenance materials inside of it. For example, I put insecticides, fungicides, labels and fertilizers inside of this cabinet.

Many people who have a greenhouse simply use an area of their garage for storage of planting materials and they also use the space for potting. This is ideal if are in a warmer climate or have a garage which is heated. If you don’t have a heated garage or live in a cold climate, this isn’t going to work too well for you. Most of your potting must be done in the winter months.

If you want a greenhouse for profit, you will have to decide what type of small greenhouse you want to have.

You have many different possibilities when it comes to picking a little greenhouse. The least expensive and most economical greenhouse you have available is what is referred to as a pit greenhouse. There is also the lean to greenhouse, and an attached to the dwelling greenhouse. If you want a greenhouse that is known to have the best exterior in terms of aesthetics you can get a free standing greenhouse.

However, let’s keep one thing in mind, the primary goal of having a greenhouse isn’t for show. You can have the most gorgeous looking greenhouse in the world, but if it isn’t producing profit, it doesn’t matter – no matter how small it is. Conversely, you could have the biggest eye soar of a greenhouse but if it’s producing a 5 or 6 figure income for you, that doesn’t matter either. Just like with people, it’s not the outside that counts; it’s what’s on the inside that matters.

If you’re good at building and construction, you can build your whole greenhouse yourself. You could even get the family involved. This could be an ideal family activity for everyone to get involved with. If you are somewhat handy with building and construction, you can build as much of it as you can and then have a professional complete it.

For example, with my greenhouse I had a cement contractor pour the foundation and walkway. The rest of the greenhouse construction, I did myself. If you think building a profitable greenhouse is out of your reach economically, think again. You can have a fantastic greenhouse built for a total cash outlay of $200 or less. If cost isn’t an issue, you can also build very large greenhouses with all the bells and whistles for thousands and tens of thousands of dollars. Whatever budget you’re on you can build a greenhouse.

You can build with inexpensive second-hand materials from an old dismantled greenhouse, buy all new material, build a plastic greenhouse or construct your house with completely or partially prefabricated sections.