How to Build a 600 Sq Foot Greenhouse for Less Than $5000

Growing your own food has numerous advantages. Produce is fresh, easily available, taste better, and is guaranteed to be organic. Growing your own also enables you to take another step toward self sufficiency and sustainability. However, if you live in a challenging climate, you may need to utilize a greenhouse in order to take full advantage of the growing season. 

That said, commercial greenhouses can be expensive. Depending on the size, you can easily spend $10,000.  You can get around that by a DIY project. In this post, learn how to build a 600 square foot greenhouse for less than $5,000.

Advantages to a Greenhouse

#1 Longer Growing Season

This is the obvious first advantage to having a greenhouse. You can easily extend the growing season even if you live in a cold climate. I happen to live at 10,000 feet elevation in Colorado. Having a greenhouse allows me to extend my growing season by 3 months.

#2 Protection from Bad Weather

There is nothing more disheartening than having all your hard work destroyed in a matter of minutes by a bad storm. I have had this happen to me more than once. But, my greenhouse prevents that from happening.

#3 Protection from Predators

One of the things I love the most about where I live is all the critters. But, some of that joy goes away when they eat my garden. In so many ways, the greenhouse prevents that from happening.  Moles, deer, squirrels, mice, pack rats all seem to love those tender, tasty garden plants.

#4 Create the Optimum Growing Environment

Since temperature and moisture can easily be regulated in a greenhouse, you can create the optimum growing environment for many vegetables.

#5 Growing Vegetables Free of Pesticides

I question the logic of there being an "acceptable level" of pesticides in commercially produced vegetables. Growing you own veggies in a greenhouse allows you to control the environment and go pesticide free.

#6 Keep Beneficial Insects Inside

Nuisance insects are difficult to control. However, some insects, such as ladybugs are very beneficial. With a greenhouse, you can at least partially contain a healthy population of insects. We often raise ladybugs and then release them inside the greenhouse as a means of natural pest control.

#7 Garden in Any Weather

Bad weather, no problem. Many times I have worked inside my greenhouse during a hard rain. No problem.

#8 Grow a Greater Variety of Plants

Having a controlled environment allows you to grow a greater variety of plants. For example, we grow some tropical plants in our greenhouse even at 10,000 feet elevation.

#9 Portability

Depending on the type of greenhouse you built, you may have the option of moving it when you want.

#10 Ability to Customize

In my  opinion, this is one of the greatest advantages of building a greenhouse. You can customize the design in so many ways.

I built a greenhouse for all of the reasons listed above, except portability of course. If you have the desire to build a greenhouse, then check out the video above and learn exactly what I did.

Go off grid and live well,

Patrick