DIY Covered Greenhouse Garden

DIY Covered Greenhouse Garden

Learn how to make your own covered greenhouse garden. Use this simple idea to help out your plants.

Materials:

• 2x6s in redwood (or 2x12s, which are significantly more expensive) cut to desired lengths
• 2x2s for cover frame (cut to match your 2×6 lengths)
• 2x4s for corner bracing
• Wood screws (coated for weather resistance)
• 10′ 1/2″ PVC pipe
• Pipe clamps
• Large weave wire mesh
• Chicken wire or other small weave mesh
• Zip Ties (for securing mesh to PVC)
• Plastic sheeting or garden cloth (at least 12′ wide and twice the length of your garden)
• Staple gun + staples
• 2 Hinges
• 2 Eye hooks
• 6 ft chain cut into 3 ft lengths

Tools:

• Miter Saw
• Drill
• Staple gun

Step 1:

Assemble a raised garden frame with 2x12s (or stacked 2x6s to keep costs down) and staple a small-weave mesh to the underside to protect from burrowing pests. I totally unnecessarily used pocket holes for the joints, but a simple butt joint is fine. My garden is 4′ x 8′, and I don’t recommend going wider than 4′, otherwise your arches will be too low.

Step 2:

Create the frame for your cover using 2x2s, with 2x4s for corner bracing. The frame should be the same length and width as your raised garden frame.

Step 3:

Bend 10-ft PVC pipes to create the arches and attach them to the cover frame with pipe clamps. Tip: drive a screw directly through the pipe into the frame to keep it from slipping out of the clamp.

Step 4:

Tie a large-weave wire mesh to the PVC arches using zip-ties, wire, or electrical tape. This adds a nice layer of structural support. Alternatively you could forego the wire mesh and use 2x2s for bracing.

Step 5:

Staple plastic or a medium or heavy weight garden fabric over the frame. I initially used plastic, but after finding that temperatures got too high, I switched to fabric.

Step 6:

Determine which side your cover will hinge from (Tip: make sure you will be able to access your plants easily when the cover is open). Attach two hinges between the cover and the base on this side, and about 3 ft of chain to each side, perpendicular to the hinged side.

Step 7:

Fill the bed with your favorite soil mix and plant those plants!

Source: apartmenttherapy.com, ayayay.tv