This web site is my attempt to show how to build a simple greenhouse simply and affordably. The pictures in this blog are from several greenhouses in Western North Carolina. The design was put together by my dad, John Wilson of Black Mountain, NC. I'm not sure which aspects were his and which he borrowed from others. Thanks to Arthur Morgan School and Calvin Allen for their greenhouses where I took photos as well as my own.

The basics:

Put rebar pieces in the ground in two rows 10 ft. apart. The rebar should be 2 ft. apart in the rows. I dug holes in the ground about a foot deep and then put in the rebars and poured concrete around them. These pieces of rebar stuck out of the ground approximately 16 inches. Some who build these greenhouses do not pour concrete but just pound rebar pieces in the ground. You must make your own choice on the best path for you.



One thing to consider regarding the concrete footers for the rebar is that greenhouses in windy locations can be picked up by the wind and turned over making a mess of your work if they are not secured properly to the ground. If you are in a windy location I suggest using concrete at every 3rd or 4th piece of rebar and after the PVC is installed drill a hole through the PVC and rebar and put a small bolt or nail through the hole to keep your greenhouse from being blown away.

I decided to build my greenhouse 22 ft. long. You can make it larger or smaller depending on the space available and the size of greenhouse plastic you can find.

After the rebars are in place the construction will take about 2 - 4 hours with 2 - 4 people if you have basic construction skills. The rebar work was done a week or two before the greenhouse raising parties.