One Greenhouse on the Way

I ordered a greenhouse. I had decided on the Riga IVs model, after considering two other brands. The tiebreaker was the dutch door and large rear window on the Riga, that allowed lots of ventilation, while maintaining a barrier to keep my dogs out when they were in the yard. Of course, most of my adult white GSDs could easily jump the 3- or 4-foot height presented by the lower portion of the Dutch door, or even jump into the greenhouse through the rear window. The fact is, they wouldn't, because they are conditioned to respect such barriers.

The greenhouse should provide lots of room for my plants. I originally had focused on a 9' x 12' greenhouse. The Riga IVs is about 8' x 14', but that provides for pretty much the same 108 sqft as a 9' x 12' model. This is even better, because I can face the long side of the greenhouse to the South and get more sun exposure than if I had a shorter, but deeper, model.

After selecting the Riga, I narrowed the vendors down to two internet sales sites, 4SeasonGreenhouse.com and Outdora.com. Outdora had the better price by about $100, at $3099 for the Riga IVs and its appropriate base. But, 4SeasonGreenhouse had a button to push for price matching. When I pressed it, a blank email screen came up with the Subject field already filled in: Price Match. I briefly described what I was planning to purchase, and what the Outdora.com price was. In just over an hour, I received an email from Tim at 4SeasonGreenhouse.com saying that they planned to match and better the Outdora.com price. After a few more emails back and forth, I received 4SeasonGreenhouse's offer: $3025 for the same products, and with shipping still free. I called Tim at 4SeasonGreenhouse.com and discussed the rest of my order with him.

Along with the greenhouse and base, I bought some metal hooks and plastic hangers designed to be used with the Riga; an aluminum-coated shade cloth to keep the greenhouse cool in the summertime; a 10,000 BTU propane-powered heater; a digital min/max thermometer with hygrometer; and an anchor system. These items are detailed, as follows:

o The 20 metal hooks and 10 plastic hangers are designed to be suspended from the joints in the Riga frame, so that no holes have to be drilled in the frame ($55.44, after Tim threw in an extra set of hooks).

o The 14' x 8' Aluminet shade cloth is more effective at cooling the greenhouse when direct rays are reflected away from it, but is effective in reflecting low-angle radiation into the greenhouse, thus keeping the greenhouse warmer when the sun is not as direct, and cooler when the rays are more direct. The reflection of light into the greenhouse for low angles happens because the Aluminet fabric is a more open weave than a black shade cloth that is designed to absorb radiation, but not reflect it. The Aluminet shade cloth is about $50 more expensive than the corresponding black shade cloth I had been considering, but Tim says it is worth it. An explanation of this is at:

http://www.4seasongreenhouse.com/aluminet-shade-cloth-8x12-p-701.html

o The digital min/max greenhouse thermometer with hygrometer will be used to manage the temperature and humidity in the greenhouse. It not only registers the current temperature, but displays the highest and lowest temperatures reached over an extended period of time. This is important to ensure that the heating and ventilation provisions are adequate. Some plants can't stand very high temperatures while others can be damaged at low temperatures. Lettuce, for example, does well at in a 50 to 60 degree environment, but tomatoes need higher temperatures to bear fruit. The hygrometer would be used to check humidity, too high levels of humidity could promote fungal growth.

o The anchor system will be used at the four corners of the base unit, and midway along each long side of the base, to anchor the base into the soil so it isn't as likely to be blown away.

o PROBLEM! The propane heater was said to be a better fit than an electric one. Tim explained that the typical 1500-watt electric heater puts out only about 5000 BTU and would not provide enough heat for the fairly large greenhouse I was purchasing. Tim said the 10,000-BTU propane heater I ordered does not produce enough CO2 to require venting. I guessed at the time that this was because the greenhouse does not maintain a perfect air-tight seal from the outside, and there is typically enough exchange of air with the outside for a 10,000-BTU heater, to obviate the need for venting. However, I did a little research after ordering and found a site that said their 10,000-BTU Blue Flame propane heater would not work properly in an area much less than 300 sqft (http://www.heatershop.com/propane_space_heaters.html). The safety features would continually be shutting down the heater if the area served was much less than 300 sqft. Since the Riga IVs is only 108 sqft, this does not bode well for successful propane heating. I emailed and called back to Tim immediately and am waiting to hear from him on this issue. I may have to switch to a vented propane heater.