Grow Your Own Magazine

bought one of those plastic walk-in 'cheapo' green houses for £30.00 about two weeks ago. assembled it and half way through building the plastic joints snapped. got given a replacement from store. had a second attempt and bingo, all sorted for the coming months up the lotty. today i went up to check on it as it is windy in cardiff. the whole thing had been ripped from the ground!
the base, which i had placed many heavy fire bricks on was the only part still in place. the wind had just ripped apart all the plastic joints which held the metal uprights in place. So even if the green house is well grounded the weak points are the plastic joints. Unamused i gathered the scattered parts and dumped them on the counter of my local wilkinsons store. the manager was near by and i got a full refund and a new green house for free(for what it's worth).
would just like to say BEWARE, these are obviously not meant for the british climate. i don't think i will bother trying to put up a third one!
does anyone have any suggestions on what i can do with it? perhaps i could just put up the frame and grow some climbing beans on it or something??

I have one of these, and was going to save it for when the weather's a bit better and put my peppers and aubs in pots in it. Mindful of other threads on this subject, I've tried to find it a very sheltered spot.

Lat year, I put mine up in a sheltered corner of my back garden, but later in the year. I think they are suitable for bringing on seedlings when the weather gets warmer, and hopefully, less windy.

I bought a large plastic greenhouse off ebay last year (before I got my real one) I only had it up a few days - a few gusts of wind and it was, to put it politely, no good! The wind had even ripped the anchoring holes from the pegs which were supposed to keep it in place!

I havent had any problems with the small ones, but they were put outside later in the year. They aren't intended for allotments methinks. I guess you "pays your money and takes your choice" unfortunately, some of us don't have lots of £ to spend.

I'm actually using a couple inside my greenhouse, as a "mini greenhouse" this year and am having good results so far.

Bernie aka Dexterdog

PS Andrew - I spent my uni days in Cardiff (Llandaff) (way back in the 1980s) whereabouts are you? I know there has been a lot of investment in Cardiff and if I came back I probably wouldnt recognise anywhere! Happy days and happy memories!

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

You could always replace the plastic with netting and use it as a small fruit cage. Won't be the biggest in the world but at least you won't have wasted your money altogether

PS Andrew - I spent my uni days in Cardiff (Llandaff) (way back in the 1980s) whereabouts are you? I know there has been a lot of investment in Cardiff and if I came back I probably wouldnt recognise anywhere! Happy days and happy memories![/quote]

hi bernie, i live in roath at present, not too far from Llandaff. i don't know if you ever made it to roath park, but my allotment is near by. As cardiff goes, i barely recognise it myself these days. it always had a town feel, with the ammenities of a city, but it has become very conjested in the last few years. i rarely venture into the city centre but when i do its hard to believe the amount of change that goes on. Llandaff is now considered to be one of the most prosperous areas of cardiff, it's where all the 'actors' hang out, as its close to the bbc studios.

p.s (skegblade), not a bad idea about the fruit cage, cheers.

Hi Andrew - sorry to hear about your greenhouse , same thing happened to me, i was just gonna give up on the plastic thing but i decided to give it another go. I reinforced all the joints with gaffa tape and stuck the rips in the plastic, i added some more guide ropes and weighed it down inside with growbags, pots etc. So far its staying up and is much more stable - now able to withstand the wind
But hey if you dont wanna do all that the netting idea sounds good too!!
good luck

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The closer to nature I become the more alive I am!

http://www.freakshoweb.com

Ours broke several times - in the end hubby made the frame out of wood and screwed it to the woodern fence in our graden - its not going anywhere now!

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http://warmanallotment.blogspot.com/

ours has been fine but is placed in a very sheltered spot in the back garden, walls and fence all around it.

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Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

Mine too - I must have been pretty lucky as I've had it for several years and the plastic hasn't ripped (touch wood) or the frame pulled apart and it was a cheapo one in a B&Q sale. I have it in a reasonably sheltered area of the garden against the back of the garage wall. It's there all year round and only has a couple of bricks on the bottom shelf to give it a bit of extra weight. Hopefully will give it a good scrub this weekend ready for putting young plants in prior to planting out. Looking out the window now, you'd think it was summer!

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Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

I had the same thing happen to me, despite bricks, bags, pots and shelter against the house a strong wind blew it up like a kite and split the plastic. I came home to find seedlings and pots blow around the drive Ever since the framework has stayed up but keeping the plastic off for now and later in the month when the weather is clam I'll use it as a coldframe.

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http://gardenfan.blogspot.com

these plastic greenhouses, are they by the same people who make chocolate teapots?

I've bought a couple, they've all been ripped to pieces. Are we eejits for believing they'll withstand our climate, ie do we deserve to be conned by the retailers ? Buyer beware? Or should they be printed with a warning to only 'plant' them in very sheltered positions?

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

If you buy a tube of silicone sealant at the same time, and put a big squirt in each joint before pushing the pole bit in, they last a lot longer!

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Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

we got one and the day we put it up we snaped a joint as well held together with gafa tape

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Some things in their natural state have the most VIVID colors
Dobby

To be honest they are crap, cheaply made, cheaply conceived by somebody to make a quick buck and cheaply shipped from cheapland itself, China!!

If anyone has a spear T joint for the frunt of a big plastic green house we have a home for it pm ether me or Mrs D and we will send you some seeds for it thanks

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Some things in their natural state have the most VIVID colors
Dobby

One of the dudes on our allotment has anchored his by building a little "fence" around it (posts driven into the ground) that comes about halfway up the sides of the greenhouse, and then used webbing straps looped over the top of it to hold it down. The seams have been reinforced with some good old gaffer tape and it seems that they're staying put...

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Tuscany update - 27th September

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I only have room for one of the very small plastic greenhouses & the first one I had did indeed take off in heavy wind complete with seedlings, pots & trays one year but since then I've always anchored it down with a brick or two in the bottom. It's now sited on the patio in a corner next to the fence & wall so is protected a little. They don't last very long though, the weather gets them one way or another, I've just bought a new cover for mine as the sun seems to have caused the plastic to deteriorate & drop out from between the webbing. Lasts a few years but probably more economical in the long run to spend on a glass/aluminium/wood one if you have the room.

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

Are we allowed to name names?? I've bought four of these this year, the first was from focus, got it half price and it's been superb, but it is against the south wall of the house. I bought 2 from Pound Stretcher, again no problems and good value at a tenner but not as tall as I would have liked (the focus one is better).

Finally spent £30 on a walk in one from B&Q.. what a waste of money, not deep enough to take 2 seed trays, the guy rope points have broken and the seams have gone next to the zips...

On the plus side the framework stayed together and is now used as staging in my £40 ebay greenhouse, so it wasn't a total loss