DIY, Low-cost and Multipurpose Greenhouses

Use recycled materials to create an affordable garden greenhouse so you can enjoy fresh food all year long!

October/November 2009
By Troy Griepentrog 
Greenhouse recycled windows
Image Gallery
Brian Koehl built this greenhouse using recycled windows.
WILLIAM D. ADAMS
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On a blustery winter day, what could be better than spending time picking fresh greens in a warm greenhouse?

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Greenhouses can be used for more than starting seedlings. With the right design and proper management, your greenhouse can easily produce food year-round. (See Expert Advice for Greenhouse Growing.)

And a “greenhouse” can easily serve multiple purposes. If you want your greenhouse to double as a workshop or studio, include large roof overhangs on the south side to shade the windows in summer (or cover glass areas with heavy shade cloth).

Need a guesthouse from time to time? Make your building taller and install a sleeping loft. (See Build a Greenhouse: The Amazing, Low-cost, Multipurpose, Solar-heated Greenhouse/Guesthouse.)

The key to making a DIY greenhouse affordable is working with recycled windows and/or glass doors. Thousands of these items are thrown away each year as homeowners remodel. Locate your glass first, then design your greenhouse frame around it. Most communities have a few salvage yards that handle windows, or you can call companies that install new windows. They’re likely to have a supply of cheap — or even free — windows.

To find salvaged materials in your area, check auctions, garage sales, freecycle.org, craigslist.com or a Habitat ReStore.

Be sure to look through all the photos in the Image Gallery.

We hope this collection of greenhouse ideas will inspire you to design and build your own greenhouse. Tell us about your DIY greenhouse that you’ve made from recycled materials! Just send an e-mail to letters@MotherEarthNews.com.

A Classy Greenhouse from Recycled Windows

I start almost all my vegetables from seeds and propagate roses and other ornamentals from cuttings. My yard is full of plants that came from other plants. I am a Texas Master Gardener, as is my wife, Loraine. I’m also certified as a plant propagation specialist by Texas A&M University, and I teach propagation at the extension office in Houston.

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