Guest Author - Jessica Carson
Last winter I was looking for a small greenhouse for my deck so we could get a jump-start on our container garden vegetables. We live near the ocean so mornings and evenings can be cool and foggy, and the days sometimes, too. Since we love to grow peppers (all varieties), tomatoes, cucumber, and melons, finding a way to keep our seedlings warm was critical to our early success.
I had three main criteria that I looked to fulfill in a greenhouse:
1.Small size – 3 foot wide by 2 foot deep maximum
2.Inexpensive – less than $100
3.Sturdy and built to last longer than one season
I shopped around, and the 2-shelf and 4-shelf Juliana Grow Racks looked like the best choice so I placed an order.
The boxes arrived a week later, and I will admit I was a bit skeptical. The boxes seemed too small to hold all the parts for the greenhouses as I envisioned them, but looks can be deceiving. All the parts were there and as described, just packed very economically.
The instructions were easy to follow and it took less than five minutes to assemble the first grow rack. All powder-coat painted steel uprights and crossbars slip into well-designed heavy-duty plastic side beams. Two painted-steel wire grids sit across the steel crossbars to complete each shelf. Finally, the UV-coated clear PVC plastic cover slips over the frame and ties to the uprights to ensure it stays in place.
The lower shelves are 13 inches apart and the top shelf has 15 inches of growing room at the sides and 18 ½ inches at the center – more than adequate for starting your young plants. The wire grid shelves can be easily removed if you need more growing room, such as to use the grow rack to extend your growing season in the fall.
The grow racks are well designed and well made. At first I thought the wire grid shelves were too thin, but their design plus the strength of the steel center supports make them more than adequate. The zippers on the plastic cover are heavy-duty and held up very well. The cloth ties for tying the access door out of the way also held up well. The cover is what I expected to wear out first on the grow rack, but I'm happy to say it looks like it will be good for at least a second season. The UV coating obviously works. And when the cover finally does wear out or suffers some accident, replacement covers are available. I can buy a new one and will not have to purchase a complete new rack.
The only problem I had with the Juliana grow racks was that they worked too well! On days where the fog burned off by afternoon the temperature inside the racks exceeded 120 degrees F and killed off my first seedlings. Moving the grow racks to a location with afternoon shade and opening the access door slightly solved the problem, but I recommend watching your grow racks closely at first to make sure you don't repeat my mistake. Next year I plan to rig up a simple temperature sensitive fan system to help control the environment inside the grow racks.
So how did we do with filling the criteria for a good patio greenhouse? Excellent!
1.Small size – 3 foot wide by 2 foot deep maximum
The Juliana grow racks are small, with only a 27 inch wide by 19 inch deep footprint. The two-shelf version is 35 inches tall and the four shelf version is 63 inches in height
2.Inexpensive – less than $100
Both the two-shelf and four-shelf versions are well under $100, and most dealers offer free shipping, as well.
3.Sturdy and built to last longer than one season
The grow racks held up very well for their first season and are ready for at least another. And the ready availability of replacement plastic covers makes them a great investment.
Juliana Mini Greenhouses at Outdoordecor.com
