BUYING A GREENHOUSE

I would try to actually see the greenhouse before committing myself. Brochures are all very well, but they don't let you walk in and out and imagine yourself working in the greenhouse.

Does it have enough headroom?

Enough ventilation that is easy to adjust, and/or automatic vents?

Does the door fit well, and can you fix some kind of mesh over the doorway for when you want to leave it standing open but not have cats sleeping on your plants, or birds flying in and getting trapped?

Could you fit an automatic watering system if/when you wanted to?

How about heating?

Does it have staging and if so is it the kind you want?

Can you clean the glass without slicing any fingers ? (mine has lethal overlaps, so the only cleaning it gets is with a hose)

Buy a bigger one than the minimum - like freezers you can always use more space.

We thought we would like a greenhouse and went to a place outside Cambridge Greenhouse Direct (they advertise everywhere). The expert advice came to far in excess of what we thought budget wise and decided to defer for another year. When I did some sums it made vegetables very expensive and as we have a twice weekly market where veg is plentiful and cheap plus a south facing garden to grow our own I dont think we will be doing it. Having said that people get a great deal of pleasure from their greenhouses so its not all about a cost benefit exercise- they are quite expensive done properly though.

As others have said, try to see it before you buy, build quality varies a lot, you will get what you pat for. However you should be able to get a better dealo online for a quality product. I purchased a Halls green house 40 years ago, still going strong.
Go for the biggest you can fit in, 8ft x 6ft minimum. It is worth getting automatic vents, they are not very expensive and help keep the temperature even. Mine is glass, but I would go for a multi wall polycarbonate, holds heat better and much safer with grandchildren about.

As others have said, try to see it before you buy, build quality varies a lot, you will get what you pat for. However you should be able to get a better dealo online for a quality product. I purchased a Halls green house 40 years ago, still going strong.
Go for the biggest you can fit in, 8ft x 6ft minimum. It is worth getting automatic vents, they are not very expensive and help keep the temperature even. Mine is glass, but I would go for a multi wall polycarbonate, holds heat better and much safer with grandchildren about.

Thank you all for your comments - I've now found somewhere locally that has dozens of greenhouses on show so OH and I are off to do further research. I'm not bothered about growing vegetables just yet (that may come) but I really want to try my hand at experimentation with flowers - cross-pollination etc but I don't want to spend a small fortune on a greenhouse. Have you seen some of the prices!!

My father advised to go for larger than you think you need - you'll soon fill it. Have found that to be good advice. Automatic vents are a must. I find ours is a lovely place to work when the weather is yucky but I want to be 'outside'. Very restful.

Would love automatic vents. But I had a budget, which I spent at Waltons. The GH is reasonably ok, but I had trouble with the base which simply did not fit! The thing that really drove me up the wall was that I could not get them to understand what was the matter with it - that the holes for fastening it together were in the wrong place.
I finally gave up and bought drill bits for metal and drilled holes in the right place, after which it fitted fine......
I wouldn't go back to them.

Another source for a green house would be Freegle (freecycle) they are often available in our area.

I've finally bought my greenhouse today. We went to see the Greenhousepeople site at Uttoxeter, and the people there were very helpful. I'd had a catalogue from them with special offers, and it turned out we got the one I wanted for even less than the offer price, with a big coldframe thrown in as well. Very good quality and I would recommend them. I'm really chuffed and looking forward to receiving it in a couple of weeks. Now OH has to get the area where it's going to be placed ready for it's arrival.

Message deleted by Gransnet.

Reported god loves a trier.