Question
WOW!!!! i am so lucky. After talking to my mom i told here how i was wanting to open a carnivorouse plant nersury when im out of school and colledge as a side job. And it just so happens i am doing horiculture in my Agriculture class at school. so i disscused with her and she is thinking about getting me my first professinal green house and i needed some advice on getting one. For example what kinds do you use. Now dont worry i will grow all my north american plants out side. what type do u guys use for your nepenthes and heliamphora and tropical sundews and butter worts i found one on this.. www.minigreenhousekits.com..
THe particular grrenhouse i have been looking at is The 6x6' Grownup green house which can be found under profesianal greenhouses. it is the barn shaped one. The only thing i am conserned about is the material its made of. will this let in too much light. And it says it comes with a shade net. will this be ok for it if the green house alone has to much light. And if this doesnt work could you please assist me in telling me a bit about your greenhouses and where you got them. Thanks

Answer
Hi Robert,

Our tropical greenhouses are these:  http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft1_greenhouses_accessories-ft1_profe  We use a double layer of the rip-stop fabric on the covering.  The Nepenthes house also has this layer that we just added for insulation since we heat this one the most:  http://www.solexx.com/greenhouse_coverings.html

The biggest thing I can recommend when it comes to greenhouses is go as big as you possibly can for the money you have.  You will outgrow one very fast.  The little 6x6 you looking at looks like a nice greenhouse, but I know you'll fill it super fast, especially if you are going to try and sell some plants.  My first greenhouse was an 11 x 12', and it took very little time to fill it.  Based on the strength, ease of heating it, light transmission, and the fact that shelves are built in, this would be my first choice of a first greenhouse:  http://www.greenhousecatalog.com/product/8-solexx-gardeners-oasis-greenhouse/sol  Solexx was great to work with when we bought our panels, and these are the best bang for the buck greenhouses I've ever seen.  They can take high wind, have a great R-value and are very strong.  They also have a no-nonsense type door which seems trivial, but I see that the greenhouse you're looking at has a sliding door.  I've had nothing but grief from any greenhouse with a sliding door.  I also know that this greenhouse is way, way more expensive than what you were looking at.  If you had a way to save for it, however, it would reward you with production, energy savings, and saved grief from a cheaper one.

We went with the ones we've got based on the size and strength for the money we had.  I would have preferred a Solexx greenhouse, but for the size we needed we just couldn't afford it.  However, we've fought problems with heat loss and short life of the coverings.  The coverings are reported to last 10 years.  We got 3.  Zippered end doors last about 2 years, and are a pain in the #@% to replace.

If you go with the GrownUp greenhouse don't worry about too much light.  Shadecloth is a very simple matter to cut some light down during the summer and you can buy it in different percentages; i.e.- 50%, 70% etc...  It's fairly cheap.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com