One of my newfound passions is gardening, and it has completely transformed my springtime experience. Gardening not only gives me something to look forward to during the last few months of winter but also provides numerous therapeutic benefits. It serves as a stress reliever, offers physical activity, fosters a sense of community, and teaches valuable life lessons about growth. There's something incredibly grounding about getting your hands dirty and spending time outdoors. Needless to say, gardening has become an essential self-care outlet for me.
Living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada presents unique challenges due to its climate and short growing season. As someone who loves gardening but faces these limitations, I finally decided to invest in my own little greenhouse last summer. After extensive research (about a million and half hours of googling, youtubing and reviewing reviews) I landed on the Aosom Outsunny 8’ x 6’ x 6.4’ greenhouse. ( Amazon link)
Instead of using the common method of large cement blocks, I opted for a wooden base for my greenhouse. This decision made transportation easier and allowed me to experiment with the “dig-down” method to stabilize heat fluctuations by omitting a bottom.
With the help of my wonderful husband, we constructed a sturdy wooden base using 4x4 posts. We spent a while leveling the area before placing the completely flat base into it’s resting place and securing the greenhouse base with caulking. Although it took some trial and error, we eventually made it work.
Following the instructions provided with the greenhouse kit was not particularly intuitive, but I managed to assemble it predominately on my own over the course of about a week. With occasional assistance from a friend and my husband's help in building the base (which only took him under a hour), I successfully completed the construction process.
To further regulate temperature fluctuations inside the greenhouse, I dug down about 5-10 inches and added a layer of sand followed by crushed rocks. Additionally, I found some great shelves on Amazon that maximized space utilization within the greenhouse setup.
I purchased this lovely compact little heater/fan combo unit to maintain optimal conditions inside the greenhouse. Throughout this year's growing season, I'll provide updates on my progress.
For those interested in recreating my setup, here are some links:
The shelves I used: Amazon link
The heater/fan combo unit: Amazon link
The greenhouse kit itself: Amazon link
Please note that although the current listed price for the greenhouse kit is $509 on Amazon if you search it, but I managed to purchase it for $408 by taking advantage coupons available on the platform. So keep an eye out if you are interested in getting out of these.
Also, just wanted to add that if you are intrested in my gardening life I have started a blog about gardening in my Edmonton backyard: https://stephscope.wixsite.com/growing-in-edmonton Please feel free to check it out!