For people who would like to do more gardening, but live in an area with a short growing season, a hobby greenhouse is the answer. A hobby greenhouse, is not large enough to produce vegetables, or flowers on a commercial basis, but it will give you a place, for a tomato plant, or two and some fresh greens, even if you live in the colder northern regions.

Greenhouse enthusiasts even have their own association, called the Hobby Greenhouse Association, which publishes a quarterly magazine. The organization also sponsors events and helps individuals, to connect and to get help, with the aspect of gardening, that they are interested in, whether it’s growing cacti, or saving seeds.

If you are in the market, for a hobby greenhouse, there are several types available. The smallest type is not large enough to walk into and plants are tended from the outside. It resembles an old-fashioned phone booth, made of glass and fitted with shelves. This type is designed to fit as many plants as possible, in as small a place as possible. The shelves are also made of glass, to allow as much light as possible to reach plants, especially those on the lower shelves.

Another inexpensive version, of this sort of hobby greenhouse, is a rack of tiered shelving, covered with a zippered tent of clear plastic. This sort of arrangement, is great for the small-scale hobby gardener, simply wanting a place to keep her flowers, or houseplants, to start off.

There are a variety of designs, of hobby greenhouses, that are large enough to walk into, but made entirely of clear glass, or plastic. They are often about the same size, as a small garden shed. Some independent builders, have started making these, to sell locally.

Among national brands, one of the nicest, is called the “Solar Prism.” It is called this, because of it’s unique construction. This hobby greenhouse is made of a single piece of durable, clear plastic, which is designed to work like tiny prisms, side by side. They trap the rays of the sun and shoot them back into the greenhouse, at all angles. For this reason, these little greenhouses are said to glow, when the weather is cloudy.

Better hobby greenhouses are equipped with automatic sensors, that open vents, which allow ventilation and keep the interior temperatures, from getting too high. These are great labour savers, but can get a bit expensive. Another benefit, sometimes found in nicer greenhouses, is a built in irrigation, or misting system. Members of the Hobby Greenhouse Association, or HGA, have invented many interesting designs of greenhouses.

If gardening is your hobby, greenhouse growing will interest you. With a greenhouse, you can have the earliest tomatoes and salad greens, all year round. You can also start seedlings for the main garden, early in the spring, when cold outdoor temperatures, would normally kill them. A hobby greenhouse can be a good investment.

Obviously there are many other types of greenhouse and depending on where you live and what your needs are, you can select the best one. In warmer climes, a simple greenhouse can be made from shadecloth, but in very cold areas, the greenhouse needs to be insulated. No matter what you need, the advantage is year round gardening.

Many gardeners combine greenhouses with hydroponics, getting the best of both worlds, so to speak. If you would like to know more about hydroponics, read this book. The Hydroponic Gardener, a guide to hydroponic gardening. http://dersalsites.com/hydrog/  

Sally Robson is a South African Internet marketer, who together with her husband Derek, have a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and other non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success on the internet, by overcoming the many obstacles facing them. They have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. Sally has a passion for gardening. For more articles and advice on gardening topics, visit Sally at: http://www.dersalsites.com/sallysgardeningtips/ 

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