Today, we went to find prices on plastic for our lean-to greenhouse. Does anybody know what mil the plastic should be. They have 4 mil and 6 mil. Both seem thick enough. Brian wants to know if it should be 4 mil which lets in more light or 6 mil which is thicker and would protect more from the cold. It gets down into the 20's at night right now, but with March it will gradually warm up. The last average frost date here is May lst. but with our prediction of warmer than normal temperatures it may come earlier. Do we need more sunlight or more warmth. I could put a heater in it if need be. I know that the 20's shouldn't last much longer but what about the 30's. Which should it be, 4 mil or 6 mil. dooley
Dooley I'm no expert but the usual is 4ml as far as I know. I think 6ml only really gets used when the greenhouse doesn't get much sun. I hope someone else can help you out better than I can though.
I would think it would also depend on how much wid you get. The 6 ml would be better if you get much wind.
Light is very important , if they both seem the same I would go for the one that lets in more light . However I agree with the Capt. if wind is a factor get the heavier one . If frost is a problem you can always cover your plants inside the tunnel with garden fleece or old newspapers at night and this will give them double protection 8) Bugs
Sometimes wind is a factor, but Brian has this thin wire netting he's going to put over it. The question is more about sun. We have really bright sun and sometimes it gets too hot. He's making it so I can open it to let out heat, but he was wondering if the heavier mil would dull some on the sun without hurting the amount of light the plants need. Dooley
A good read:::: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/sanders67.html For green house heating try plastic 55 gallon barrels painted black and filled with water. The black color asorbs heat during the day and releases it at night. How many barrels required depends on how big the green house is. Al
Thanks! We're thinking we'll go with the 6 mil. He's building it in segments so we'll be able to take it apart and store it after we have our plants started. Dooley
From What i have read 6 MM is the best to use, A lot of hardware stores sell it, For Green house stuff and most of the time it is special to not yellow and get brittle in the sun. Lots of factors to consider, From material, and direction to Size and Angle. Best Wishes and Good Luck Either Way!
Post like this one just get me to rolling on the floor laugning till my side hurts.Did you ever even look at the date it was posted? It is nearly 5 years old and I am sure that the orginal poster has had the green house for several years by now or just dropped the idea. Good luck indeed . Al
Yes Al, it's an old post... but I'm glad Derek replied to it. There's lots of good info in all of those "old" posts that could help newcomers.
I had that greenhouse when we lived in Arizona. It worked very well for us. We used it two years. The third year we had it stacked full of firewood and it kept it from getting wet. The plastic did rot in the sun by the time we left in the fall of 2008. I used the same sort of plastic on a small greenhouse here in Texas. I'm thinking I might need to make another one here at the bottom of the hill. It does get windier here than it did up the hill. I'll have to think about it. I hadn't thought about that leanto greenhouse lately. dooley
Heck yah you should build a second one! Just make sure its a little bigger! Also, build bigger! Hope to see pictures up soon with the started project. I was a bit caught off guard on the green house in Arizona. If you wanna see the one i'm hoping to start soon.
