Harbor Freight 10×12 Greenhouse
Starting Your Own Greenhouse – Growing to Survive:
With today’s high gas prices comes high food prices, but that’s not the only problem, with the apparent slow decay of our economic system we are also seeing problems in the quality of foods, and in particular the produce that we consume.
First was the spinach scare, then lettuce, now tomatoes. We decide to become proactive in this area by building a greenhouse in which to grow all our summertime vegetables. Any excess will be canned for winter consumption.

Step one was to find a space and design the greenhouse itself. We did a search on the web and found greenhouse prices running several thousand dollars which kinda makes this a loosing proposition. Searching further we found one model of greenhouse made by Harbor Freight, The HFGH 10×12 model 93358 for a mere $599. The price has now jumped to $789, probably due to the rising cost of aluminum and polycoarbonate, since both require oil to produce , but we managed to get in on an early season sale. If 10 x 12 is too big, try the HFGH 8 x 10 model 93920 for $499.

There are many good sites that will help you build and modify the Harbor Freight greenhouse and this seems to have become somewhat of a cult item for gardeners on a budget who have some do it yourself skills.

This blog site shows you seven time saving steps in building your HFGH.
It’s a great addition to the factory provided instructions and is a RECOMMENDED READ.

Here are a few pictures of our 12×24 DIY Garden Shed and 10×12 Harbor Freight Greenhouse project.

May 30 2008:  The 12×24 garden shed foundation.
Had this contracted out to a local concrete contractor.
Cost: about $1800.

The shed construction progress.
Notice the gravel pile and door on the south end.
This will eventually be the greenhouse foundation and entrance.
The frame on the ground is a 4×6 timber foundation for the greenhouse.

Here the garden shed gets a roof.
Again, we contracted the labor out to a local roofing firm.
Cost of labor: about $250, and they were done in 2 hours.
A small price to keep me off  the roof.
After just under 30 days of construction, finally taking shape!
The greenhouse attached to the south side of the garden shed.
The total cost of the shed and greenhouse including concrete work, roofing and all ofthe materials was just under $5000.

June 25 2008: Here is the final project result.
The greenhouse is in operation with plenty of growing space.
The structure rides out storms very well. This last weekend saw
50mph winds and hail. No problems whatsoever.
This photo also shows how the roof pitch of the greenhouse compares to a standard 6/12 pitch of the shed, just in case you are concerned with matching the roof pitch to your structure. Looks like 7/12 or 8/12 would match well.

The inside of the greenhouse features a heavy duty shelving structure made from 4×4 AC2 treated lumber stained a redwood color. The color of the raw lumber was not very appealing and the stain job was worth the effort. Be sure to stain BEFORE the polycarbonate panels are installed or they will become spattered with stain. There is about 32 feet of 32″ wide shelves and the upper support will be for future wire shelving. Do not use lumber shevles above or they will cut out a considerable amount of light.

We are now capable of growing our own vegetables in a controlled, bug free environment that should accelerate production and be a fun hobby for years to come. The next step is to add some basic automation for watering using and Allen Bradley Pico controller and a few relays and dishwasher water solenoids to feed a Misty Mate 17 nozzle patio cooler. We’ll keep you posted as this develops…
Have Fun!

Follow up:  I have been occasional losing panels during high wind storms. Luckily we have a fully fenced in yard and the panels have always been contained by the fence. For those who have lost panels, I can get 6mm replacement polycarbonate sheeting locally in DePere Wisconsin from the exactly same place Sundance supply gets their poly. I am a registered dealer for this material. Leave a comment if interested.

Tags: 10x12, build greenhouse, greenhouse, grow, harbor freight, harbor freight greenhouse panels, HFGH, losing greenhouse panels, replacement panels, vegetables