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My greenhouse is the center of my garden. All of our raised beds were put in after and around the greenhouse. When I take pictures in the garden it is almost always in the background, and that leads to a lot of questions about it. Here’s what you need to know about my experience with the Palram Snap & Grow Greenhouse (8’x8′).
This greenhouse is sturdy, well built, and hasn’t discolored at all. This thing has been through some pretty impressive winds and snow loads without much issue. I did have the roof vent fly off in some high winds, but that was because I had left it open. It should be easily fixable and I will be ordering parts online. As far as quality goes, this greenhouse is impressive.
My experience with how functional this greenhouse is might vary from others, but I will speak as a northerner who has worked hard to extend our gardening season. While this greenhouse gets warm during the day, a significant amount above air temperature if not vented, by the early morning hours it will lose that temperature advantage and reach air temperature. For example, if we are expecting the temperature to drop to 32F, it may take longer to reach that temperature, but ultimately it will get down to 32F in the greenhouse by 3-4am, maybe sooner. This means that we have to use supplemental heat if we have low temperatures predicted and tender plants in the greenhouse. I prefer to use a space heater with a thermostat on those cold nights, with the goal to keep the greenhouse about 10 degrees above freezing.
To monitor the temperature in the greenhouse overnight I use a Lacrosse Temperature Monitor. This tool uses wifi to record and graph temperatures every 10 minutes. It also has a probe that I can extend outside of the greenhouse and monitor the temperature both inside and outside at the same time. Without this monitor I wouldn’t know nearly as much about how this greenhouse holds heat. I can check my app in the middle of the night or the next day to see how cold it got. It is also great when we are out of town and able to check both daytime and nighttime temperatures. I’ve had this monitor for a few years now and would recommend it to anyone looking for something to record and monitor temperatures.
This year I added a few raised beds made with the same 2″x6″ untreated lumber we used for our garden beds. I hope to plant some cold hardy plants in there this week, about one month before our last projected frost. I do plan to use supplemental heat on nights predicted to drop below 32F. The other purpose for these beds is to hopefully hold a little bit of heat on these cold nights, rather than an empty greenhouse with plants on open shelves. Lastly, I hope to plant some peppers and eggplants in June as an experiment for the summer months. These heat loving plants have not been very successful in our cool climate and I’m hoping a warm greenhouse might help them grow and keep them from becoming stunted due to cold nights. I will also be able to extend my season a bit if I can add supplemental heat in the fall.
You can find the 6’x8′ version of this greenhouse at Amazon or visit palramapplications.com to see other size options. (My greenhouse is the 8×8 version with double entry doors.)
Overall, I love my greenhouse. I hope to expand the functionality of it as I experiment a bit. Palram also sells a variety of accessories. It is well built and can handle our northern weather. On top of all that, it really is a beautiful addition to the garden and welcome space when I start way too many seeds and need a place to put some extra plants. If you have any more questions, feel free to leave a comment or contact me on Facebook or Instagram.
