Potting Sheds: The Ideal Greenhouse Alternative

Many people consider gardening as a hobby and a therapeutic activity they can do at home. It’s easy to build a small garden in your backyard and cultivate some plants or vegetables you can consume. 

If you have a wide array of plants and a vast open space, you can build yourself a greenhouse to provide a better environment for your greenery. However, maintaining a plant conservatory can be troublesome, especially if you live in an area that experiences extremely cold weather. 

1. Good Storage for the Winter 

Having a potting shed instead of a greenhouse can keep your plants warm, especially during late autumn and winter. After all, tending to a garden is a year-long commitment, and you don’t want your flora to die because they can’t withstand harsh temperatures. Most potting sheds have wooden foundations and glass windows and ceilings. This type of structure allows enough sunlight in and has better insulation.

If you’re pondering on which type of potting shed will fit in your property, you can check out companies like South West Greenhouses. You can look through different designs and pick one that will fit all your plants and suit the type of weather in your area.

2. Protection For Your Growing Greens

You’ve probably experienced planting seeds and leaving the seed trays outside your house only to find them damaged by external elements. Pests and birds eating your crops or bad weather can destroy the plants you’re trying to grow. You don’t have many choices on how you can prevent your greens from getting ruined. Of course, you can’t keep them indoors since they need sunlight to grow. On the other hand, you also can’t leave them out in the open where they’re unprotected.

One way for you to successfully cultivate your plants without any problems is by putting them in a greenhouse or potting shed. Experienced gardeners often build a small shelter for their plants to ensure that external factors, like bad weather, won’t destroy them.

It’s effective to build a room for your greens to protect them, but you’ll have to work a lot to maintain it. Knowing how to take care of your greenhouse or potting shed will ensure that it’ll last you a long time. After all, you don’t want it breaking down every few months due to poor maintenance. Keeping it in good condition will also ensure that your plants are safe from damage, even when you’re not around to watch over them.

3. More Room for New Plants

The space within your property shouldn’t stop you from building a shelter for your plants. Building a greenhouse for your flora isn’t ideal if you only have a small area outside your house. You can’t add shelves to the glass walls, which means you don’t have much room for new plants if you have a greenhouse.

On the other hand, a potting shed can be modified and have shelves where you can put smaller pots or seedlings. For instance, you can put your succulents and cactus on a shelf that’s a little farther from the windows to give way for other plants that require more sunlight. You won’t have trouble trying to fit in new plants in a secured area if you build a potting shed in your backyard.

4. Space To Relax

If you want to spend your mornings relaxing while seeing your plants, you can always build yourself a small space in your potting shed. There are no rules when it comes to what you can have in your plant shelter, so if you want a study corner or a table inside, you can just customize its design.

Since most sheds are built with wood and glass, the inside of the room isn’t suffocating and will feel relaxed and comfortable, especially when the weather is nice. You can enjoy a nice cup of coffee while tending to your garden or read a book in a corner you’ve built inside the shed. You can create a small space for yourself if you choose to have a potting shed on your property.

5. More Affordable

Many gardeners prefer to get a potting shed instead of a greenhouse because it’s cheaper. The fabricated glass used for a greenhouse is quite expensive. It also costs money to find the tools needed to create the foundation of a glass plant shelter. If you’re not good at carpentry, you may end up building a weak structure that’s prone to breaking down.

Potting sheds, on the other hand, are mostly built using wood. Since there aren’t any limitations on what wood you can use, you can save up a lot on using repurposed wood. You can just buy used panels from construction stores or suppliers as long as you can check if they’re still in good condition.

You also won’t need much help setting up your shed since working with wood is simple. As long as you know how to measure and accurately cut them, you’ll be able to build your potting shed in no time. 

Repairing the damages on a potting shed is also more affordable. For instance, if one of the glass walls on your greenhouse cracks, you’ll have no choice but to replace the whole frame since it can become a safety hazard if you leave it alone or use temporary sealants. 

On the other hand, a crack on the wall of your shed can just be reinforced with a wood sealer. You can also just change the damaged panel instead of taking down the entire wall. Since potting sheds are low maintenance and sturdy, you won’t need to spend too much money repairing them.

Final Thoughts

Each gardener has his own preferences in choosing the best place to store and cultivate plants. Some homeowners prefer having an open garden for their greens, while others choose to build a greenhouse. If you want to have space where you can secure your greenery but don’t have enough room in your backyard, consider getting a potting shed instead. It works just as well as a greenhouse in preserving your plants and helps protect them, especially during the cold weather.