My DIY Greenhouse Failure: A Lesson in Creative Problem-Solving

This is how my greenhouse looks now:

Keep reading to find out what happened.

You see, I have a dream. A dream to grow beautifully abundant tomatoes, peppers and basil.

But there is a major obstacle to my dream: the climate. I live just north of Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. We have a very short growing season. (If you're in the U.S., think northern Minnesota--only colder.)

Yes, in the summer we do get some nice warm weather. For instance: On Wednesday, July 9th, it reached 28 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, the next day--Thursday, July 10th--was chilly and damp with a daytime high of only 15 degrees Celsius. With the windchill, it felt like only 12 degrees!

Oh, I've grown tomatoes, peppers and basil alright. But without decent yields. And I've tried everything I can think of. Everything, that is, except growing them inside a greenhouse. A greenhouse which, incidentally, I can't afford.

Then last year we acquired a used dog run made from steel posts and heavy chain-link fencing. We set it up to use for our little dog, Maggie, so that we wouldn't have to tie her when she needed to go outside.

Maggie hated it. We'd put her in the dog run and she'd just stand there and bark. So we were left with a dog run that our dog won't use.

And that's what got me thinking: What else can I use it for?

My own DIY greenhouse, of course!

Very excited, I set to work. I planned it out on paper. I had my husband help me move it to the best location in the backyard. I measured the dimensions inside and out. And then I started construction, using the existing structure as the framework for my greenhouse.

I secured heavy-duty tarps to one long side (the north side) to serve as the back wall. I attached plastic PVC piping to the top, arching pieces across from front (south) to back (north) to form ribs. With much difficulty, I attached a nearly-clear heavy plastic sheet to the top front and top back over the ribs to create an arched roof.

I then added a clear tarp to the west side and more tarps to the front (south) that could be opened or closed easily depending on the weather.

Then we had the storm.

It was mid-May, and I was out for the day. When I got home, I discovered that the dog run/greenhouse had been picked up by the wind, launched up and over my patio garden space, and landed on the other side of our yard. A distance of about 20 feet!

Apparently, my husband was home for lunch, and sitting at the dining room table, when he happened to see the dog run/greenhouse sail past the living room window. Below you can see a picture of it laying on its side close to our backdoor.

Thank goodness there were no children or pets (ours or our neighbor's) in the yards when this happened.

You know, it's kind of embarrassing. Because I probably should have figured more on the power of the wind that routinely gusts through our yard. Seeing as how the dog run wasn't staked into the ground, I should have realized that covering it with tarps was like giving it wings so it could fly.

Okay, lesson learned.

What happened to my tomatoes, peppers and basil? Luckily, I hadn't put them out into the "greenhouse" yet. So for this year, they are in their own area on the concrete patio.

 

So why am I bothering to tell you all this?

Well, even though I had a colossal failure in my DIY greenhouse project, people walking along the sidewalk still stop and look at my vegetable garden, ask questions about it. And I hear a lot of them say that they would love to garden if only the weather were more favorable, or they had more room, or if they had more time--or even if they could be assured of success.

But I think they're missing the whole point of gardening. It's not about the perfect conditions. It's not even about getting wonderful yields on everything planted. At least it isn't for me.

For me, it's a learning experience. A lesson in creative problem-solving. A lesson I'm still learning. And guess what?

I'm still determined to have a greenhouse. I'm just not sure how. But I'm working on that.

How about you? Have you tried any gardening or yard improvement projects that didn't work out the way you hoped? If so, what did you learn from the experience?