DIY Greenhouses: 10 Structures You Can Build Yourself

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Whether you’re a master gardener known for your brimming spring gardens or just a beginner starting a few small plants indoors, you can create a custom eco-friendly greenhouse made from reclaimed materials that’s suited to your needs. These 10 DIY greenhouse ideas range from beautiful and complex freestanding greenhouses made of reclaimed windows to super-simple, practically free miniature greenhouses made of CD spindles and plastic bottles.

Plastic Bottle Greenhouse

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(images via: blue rock station, inhabitat)

If you can build a simple wooden frame, you can make your own DIY plastic bottle greenhouse practically for free. Gather up a bunch of 2-liter plastic soda bottles, string them together with wood rods or other supports and you can have a greenhouse like this one (top) by Blue Rock Station. Another version, the bottle house at Bumbershoot, is more decorative, but provides some inspiration for creative designs. Blue Rock Station offers a book with complete construction details.

Window Greenhouse

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(image via: instructables, apartment therapy)

Salvaged windows make the ideal material for an inexpensive, eco-friendly greenhouse that also looks beautiful. A tutorial on Instructables gives the step-by-step directions to build a 6’x10′ greenhouse with just a few hundred dollars worth of lumber, fasteners and latches. Look for interesting antique windows at salvage yards, antique stores and online sources like Craigslist.

Greenhouse from Salvaged Storm Doors

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(image via: mother earth news)

Storm doors are another great material for quick and relatively easy build-it-yourself greenhouses. Readily available at places like Habitat for Humanity Home Stores, storm doors are built to withstand extreme weather conditions. Their large, uniform size makes piecing them together as simple as it gets. Learn more details at Mother Earth News.