Small Greenhouses for the Patio, Deck, or Balcony

Small Greenhouse for Patio
April 21, 2022

Greenhouses, and greenhouse lovers, suffer from a terrible misunderstanding: the idea that greenhouses are only meant for large and open spaces and commercial purposes, that they're only meant for use the way you see them on the TV: for large-scale farming or educational purposes.

However, it's time you discover the other side of greenhouses. After years of observing and fantasizing about big, bulky greenhouse models, you will love the idea of small greenhouses for your balcony, deck, or patio space.

Small and mini-greenhouses, as you'll see in detail right below, are made to suit the space and usage of homeowners. Even when you don't have a vast mansion or an empty backyard just casually waiting to be occupied, you can think of installing small or mini-greenhouses in your house and avail yourself all the benefits of a regular greenhouse in a small one (also included in this article!) — without investing in the gigantic space or effort. Ready to understand how you can build yourself the dreamiest small greenhouse? Let's go!

What Is a Small Greenhouse?

As the name indicates, a small greenhouse primarily differs on one characteristic from most greenhouses you see: the size! Small greenhouses are just like regular greenhouses except for the difference in the space they occupy, the places where their placement is perfect, their compartment settings, and other factors. A small or mini greenhouse is ideal for installing and growing smaller plants, herbs, spices, flowers, creepers, and so on.

Small Greenhouse PlantsSmall Greenhouse Plants

How Does a Small Greenhouse Differ from Mini Greenhouse?

If you look at it logically, sizes are a relative quantity. If you place a 10,000 sq. ft. greenhouse on entirely empty earth, it'll be enormous for you, but barely a speck when you compare it to the total available area. Similarly, a specific size of a greenhouse might be suitable enough for a suburban lawn. Still, it may not fit your rooftop apartment, which is why you'll need a more miniature greenhouse that fits your apartment area while leaving room for other spaces as well, but this small greenhouse may look too small and crowded in a bigger room with plenty of space left over.

With that said, there are still three significant differences that help buyers and sellers tell a small greenhouse apart from a mini greenhouse. These are:

1. Placement

You can place small greenhouses both indoors and outdoors depending on are availability and sunlight reception, so they're great for houses with smaller patios and decks. But a mini greenhouse is usually best suited for those who don't have an outdoor place to keep it on, so these are best for apartment areas with ample lighting and airflow, such as balconies, rooftops, kitchen windows, washing areas, and so on.

2. Build

Besides being larger, small greenhouses also have larger compartments and more extensive shelves, making it easier to store bigger plants and creepers. Mini greenhouses, by contrast, may have more shelves built on top of one another with lesser space for growth, so you may have to make do with smaller plants and flower beds in general.

3. Types of Inhabitants

Since a small greenhouse gets more sunlight and ventilation than a mini one, you can place full-sized plants that bear flowers and fruits. A mini, however, is ideally small enough to grow spice plants, herbs, shrubs, succulents, cacti, and other exotic botanical collections.

Small Greenhouse ShelvesSmall Greenhouse Shelves

How Does a Small Greenhouse Work?

A small and mini greenhouse work on nearly the same principle as a regular one. You place the greenhouse in an area with plenty of direct sunshine, or at least sufficient indirect sunlight, as well as a great ventilation system. If the area where you have kept your greenhouse doesn't have much airflow, you may place a pedestal fan inside the greenhouse to circulate fresh air throughout the plants.

When sunlight enters your small or mini greenhouse, the walls of the settings will trap the heat inside, allowing your plants to develop at a faster pace. However, if you neglect the system's ventilation, your plants may not be able to survive for long. Other than this, you may also keep a check on the greenhouse's temperature. For a traditional conservatory, 90 degrees Fahrenheit or 32 degrees Celsius is quite hot. Considering this, you may keep around 27-30 degrees Celsius as the peak point for smaller greenhouses because they’ll hear up way more quickly.

When you feel like your greenhouse has reached a high temperature, you may open its windows, doors, and other flaps so that the heat can release and fresh, cooler air can enter from all sides.

Where Can You Put a Small Greenhouse?

A big reason to prefer small greenhouses over regular ones, even when you have the capacity for the latter, is the portability of a small system. Most small greenhouses are lightweight enough to carry across different places whenever you’re cleaning or relocating. A small greenhouse can build itself a lovely, comfy home in:

A Balcony

If you want plants in the house and want to contain the mess in one place, a small or mini greenhouse on the balcony or near any other window will never disappoint. Besides, this will also give you homegrown spices, herbs, fruits, and veggies whenever you need them!

The Deck

If you have an empty deck, greenhouses are the best way to liven up your deck. You can store your greenhouses on the deck flooring, install them on surrounding walls, or add them to the fences.

Patios

Small greenhouses can also serve as a chic decor element for patios. Since they do not occupy much space, you can place them at different spots with rare plant collections to impress your guests, even with a small patio!

Small Greenhouse Watering CanSmall Greenhouse Watering Can

What Are the Benefits of a Small Greenhouse?

Why should you get a small greenhouse? Because:

1. It’s Portable

A small greenhouse is easy to carry anywhere. It's just as practical as a regular greenhouse but also accommodates all your botanical collections in a way that you can shift them quickly.

2. It's Cost-Effective

Purchasing the material for a life-size greenhouse, installing it, and maintaining it, are all pretty costly. If you need to change its placement or contents, that'll require you to purchase more building and décor material, too. But with a more miniature greenhouse, you can get an assembled model which you don't need to hammer down anywhere.

3. It Can Sustain Smaller Plants

When you have a large greenhouse, you may quickly end up crowding it with a myriad of plants. While this may seem colorful, you may be killing some of your more diminutive plants. With a small greenhouse, though, your succulents and chili planters will thrive for longer!

4. It's Easy to Clean

If you despise cleaning away the debris from large plants and trees, a more miniature greenhouse will be a much smaller hassle for you. It's easy to clean and doesn't require frequent cleaning, either.

What Can I Grow in a Small Greenhouse?

Small greenhouses, as you'll see, cannot house full-size plants or shrubs. Therefore, you may go for smaller or medium-sized plants. In a small greenhouse, you can initially start with small pots and flowerbeds. Once these start growing and pollinating, you may shift the plants from your greenhouse to a larger nursery. The point here is to avoid an overgrowth of plants inside the greenhouse because that'll suffocate other plants.

With that said, a small or mini greenhouse is best suited for seeding and growing small potters. If you have a small greenhouse, you may best use it by either growing small vegetables or curating a new harvest of smaller plants that you may later shift to other places. Other than this, you can also start your own conservatory, perhaps with some geraniums, or collect bonsais if that's where your interest lies.

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