A greenhouse is one of those things that every gardener dreams of having. Yet, buying one from the store and getting it set up can be a difficult and costly affair. However, there is another option. If you are into DIY projects, you can always build your own from scratch using plastic bottles like this gardener did. Itโs a pretty inspiring accomplishment.
Their tutorial on how to build your own plastic bottle greenhouse consists of just 8 easy steps, and if you have a weekend to spare, itโs likely that you can build one too.
The best part is that theyโre relatively cheap. As long as you have a source of plastic bottles and some extra 2ร2โs and 4ร4โs lying around, youโll be good to go. The whole project takes about 240 feet of timber in total.
Here is what youโll need:
- 4โณ x 4โณ posts and 2โณ x 2โณ timber
- Screws, hinges for door, and fencing staples
- Postcrete
- Gravel, slabs, and mulch matting
- Garden canes
- Approximately 1500 plastic bottles
Now for the instructions:
1. Collect the bottles.
First, youโll want to gather all of the plastic bottles needed for the project. While they used 2-liter bottles for their greenhouse, it is also possible to build one with 1.5-liter bottles. Unfortunately, 500 mL ones will not work as they are too small.
2. Wash and cut them.
2. You also have to prepare the bottles for building. This means removing all of the labels, washing them out, and cutting the bottoms off with a pair of scissors. You can discard all of the bottle tops.
3. Set the posts.
Create the corners of the greenhouse by settling the four 4โณ x 4โณ posts into concrete. Youโll want to spread mulch matting around the insides of the posts to prevent weeds and other undesirables from growing in your greenhouse later on.
4. Create the frames.
Use the 2โณ x 2โณ boards to create the frames of the greenhouse. Youโll need a frame for each side, as well as one for the door and roof. Screw together the corners of each frame, but donโt attach them to one another for the time being.
5. Stacking the bottles.
In order to create the walls themselves, youโll want to layers the bottles one by one on top of the garden canes. Each one will end up looking like a long clear beam.
6. Attach the bottles.
Then, secure your โbottle beamsโ to the frames of the greenhouse using fencing staples. Each staple should be fastened around the neck of the final bottle at the end of each beam.
7. Mount the frames.
Now that all your frames are completed with all of the bottles attached, itโs time to connect them together to actually build the full greenhouse structure. Mount each of the frames to the upright corner posts.
8. Doors and roof.
Lastly, youโll want to attach the roof and doors. Itโs up to you whether you want to do a flat roof or a sloped one, but The Handy Mano recommends doing sloped. Just like the walls, you can make the roof and doors completely out of bottles.
Thatโs it, your bottle greenhouse is now complete! Obviously, itโs going to be a little more challenging than these simple steps make it out to be, but we are confident you will be able to figure things out. After all, thatโs part of the fun of DIY, right? The Handy Mano has a more detailed supplies list for what they used for their greenhouse on their website, but donโt be afraid to get a little creative with it.
While the greenhouse they built is 6 ft by 8 ft in area and 8 ft tall, you can really customize the tutorial to build whatever size and shape greenhouse you would like. As always, itโs up to you, and we wish you happy gardening!
See more photos of plastic bottle greenhouses below.
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