Most gardeners from colder climates fall into one of two categories; those who garden year-around with the aid of a greenhouse and those who wish they had a greenhouse to garden year-around with. Greenhouse kits are often the first option considered by the later camp, owing to their simplicity and cost-effectiveness. Greenhouse kits of various sizes can range widely in price, from $800 to as high $5,000. With Greenhouse kits from Harbor Freight costing less than half of their competition, we had to ask, what exactly do you get for the money?
This review will discuss the Harbor-Freight’s One Stop Gardens 8 by 6 foot greenhouse kit, item number 47712-9VGA. Harbor Freight is a discount tool and hardware retailer, selling various items ranging from airbrushes to metalworking lathes. Selling for approximately $350, the One Stop Garden 8 by 6 foot greenhouse kit is Harbor Freight’s answer to the greenhouse kit market, with the next cheapest competing greenhouse kit priced just above $800. It’s common for Harbor Freight to have some of the cheapest tools around. Sometimes the tools can be adequate, other times you get what you pay for. However, with such a significant difference in pricing, it raised some definite concerns regarding the quality of the greenhouse and practicality for the average gardener.
Everything included comes in this 84 pound box.
With a gross weight of only 84 pounds, the 8 foot by 6 foot greenhouse kit is currently the medium sized greenhouse available from Harbor Freight. Another model exists that measures a more compact 4 by 6 foot in addition to a larger kit measuring 10 by 12. In this particular case, everything comes in single cardboard box that can be carried a short distance by an average adult without too much trouble. Unpacking the box we find a warranty card, instruction booklet, aluminum framework, polycarbonate paneling and several bags of bolts, nuts and accessory pieces. When everything is put together we should have a greenhouse the measures roughly 6 feet wide by 6 feet tall and 8 feet deep.
Aluminum frame, polycarbonate panels and other parts.
Prior to assembly, the base plat of the greenhouse must be secured to the ground. This, in theory, prevents the entire greenhouse from blowing away during windy weather. Several methods for securing the greenhouse are outlined by the instruction manual. In this case, our greenhouse was secured to four 4×4 inch treated posts that had been anchored onto an old concrete slab. Anchoring the treated posts proved much more difficult than expected. The concrete was unusually difficult to drill, destroying a masonry bit in the process. After the four posts were successfully anchored to the concrete, the next step is assembling the greenhouse itself.
These 4x4" posts anchor the greenhouse.
Next is the assembly of the greenhouse’s aluminum frame. You have two choices. First option is the the easy method. This involves enlisting the help of three or four friends, picking a calm day to work and having a good metric toolkit that includes a ratchet and a cordless power drill. If you prefer the more difficult and frustrating option, try putting the greenhouse together with two people, work on a windy day and use the tools included within the greenhouse kit. Regardless which option you choose, there remains the hurdle of a poorly written instruction booklet. Two things in particular make the directions unpleasant to use. First is that many part descriptions are often unclear. Secondly, the illustrations lack the detail to be truly helpful. This is particularly a problem while assembling the sliding door. Often I found the color picture on the cardboard box more helpful than instruction manual. Another difficulty encountered during assembly comes from the frame being extremely light gauge aluminum. It’s possible to carelessly bend the frame out of shape during assembly, so be careful. Having a thickens of approximately 0.075 inches, the frame tends to bend and twist excessively until the last remaining bolts are securely tightened and a few polycarbonate panels have been locked into place.
Aluminum frame assembled.
With the frame together, our structure is ready to become a greenhouse! Fortunately, installing the polycarbonate panels is fairly simple compared to the frame assembly. At this point it’s just a matter of correctly matching the polycarbonate panels with the corresponding location on the greenhouse and locking those panels into place with the included clips. Often the instruction manual suggests using fewer clips than what I feel would be required for holding the panels securely to the greenhouse during a windy day. Unfortunately there was very limited number of extra clips included among the parts for this particular greenhouse. This ultimately left me with a greenhouse that, when fully assembled, just felt like it would blow apart during the first storm. Once the last panel is in place, you just need to assemble the door and two windows. Once together they can be attached to the greenhouse.
Windows, doors and panels installed.
In the end, the greenhouse was unable to tolerate even moderate winds. Daily I found myself collecting polycarbonate panels that had blown free, littering my lawn. It became a routine to clip these panels back onto the greenhouse, knowing full well they would simply blow away again. Providing a dozen extra clips for the greenhouse panels could have reduced this problem greatly. Curious, I called Harbor Freight to ask about receiving extra parts. I firmly believe that the greenhouse ships with an insufficient number of polycarbonate clips. None the less, Harbor Freight will not send extras or replacements to a customer, free of charge. Replacement parts weren’t expensive by any means, but it’s just something that a customer deserved to have from day one. Another consideration is that since the aluminum frame is so flimsy, installing shelving from the sidewalls or a light from the ceiling would easily bend the aluminum frame. Other problems included the doors and windows, which are prone to also blowing off of the greenhouse. The door in particular was frustrating since it has a plastic tab that rides in a slot, near the bottom of the doorway. These parts fitting together is what keeps the door on track instead of blowing about in the wind. During the second day this plastic tab snapped off under the force of the wind, sending the door across the yard. Without this tab in place the door easily falls off the greenhouse and is able to swing wildly about. My advice is to stay away from Harbor Freight’s greenhouse kits! These things are just not strong enough to survive in the real world. Once you consider the time spent repairing the greenhouse and money spent ordering replacement parts, even for $350, it’s just not worth the cost. Perhaps the only people who can make use of these greenhouse kits are the do-it-yourself individuals with no reservations of modifying their greenhouse kit. Then again, is that something that should really be left to customers just so they have a product that works?
Pros: Very affordable.
Cons: Panels blow away, cheap construction, insufficient clips, poor instructions.
My name is Doug, I live in central Virginia. My father is a retired structural ironworker and an avid gardener. He purchased the 10×12 version of this greenhouse from Harbor Freight. This is possibly one of the worst decisions we have ever made in our lives. The kit was $800.00. My father added additional 3/4 inch rebar as anchoring to the base to aid in stability. This rebar was 3 feet long and consisted of 8 pieces around the foundation. As stated in other reviews, the panels blew away in the lightest of breezes. He invested another $300.oo in silicon caulking to seal/re-inforce each panel. We have a Davis Weatherstation here on the farm. The panles blew out in as little as 8-15 mph wind activity. With caulking, the panels blew out around 30 mph. At 30 mph, the aluminum supports had started to deform. A storm came through, we had 1 gust at 50 mph, the structure began to fold like a cheap lawnchair. We bowed our heads and accepted that we had made a bad decision. Please, please, please…unless you live in an area that doesn’t experience 15+ mph winds, do not consider wasting your money on this product. My family has a great deal of experience with construction and proper structural engineering techniques. This project took over a week to complete. This was with three people. All measurements were verified and plumb from the foudation up. We have lost a considerable amount of manhours and money on this project. Our hopes are that no one else will. If you would like some pictures of the end result, please go to qrz.com, type in my callsign KD4GIE in the callsign look up box and follow the directions to get to my e-mail. Thank You for your time.
We have had it up for a month and the panels blow out 5 times. Climbing trees to get them. Glad we did not plant anything and loose the cost of that too. DONT BUY
I had a similar encounter with the One Step Gardens 6′ X 8′ greenhouse, except that I had 7 doz. tomato plants and several pepper and brocholi plants. The key word is HAD plants. There are also 7 panels and some clips missing. It is not just the cost of the greenhouse and plants that I am out: there is also the price of the electric run, the 3.5″ X 5″ treated posts and the concrete blocks in the foundation, and the gravel for the floor. DEFINITELY NOT WORTH THE MONEY!!!!!
I live in North FLORIDA and have not had any significant problems with my greenhouse. In fact, after 5 years, I am very satisfied and I am just now in need of my 1st replacement part. Sure panels blow off when it is really windy, and I have lost a few clips over the years, but I just retrieve the panel and put it back on. This time one flew over the house and landed on a brick and sustained a bit of damage. I have more than gotten my moneys worth out of my little greenhouse and expect I will still get a few more years our of it. My tomatos and basil thrive there through every winter and my seedlings are protected in the spring. Works for me!
We live in Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping across the plains and a couple of years ago we purchased a 6 x 8 greenhouse and used it without incident. We moved and gave the greenhouse away to a friend who is now using it and loves it. We just purchased another for our new home in a less windy climate and are looking forward to another season with one of these greenhouses. Best of luck.
Well, It does not surprise me that this green house would not survive in heavy winds given what I got for my $240 that I just spent for the unit (April 2012)
HOWEVER….
This is 1/3 the cost of the next cheapest unit I’ve seen, (which looks about the same) and the ones from a gardeners supply house cost in excess of $1200.
what I got for my $240 is exactly what I wanted: a neat attractive greenhouse that has all the parts so that I could fit the panels in and it will support itself. I fully expect to put another $100 or so in 2×4′s and 1×2′s re-enforcing the unit with an inner skeleton (and maybe even an outer one as well.) As I also live in a windy area. It is no surprise to me that given a a gusty wind the unit will twist and panels will go flying. However given a footing of 4 2×4′s stacked, with 4′ 2×4′s on the inside in the corners and every 3-4′ going up the side (will make nice legs for an 18″ tabletop) I think the unit will stay squared up. then add 1x2x8′ runners on the outside at the 1/3 and 2/3 marks on the panels and that will keep them from flying away. Certainly a line of weatherproof clear window tape down the seams (a whole roll costs about $4) would also do a lot to keep the wind from getting under the panels.
All said and done for well under $400 I think you could make this a fine green house. Nothing else in the market comes close, including making one from scratch.