Customer Reviews

Gardman R700 5-Shelf Steel Frame Greenhouse

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought both the heavy duty and regular greenhouses from Gardman... The basic structure is the same (framing and crosspieces). There are three main differences, though...

1. shelves - it is obvious - this one has five.
2. cover - the reinforced green cover is much stronger and heavy duty than the clear plastic one
3. shelf layout - the regular greenhouse has one shelf that goes all the way across each level, while the heavy duty greenhouse offer more versatility: each level has a two-part shelf! If you have a plant that extends above one level, just remove a shelf section, and you will double the height available to that plant!

This is a really good system... I plan to purchase three-four more of these heavy duty greenhouses around February!

Please note that I read all the reviews before purchasing and added a significant amount of twine and/or zip ties to my structure - right after a light wind knocked it over while it was empty and all the shelves fell off! The twine and/or zip ties are a VERY important addition!

This is an excellent Product. It is very sturdy on level surface. It slants a bit after some heavy sun exposure on an uneven surface. However, no ventilation when zipped up brings the rating down from five to four. Anybody purchasing this product should consider adding a fan to avoid mold. I would also add two holes at the top covered by insects netting to allow some moisture to escape. The frame also allow for adding your own automated mist system which makes the product self maintaining.

I've grown 12 different types of hot peppers, cabbage, cucumber, onion, tomatoes, corn, and everything sprouts in matter of days.

I highly recommend this product.

*A year later and the weather has completely stripped the frame. I have resorted to taping the seams to prolong the life of the product. Also it is now leaning towards the left and it's a matter of time before the support I've added fails and everything ends up on the ground. I would recommend this prior of use.*

This is a nice product. It assembles very easily and is sturdy when assembled. The shelves are big enough to hold two of the flat boxes from a nursery. The cover and zipper are strong and of good quality. It keeps the inside warm even on cloudy Seattle days.

My only concern is about wind. A strong wind could blow this over, especially if it is lightly loaded.

I just received my greenhouse today. I will update this review periodically as i experience and or learn more about it from a practical standpoint.

So far: It arrived two days early, which is always nice. It was so incredibly easy to assemble. I was a little surprised by this. You might have to pound a few of the assembly pieces in tight, which i accomplished easily with my hand. The tarp was easy to put on, although i am 6'4" and i had to reach up a bit. If you are shorter, have a stool handy or get some help. Make sure to unzip the tarp also to make it easier to put on. The shelves are pretty flimsy, but you can also add them or remove them as per your needs. There are two per level, or ten total. The whole thing probably doesn't weigh ten pounds. I could be wrong, but it is definitely super light. If you are in a windy area, either tie it down to bricks, fences, and the like before putting the tarp on, or place it somewhere that shields it a little. I imagine that a strong wind will blow it around otherwise.I am happy with it so far. I've set it up to be mostly used for sprouting as well as for growing tomatoes. We'll see how it goes.
Update (June 8th): Almost everything i put in to sprout has in fact already sprouted and has shown rapid growth. I put a few potted plants in two days ago before a storm hit. Everything flourished except cilantro. I am guessing there was just too much moisture for it and it began to wilt. I removed it today. Due to the small size overall in comparison to walk in greenhouses, moisture condenses rather quickly. I would recommend leaving it open when it is especially hot out, and also reduce the amount of water you use in the pots you have within. This is my first greenhouse, so maybe these are obvious things, but listing them anyway. So far so good overall.

June 18th: Green Beans, Peppers, Tomatoes, Stevia, Basil, and Oregano all love the greenhouse. They all either sprouted, or in the case of the already existing Stevia, simply has thrived inside the greenhouse. The Green Beans in particular took off. Within the last week, they have gone from breaking the surface to right at eight inches tall. Tomatoes are all at their third set of leaves. I'm about to move most of these out of the greenhouse and into the garden and begin another batch of seeds. I will list what they are when i do.

June 28: For the most part, everything i had growing in the greenhouse has moved to the great outdoors (my patio) now, ghost peppers being the exception (they take a while to sprout and are just now starting to. After that, they will remain in the greenhouse for probably three more weeks). I still put some of the smaller tomato plants in there when it gets cold (which it still does here in SLC, actually). I plan to move my Vanilla Orchid back in the greenhouse for a few days, as well as my kiwi's, which arent doing great yet. That aside, i just started my new batch of greenhouse plants (starting from seed), which are: Devil's Tongue Chile's, Bishops Crown Chile's, Nicotina Rustica, New Zealand Tea, Alpine White Strawberries, Alpine Red Strawberries, and some Bird's of Paradise Flowers. I plan to also start up a few other Chile strains tomorrow.

This is an inexpensive way to start some seedlings in the early spring or help perennials survive the winter.
It is super easy to put together- maybe 10 minutes. We keep ours on a sheltered deck- so wind has not been a problem for us. I think a couple of bricks on bottom shelf would keep it in place anyway. The material is fairly heavy duty- the zippers may not last forever, but at this price, I will be happy if we get a couple of year's use.
We consider them well worth what we paid.

I researched these greenhouse-type shelf units pretty thoroughly on line as I usually do before I buy anything over the internet; these had the most space for the money. I had hoped to find some truly "heavy-duty" shelves, which these aren't, but I think they are a good value for what I paid. There's plenty of space for all of my starter trays and the zipper on the cover seems to be holding up just fine. We've had some really strong gusts of wind in the past week or so, but my shelves are well sheltered where they are now; if I need to move them, I'll definitely be anchoring them with some thick plastic ties to my fence.

I received this item promptly and had no particular trouble putting it together, though I did a few extra things. I bought it as an experiment for holding some things over the winter on my deck (things I'd normally just resign myself to losing), in the corner next to the house (walls on 2 sides). From reviews, I realized this might be blown over by strong winds so I've put a couple of square concrete stepping stones on the bottom shelf, under some plants. And I put a rubber mat underneath to prevent wind from blowing in so easily from under the deck. No big worries if it doesn't work; as I said, it's just an experiment. No problems so far and I'm happy with my purchase. Decent value for the cost.

It took me all of 10 minutes to put this together. It's sturdy and well built. I'm very happy with it and would definitely recommend it. The shelves are easily removable and simply sit on the frame. They are a bit clumsy, so I would recommend fastening them to the frame using cable ties. I still give this product 5 stars. My plants love it and they're all doing very well!

I primarily bought this to help harden off my vegetable seedlings before moving them to the garden. It worked perfectly. Like other reviewers suggested, I used ties to lash the grates to the frame. Plants stay hot and most with the front zipped closed, even when its only 40 degrees out. The fabric has torn in two spots, a hole appeared along a seam at the top and the fabric ripped off a tie string on the bottom, but neither has lessened the greenhouse effect.

I propogate bonsai in a custom made propogation unit, but suffered a large dead loss when the seedlings were removed from the unit. I am very limited on space and cannot put up a large outdoor greenhouse so I decided to try this little unit since it is small enough to place in my office. Since I put this to use, I have incubated nearly 150 bonsai's of many different species and have had NO dead loss. I will now be forced to purchase 3-5 more of these to accomodate all the extra plants I will have now.

I was a bit dissapointed in the plastic used to join the frame together, but it seems to be holding up fine. The reinforced cover is great and has even stood up against my daughters cat so far. One thing I really appreciated is tat there is a lengthways center support under each shelf that is easy to attach a grow light to, which was a must since I am keeping it indoors. I had to rig up a support for a grow light on the top teir, but that only cost a 1/2" dowel pin a a few zip ties. I expect that the cover will last much longer for me since it is not outside, but even for those who do wear it out, I suspect there may be a replacement cover available, but not sure about this. no matter where you keep it, inside or out, definitely take the advice of all the other reviewers and use some twine or a few zip ties to secure the shelving. If nothing else, this will just save some frustration. Depending on your needs, it will also be worth looking at installing a fan for better temp control and ventilation.