Planning Your Dream Greenhouse with Leslie Halleck

Join Jane and Leslie On The Ledge to Learn About Greenhouse Growing

Want to create your ultimate greenhouse without breaking the bank or making mistakes that harm your plants? Professional plant geek Leslie Halleck joins Jane Peronne on the On The Ledge Podcast to talk about her new book Home Greenhouse Revival: find out how to choose, site, and manage a greenhouse so it actually grows what you want, rather than becoming an expensive garden ornament or storage space.

Patreon subscriber at the Ledge End or Superfan tier? Watch the ad free episode here, and catch my bonus chat with Leslie where we go deeper into the world of horticulture, including why gardening skills are vital for our future. Watch here.

This week’s guest

Leslie Halleck is a professional horticulturist with a lifetime of industry experience, hands on gardening and indoor growing. She's also the author of several books including Gardening Under Lights and Plant Parenting and is an UCLA Extension Instructor for the Horticulture & Gardening Program and Horticulture Certificate Program. Her book Home Greenhouse Revival is out now, published by Cool Springs Press.

Want more of Leslie on On The Ledge? Check out her episodes on The science of plant propagation, tiny plants and growlights.

Key topics

• We discuss why a plant first approach matters more than choosing the dream structure first.
• Leslie shares how climate, region, sun angle, shade, and obstructions should shape greenhouse decisions from the start.
• We discuss why glass is not always the best choice to clothe your greenhouse, especially in windy areas, snow loads, or near falling branches.
• Leslie explains why secondhand greenhouses can be a smart buy if the structure has good bones, but glazing often deteriorates.
• We discuss the importance of permits, foundations, power, water, and HVAC or supplemental lighting before committing to a build.
• Leslie shares how greenhouse shape affects performance, including geodesic domes for heat retention and gambrel roofs for snow.
• We discuss why cooling is often the hardest part of greenhouse management, especially in summer heat.
• Leslie explains why taller greenhouses are often easier to cool than short, low ones, and why taking plants outside in summer can be the right move.
• We discuss sunken or semi subterranean greenhouses, including when they can help with insulation or cooling and when they may fail.
• Leslie shares why newer greenhouse kits are getting sturdier and more climate specific, but still need to be matched to local conditions.
• We discuss cheap portable kits, reinforcement, anchoring, and how to manage expectations for temporary or budget setups.
• Leslie explains why pests and diseases can explode in greenhouses and how IPM, monitoring, and biosecurity help prevent problems.
• We discuss VPD, humidity, and why vapor pressure deficit is a more precise measure than relative humidity for greenhouse growing.
• Leslie shares that the book includes detailed plant profiles, practical growing measurements, and add on plant recommendations for each pro