greenhouse vs coldframe

Hi, I don't have much room and I like to grow plants from seed.  Would people recommend I get a small greenhouse or a coldframe?  The only smallish greenhouses seem to be those ones in the plastic 'jackets' and they always seem to break - the zip goes or the plastic joints break.

I won't be growing anything that needs to spend its whole life inside like fussy tomatoes, I'll grow outside types, but I would like to grow some half hardy annuals and hardy annuals and perennials that like a cosy start.

Small green house everytime -you can get 4x4 aluminum one if you are pushed for space-or get both.

A cold frame is ok for hardening off plants or growing hardies but once the floor space is taken up -that is it

Hello cloud8,

I am a cold frame fan, I have had amazing results from both of mine, I've grown loads from seed. For me it's cold frames all the way. 

From what you say that you want to grow,you can do this in a coldframe, and at a very low cost and they don't take up much space and very little maintenance

.This is one of mine in Feb this year. It's been moved recently to make room for a potting shed.

Currently it has trays of perennials & biennuals grown from seed ready for next year. The other one has plenty of room for overwintering plants

This time last year I was in your position, wanting a greenhouse but knowing that it would use up too much space in the garden - after a lot of research I bought one of these http://www.webretailuk.co.uk/Forest-Mini-Greenhouse.htm? and I'm very pleased with it.  I've raised all my seeds in there, now I've got pots of cuttings in there.

It does everything I would want a greenhouse to do - I  also like to grow my toms outside. 

It wasn't too difficult to put together; some bits of it needed the two of us, one to hold and one to screw, but if you read the instructions carefully it's straight forward.

I bought it from the website I gave the link to, but there are other stockists including Notcutts. 

However, there are other wooden ones available which are much inferior, made of really trashy wood.

I have a cold frame and have the same as Dovefromabove. A greenhouse to me is fully glazed, gets full sun and should never go below 0C. A cold frame is not about total sun and heat, it is about giving plants a boost out of the wind and a few C above outside temps. It certainly boosts plants like Hollyhock, Delphinium, Pumkin, Onions etc by a few weeks/perhaps a month at least compared to what they would be outside. From what you said you should go for a small coldframe as it will give you what you need. I start of everything in it - good if you buy annuals early but want larger plants in the border as it helps when pests attack to be bigger.

I also had one of those plastic 'greenhouses'. They do get warm in summer but they do not last and as you say the zip breaks and they fall over in the wind even with weights holding it down. I did find that Vine weevil likes the combination of warm interior and tasty seedlings .  When the zip goes so does the heat and the cover can cost more than the 'greenhouse' itself.

I want a green house, but i want to do it right so i'm saving up for a decent one with toughened glass. But i wanted something for this year to overwinter my very small perenial plugs from the readers offers, and also start off my veg earlier in the spring next year. 

So i bought a couple of coldframes from greenfingers.com, have to say they were on special off for 14.99 and they were an absolute bargain.. looking now they are still half price at £19.99. For the money they were excellent. They might not last for a decade but for the next year or two until i can get my greenhouse they will do a stirling job.