PHOTO: A greenhouse is the perfect place to nurture plants but resist the urge to use it as a storage shed for all garden-related tools and supplies. (Photo by Mitchell Alcala, OSU Agriculture) ...

To customize your shed, you could create a combination toolshed and greenhouse, put a martin house on top, or use part of the shed for a chicken coop or rabbit hutch.

Plastic, weather-tight, insulated and portable shed-greenhouse combinations retail for around $2,000. Two hundred thousand of these houses -- temporary homes for a million people -- would cost ...