Need advice about greenhouses

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Much thanks for advice on in-ground greenhouses, or alternatively, on building a winter greenhouse next to the house (what can it be built from that the winter winds won't tear up? how do you heat it?)

A thought after 2.5 years on a farm: it takes a while to get used to farm life even when you take the middle road--paying to have some things done for you and keeping that day job during the transition. Thanks for your advice.

-- June Smith (homesteader2001@onebox.com), September 02, 2001

Answers

Hi June, You might be interested in reading a book I just finished. "It's called Our Solar Heated Greenhouse" by Scott & Helen Nearing. They lived in Vermont and gardened in their greenhouse all year round with no heat other than the sun! One thing they did was build a stone wall for the north and east sides of their greenhouse wich acts as a heat sink to carry the plants through the cold winter nights.

If your local library doesn't have it ask about an interlibrary loan, that's how I got my copy. By the way the book has lots of pictures so you can see exactly what it looked like plus there are plans and step by step intructions. Enjoy!

-- debra in ks (windfish@toto.net), September 02, 2001.


Get the catalog from Bob's Northern Greenhouse supply. He lists loads of inexpensive greenhouse design ideas - most of the catalog is actually plans and pictures of greenhouses. He sells a very high quality woven polyethylene that is sun-treated both sides and will last for literally years. You cannot tear this stuff. Cats can climb the walls with claws fully extended, and it will not rip. People I know who use the stuff say it lasts two to three times as long as what Bob claims for it. If you take it down and store it away in the summer (as for your fall/winter greenhouse, removed in summer to avoid overheating the house) it will last even longer than that. He sells special connectors that will make it easier to remove and put it back up, as well. This is what I'm using for my greenhouse.

Northern Greenhouse Sales
Box 42
Neche, ND 58265

(204) 327-5540

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), September 02, 2001.


Hey June, So ya wanna build a greenhouse, do ya. Maybe I can give you some pointers on building a sturdy, long lasting one. My husband built my first one back in 1995, and it lasted until we moved last year, when we took it apart to transport to our new home in the country. We lived in Myrtle Beach, and that greenhouse withstood all the hurricanes we've had in the 5 years it stood. We moved 25 miles inland and the new greenhouse is just as good, if not more so, than the first one we had. In fact it's bigger, (16'x40'), which I love,- the more room, the more plants I get grow. I have around 100 tropicals that I winter-over in the greenhouse, some plants are 10 feet tall, so the roof is higher on one side, (12 feet high, slooping down to 8 feet). The way the roof is slooped, makes it great for heavy rains not damaging the roof, and leaves in the fall don't collect up there to block the winter sun. Ok, enough about my stuff, let get you started on building a greenhouse. If you have a husband, that makes it all that much easier on the building part. He can do the heavy lifting, and you can be the supervisor, er, I mean helper. We lucked out because my DH is friends with a vinyl siding contractor. He gave us all the old double vinyl windows that he replaced with new ones from his customers. In the spring I raise the windows to let air in the greenhouse. The screening on the windows keeps out bugs and critters. So maybe you could ask around and see if someone in this trade would let you have the old windows, if you haul them off for him. Our present greenhouse, which is a year old, was built using treated 2x6's and 2x4's for the frame. I used old discarded pea gravel from a roofing company for the floor. That was also free, just had to haul it off the job site ourselves. My husband used treated plywood for the walls, but only up to 3 feet high. Then he framed in all the windows all the way around, up to the roof edge. As far at the material for the roof, we used 4 mil polyurthane, the thicker the better, for durablity. On top of that he used a black mesh tie down cover that dump trucks use to cover their truckbeds when hauling material. (Something like a blue tarp, but it's a black mesh) Our winters down here are pretty mild, and the winter sun beaming down through the roof can scorch the plants in a greenhouse. I use 2 ceramic heaters to heat the greenhouse, on days that the temp drops down to 45 degrees. I also have 2 square floor fans that I have placed about 4 feet off the floor, each at opposite ends, to keep the heat and air circulating in the greenhouse. There are 2 doors at either end of the greenhouse, one is a french door that a friend gave us, and the other one is a sliding glass door, yep another gift from a friend. On nice days in the winter I open both sets of doors up so the plants can get a good airing out from the stale winter air. I didn't loose a single plant last winter, so my husband got an A+ in greenhouse building on his report card. :) I have many greenhouse internet sites bookmarked in case you would like to check them out. Let me know and I will forward them to you. If you have any questions about plants, mainly tropicals, I would be glad to help answer them. Oh yea, this spring I had a great veggy garden from the seeds I'd saved over the last few years. I started them in the greenhouse and got an early start. You will love greenhousing, once you get started. Lots of luck.

-- Carol from Dixie (plantlady51@webtv.net), September 03, 2001.

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