Anyone Growing in a Greenhouse?

[The Hemp Goddess]

Well, the "real" greenhouse is a project for the spring. But, I did put up a smaller (10 x 10) portable greenhouse--you know--one of those cheaper things with the metal frame and plastic covering. I made a foundation with 4 x 4s and staked them to the ground. There is heavy duty landscape fabric on the ground. The greenhouse had held up well through some big wind and rain storms. Weird to have to go out and water plants when it is pouring rain. Last week, I put a milk house heater in the greenhouse and set the Vortex fan up to recirculate the warm air. We have had temps in the 20s the last 4 nights (25 last night). The heater keeps things above freezing (barely) and warm enough during the day that they don't stop growing. If it gets colder, I will need 2 heaters, at least right before dawn. Now though, with the early morning sun shining on it, it is 56 inside with an outside temp of 27. Quite a bit colder here than where I lived before--it has made growing outdoors a challenge. I'll be better prepared next year.

I have been looking at some greenhouse kits that have decent reviews and are affordable in the $2500 to 3000 range. A lot of these come 8' wide in a variety of lengths up to 20' or so. Still kicking things around though. If I could find 4 or 5 used glass sliding door sets, I might stick build something. There is no reason at all to have the north wall anything but solid and insulated, so may end up building something. LOL--I think I'm going to have a long winter to plan and decide.

 

[zem]

This is great! I am wondering if you could excavate a few feet into the ground maybe this could help with the insulation? I am not sure just imagining how it is to grow plants in such a cold place. Also I wonder if one would dig a few feet and burry some ducting where cold air passes, if the air would warm up as it passes through? I recall seeing a video with someone burrying a lot of ducts in a greenhouse just cannot remember if he they were using forced heating or for just for passing air through. The method that I saw on hydroponic raised plant rows is just hot water pipes that go all the way around the rows where the root level is. Water is heated with propane and seldom the propane burning is used to gove extra CO2 as well. If you like to see some big grow ops and several of them are in greenhouses, check the growers' network channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJgC72WQy8KmNkWD8IzuUA I like it because it is fun and I learn new ideas at the same time

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I have lived in cold climates my entire life. I often wonder--as both a plumber and a gardener--how much easier both would be if I lived in a milder climate. Just to give you an idea, water lines need to be buried 1 foot below the frost line. Where I live, that is 4 feet. This kind of rules out burying ducting deep enough to benefit from the heat the earth naturally puts out. I do like the idea of a propane burner and will look into that with the "permanent" greenhouse. The extra CO2 is like a bonus. The place I lived in Idaho has a huge amount of geothermal activity in the area and I worked with a variety of hot water systems. So, while I will not use the greenhouse year round, I will probably need to have plants in there until the end of Oct. I figure that I will need auxiliary heat for about a month.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. I'll check out the link you sent. I also like new ideas.

 

[longtimegrower]

Sounds like you moved to flagstaff. Ive got afriend in arizona. Just guessing. 75 miles doesnt matter that much here.

 

[HerbWatcher]

I know there has not been much action on this post lately. But I thought I would jump in anyway. I'm just starting to build a 10x12 stick built green house. The foundation is simple, i just layed 3 2x4s flat the 10 foot direction. Drilled three holes in them then pounded three foot rebar through them into the ground to keep them stable. Next using 2x4s i built a 10x12 box that sits on top of the three 2 bys on the ground. I ran 6 joists in side the box 24 on center . Layed down half inch plywood on top of that for the floor. Next the walls will be 8 foot tall with two by studs 24 on center to match the floor. I'm going to grow 6 plants so I'm going to install six fans ( one for each plant) at the top of the eight foot walls. Now for the roof, i decided to go with a gambrel style roof. I want more height where the roof meets the wall. Reason being is that I'm going to be growing in 20 gal. trash cans, so they will be sitting up about 3 feet off the floor from the get go. Plus I like the look of the gambrel roof. This style roof looks like a barn.
Like the HG i want to use 4x8 double wall polygarb for the skin.
But this is where I am having some concerns. On the long ends of the sheets they are open. On the sides they are sealed. The process the mfg states to install these panels is kinda lame and costly. Now I'm not sure how all this works, but the mfg states at the end of the sheets where it is open you are suppose to use this special tape. Actually 2 special tapes. They state that you install one tape on top of the sheet, which is a solid tape then you install the other tape on the bottom of the sheet, which has holes in it to stop moisture from building up between the double wall sheets.
I don't get it how will this stop rain from getting in there then?
Then for the sides where you attach them together the mfg sells these plastic H brackets that you slid the sheets into then you are suppose to screw in-between the two sheets into the plastic H brackets into the studs.
Just an accident waiting to happen.
Then on top of that these H brackets are black so I see these lasting a season, maybe.
I'm afraid i might have security issues, because I don't live where i grow. That's the main reason I want to use the polygarb. This stuff is 25 percent stronger than glass and just about unbreakable .
So if anybody has experience installing this stuff maybe you can help me understand this process.
It just doesn't seem to be very efficient to me. Seems like there will be alot of problems. Plus the cost for all these extra things to install these sheets kicks up the price like 30-40 bucks per sheet. And the sheets are $60 direct or $80 from home Depot.
So just to skin this 10x12 green house will be over $1000.
Thanks in advance. And I hope you all have HIGH day.
Ps sorry this was so long.....

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Thanks for the input. I am thinking of greenhouses again, but I have moved again, so it is a new ballgame. We bought a place and moved from northern Oregon to southern Oregon. I'm about 12 miles outside Klamath Falls (4100' elevation). We have an acre and a great backyard that is open to a lot of possibilities, so have been looking at greenhouses seriously again. At 4100' we are going to need it in the fall.

Even with a portable plastic greenhouse I wanted to have a good foundation (and not blow away), so I put down 4 x 4s that I staked to the ground with 2' ground stakes. I didn't build a floor, but put down a heavy weight landscape cloth. With a permanent structure, I will probably do the same or maybe put down a cinder block foundation. I will still use the landscape fabric for the floor.

I have also noticed that the tapes and metal that they use on the polycarb sheets seems expensive and laborious and I am exploring other things. Pinterest has plans for a couple of gambrel type greenhouses that use the corrugated polycarb that is cheaper. But that too is still fairly expensive, is single wall, and has special things you need to buy. My latest idea (which I am researching--not all my "ideas" are feasible) is to build a lean-to type structure off the back of the garage utilizing used sliding glass doors for the walls. You can often pick up old sliding glass doors for $100 or so. Most of them still have screens and they come in sizes from 5' to 8'. Then the only part that would need the polycarb would be the roof. Also a money saver as I would only need 3 walls and I could pull electrical from the garage.

I can't imagine having a greenhouse that is remote from where you live, security issues have to be a nightmare. It is not like the double wall polycarb is going to be strong enough to prevent breakage if a person wants to gain entry, though. I think it is more like it won't break during a bad hail storm or with high wind. There is little that can actually deter a determined thief.