Gotta have a Greenhouse

Sustainable Greenhouse

Greenhouses are a necessity for any farmer that wants to extend the growing season, grow transplants from seeds, or grow plants out of their temperate zones.  Greenhouses can range from complex and permanent to the quick, easy, portable, and cheap.  The greenhouse to the left is a more permanent design.  It has some aspect that are eco-friendly and Sustainable.  The back wall is designed to be built of straw bales.  The bales are extreme insulation.  The wall will help keep the greenhouse from getting to hot in the summer, and it will keep in heat in the winter.  If the wall is covered with an Earthen Plaster it will even radiate heat at night.  The glazing, the clear material laid over the wooden frame, can be made out of several different options.  Personally I have come to like Poly carbonate after doing some research online, but it can become expensive. 

Cheap, Easy, Quick Greenhouse

I will be designing a version of the PVC Greenhouse on the right to begin with.  I will build a more permanent and sustainable greenhouse like the above greenhouse later on.  The PVC Greenhouse I am going to build will have a box frame on the bottom for added support during our stormy spring time season.  I will be able to take these down once the season heats up and they are no longer needed.  Most of my wide rows are designed so that I can spring up one of these hoop houses quickly to deal with cold snaps in the fall.  You can find plenty of free plan designs all over the internet, so google it and tweak one to fit your needs.  I will share my final grand plan with you as it gets designed.  I am learning and building these things as I go so I will share any pitfalls and successes with you.

 

Keep it Green

JP