ommamedmar

This thread is dedicated to some folks in the land down under; I hope this info helps

Please feel free to post pics, updates and other info here; I'm hoping this thread will get some people going in the greenhouse vein, and it can be treated like an outdoor subforum where people can post questions and other experienced greenhouse growers can answer.

[edit: the greenhouse forum is now up and running; what you will find in this thread is basic info on starting, operating, aligning and heating your greenhouse]

Getting started: your first greenhouse will be easiest with wood. Try sinking some posts in the ground, and butt it up with two by fours, peeled poles or whatever. If you don't want to go through the pain of digging holes EXACTLY two feet to sink an eight foot pole, just sink it as deep as you can, and use a chainsaw to cut the top of the pole to the desired height after you have set it. One bag of 60lb. concrete per pole will do the trick here; you want your front two poles set at a lower depth, say one foot per six feet of distance from the rear poles. Pictured below, the front poles are six feet from the rear poles and are reinforced with some 1by2's I had in a scrap pile. They are also "curvey"; I liked the way they looked, so I used them. I used two by fours on the edges to provide a smoother surface for nailing plastic on the ends. Unless you're using heavy, opaque material like thick glass, you don't need to worry about heavy supporting rafters. I have used one inch poles for the roof here.

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"In the province of connected minds, what the network believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the network's mind there are no limits."
~~ Dr. John Lilly

"...Like some tacky little pamphlet in your daddy's bottom drawer."
~~Frank Zappa

ommamedmar

The width of this bad boy is ten feet; planned to correspond exactly with the width of a roll of 4mil plastic. Think about these things when you're planning a greenhouse; you may find some material on hand that you wont have to cut or mangle to install, and can have your greenhouse up in an hour or less.

I attached one end of the plastic to a beam behind the roof (near the black plastic in the previous photo) and rolled it all the way down to the floor in the front. I then stuck a ten foot log to weight it down, and rolled the rest of the plastic back in the opposite direction and attached it to the same point on the roof. I now have double thickness 4 mil plastic with dead air space for heat, and can roll it all the way back in the summer when it gets hot.

Heres a pic:

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__________________
"In the province of connected minds, what the network believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the network's mind there are no limits."
~~ Dr. John Lilly

"...Like some tacky little pamphlet in your daddy's bottom drawer."
~~Frank Zappa

ommamedmar

You'll want to put some more of that 4mil on the floor and if you have the resources, lay bricks or stones on top of that and fill in the spaces between the stones with sand. This helps hold in heat, while the plastic prevents weeds from sprouting up in their new ideal climate-controlled environment. T

One of the best things you can do at this point is get some pallets from a warehouse; they are free - don't ever pay somebody for a pallet; they just accumulate in warehouses, and need to be disposed of when they wear out. You can train and tie on to the edges of the pallets very easily! They also provide some air circulation and eliminate mildew and mold as a result.

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__________________
"In the province of connected minds, what the network believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the network's mind there are no limits."
~~ Dr. John Lilly

"...Like some tacky little pamphlet in your daddy's bottom drawer."
~~Frank Zappa

ommamedmar

Keeping a 50 gallon barrel full of water in there will heat up during the day and radiate out some heat at night. Having a south facing rear wall composed of dark material like the black plastic here will keep the daytime winter temperatures higher. I keep two compost bins behind the greenhouse and this provides some additional heat and insulation. In the winter, you will want to seal up your greenhouse with additional plastic covering the side triangles; pictured here without covering. A 5 gallon propane heater will heat a greenhouse ten times this big (600sqft.) to about 70 degrees fahrenheit when its 20 degrees outside; on full blast. On low, you can heat a greenhouse this size (60 sqft.) all day and night for about $4 a day. Perhaps less.

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__________________
"In the province of connected minds, what the network believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the network's mind there are no limits."
~~ Dr. John Lilly

"...Like some tacky little pamphlet in your daddy's bottom drawer."
~~Frank Zappa

ommamedmar

Depending on the material you choose, you may not be getting enough light. Take a rooted clone or established seedling and throw it in there for a few days. If you get leggy growth, this is a sign of low light. I've had this clone mother in here for about a week, and she loves it; more than the 18/6 I just weened her off!

As far as animals; I have fenced in the entire garden. I have used chicken wire to keep the possums from crawling in from the compost area.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
"In the province of connected minds, what the network believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the network's mind there are no limits."
~~ Dr. John Lilly

"...Like some tacky little pamphlet in your daddy's bottom drawer."
~~Frank Zappa

Guerilla_Farmer

Nice greenhouse....It'll serve it's purpose in the end....I asked a while back if they would open a "Greenhouse" thread but they never did, i thought it was a good idea...How transparent is the Material you laid over the top...also after about a year, you might want to switch out the wood poles....after the high humidity levels in a greenhouse they could start to rot or mold....if you don't want to switch them, just get some protectant stuff from the store....

Peacefully ,

Guerilla

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3hounds

You could even frame with PVC pipe..... no rot, easy to cut, elbows and t's available cheap.

Is your plastic stapled on?
I'm just curious about wind problems.

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ommamedmar

Hey sistah; I knew you'd jump on this thread

When you're making a greenhouse, its good to take in to account materials on hand; in this case, there were 6 cords of pine laying in uncut decks at the neighbors, waiting to rot. I peeled them until my back ached, and fenced in the garden - using leftovers for the greenhouse.

pvc is great! I'm hoping to post some additions to this thread, but perhaps you could post one or two pics from florida?

You bring up a good point with the wind; thanks. What I have done, and it is visible in the last photo, is nail 16gauge wire over the plastic so it forms a solid line along the nailing surface; this keeps it from tearing at each nail. It is easy to get strips of thin wood and lay them over the plastic, then nail THROUGH the wood and in to the plastic; this works well too. If you just nail the plastic on without laying a strip of some material down, it just tears off at each nail in even a light wind

__________________
"In the province of connected minds, what the network believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the network's mind there are no limits."
~~ Dr. John Lilly

"...Like some tacky little pamphlet in your daddy's bottom drawer."
~~Frank Zappa

ommamedmar

a free, complete and photographed guide to building a pvc greenhouse.

http://users2.ev1.net/~sivek/greenhouse/greenhouse.html

__________________
"In the province of connected minds, what the network believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the network's mind there are no limits."
~~ Dr. John Lilly

"...Like some tacky little pamphlet in your daddy's bottom drawer."
~~Frank Zappa

ommamedmar

Complete, comprehensive guide to building a greenhouse; PDF format.

http://www.sundancesupply.com/Kit.html

__________________
"In the province of connected minds, what the network believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the network's mind there are no limits."
~~ Dr. John Lilly

"...Like some tacky little pamphlet in your daddy's bottom drawer."
~~Frank Zappa