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A cooler Greenhouse!!!
I live in Coeurd'Alene, Idaho
and I work for a beverage company and we frequently throw away old
coolers that are on the fritz. I had a thought one day that I could use
those doors for something since they are tempered 3 paned glass. The
next thing I knew I had a beautiful greenhouse thanks to my sweet and
crafty husband!
Why
settle for a cold frame?
Our greenhouse came about because we wanted a better cold frame to
harden off plants started in our basement.
Well it soon became a true greenhouse even able to contend with a
portion of our cold Wisconsin winters.
Shane’s book has proved invaluable in answering all of the
questions, which arise when undertaking such a project.
 The
construction took most of the previous summer.
Attached to the back of our garage, standing structurally free, it
measures five foot by ten foot. All
of the construction was done with pressure treated wood, we would have
preferred cedar, however it cost three times as much in this part of the
country. Four 6” x 6”
post form the corners. The
post are sunk four feet and set in concrete.
4’ x 6” timbers form sole plates, which are mortised and
tenoned to the 6” x 6”s.
The one quarter inch tempered glass was salvaged and set in 2” x
2” pieces of wood. The
horizontal space between panes was caulked, instead of using additional
wood. Three thirty gallon
water barrels, painted half black and half white, support the benches and
provide 3 to 10 degrees of temperature buffering depending on how cold and
or sunny it was the previous day. The
floor was insulated with that corrugated plastic covered with pea gravel
with stone pavers set where you walk.
Two small circulation fans, run by timer, a 120-volt heater and a
squirrel cage exhaust fan, controlled by thermostat, regulate
temperatures. One section
(seven panes of glass) at the peak is hinged and ready for the hydraulic
opener. 
This February we started up and brought out various flowering
annuals and later some tomatoes. Hanging
baskets hung from a steel cable at the peak really took off and look
terrific. We are very pleased
with what spring has brought us and excited about experimenting through
the summer and fall. In the
end of April, it turned extremely cold and we had to run the heater almost
non-stop. At the first of
May, it suddenly turned 90 degrees for three straight days…it was over
100 degrees in the greenhouse. With
lots of water, everything survived! At
the middle of May, we couldn’t wait any longer, and we planted some of
the annuals outside. Within a
couple of days, we had a light frost and lost all of the tomatoes and some
of the annuals. It was a sad
day. Since then, however, the
weather has changed dramatically and everything is looking outstanding,
now! This growing season has
been a wonderful challenge and a great learning experience.
Thanks to Shane for responding to my questions on the message board
and for such a great book with all the helpful information and ideas.
We love the book and read it often.
It has encouraged us to try to grow tomatoes into the late fall and
we are even thinking about growing some orchids.
Your book has given us the courage to experiment and we appreciate
your experience and knowledge.
 Hello
Shane, I finished building this greenhouse in sept 2001. I designed
it and built it myself. It took approximately 2 -3 months to
complete. I love plants and had built a small a greenhouse about 10
years ago that cost me nearly $300.00!. This greenhouse was
quite a bit more expensive, but a dream come true. It is 14x24 and
contains many surprises. They say pictures are worth a thousand words, and
I have hundreds of them! Please let me know what you think. Thanks, Robert"Bo"
Kissinger P.S. I live in Charlotte N.C.
  
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 Patio
into paradise
What seemed to be an unfinished patio cover a few years back
has developed into a wonderful winter paradise for the whole family.
Although it started out as a 8 by 8 little plastic and fiberglass
sheathed room, it eventually developed into a 8 by 25 foot
system that could be installed each fall in a weekend for about $60.00. My
greenhouse is at the rear of my home on the south side, just out the
basement onto the patio. We shingled the entire roof area and supported
the structure with 4 by 4's. When fall arrives each year, I screw 2 by 4's
to the posts and frame it in on 24" center. The side wall are
completely framed in and insulated on the lower portion of the wall and
the top half of the walls are screwed in for easy removal in the spring.
Once framed in, Nylon twine in stretched horizontally across the studs
before applying 6 mil plastic so it can help control it in high winds. The
twine is also applied on the outside of the plastic and stapled to the
studs. I found applying the plastic on a warm day, it can be stretched
pretty tight. The inside is done in the same manner thus sandwiching the
2/4 walls. My benches are scrap lumber and old pallets screwed to the
2/4 walls and supported with old 4/4's. Inside this greenhouse sits the
outside faucet, so watering is a breeze. On cold nights scrap cardboard is
placed next to the walls to help reduce heat loss. I have found that
roofing felt paper is a great insulator and a heat catcher. Generally the
greenhouse is heated with a 8ft baseboard heater. Sometimes at night the
patio door can be left open for assisted heat and provide humid heat for
our home during the day. It seems to be a wonderful system and definitely
a place of refuge. Sometimes fresh tomatoes can be retrieved in January
when the frigid cold is mere feet away.
Fifteen
year-old Starts from Scratch!
In August of 1999, I built a small greenhouse on the
edge of my parents yard. At the time I was 15 years old. Now I am 17,
and the greenhouse has grown with me, along with a lot of help. I owe much
thanks to my neighbors who helped me along the way- they gave me
construction materials, heating materials, and anything else I needed that
they had to give away. I also owe a thanks to Shane- for his book and for
his help.
I live in a small town in northern Illinois where the weather is
sometimes unpredictable. We enjoy a regular outdoor growing season, but I
wanted a greenhouse because of my passion for tropical plants and fresh
fruit. The original structure was started with old single pane storm
windows and was about 5 feet square. A 6 foot square addition was added in
fall. That winter, heating was unsuccessful and I put plants in the house.
In spring I met Shane and he told me of the wonders of solar heat. I
created another addition to accompany the water and increase southern
glazing. I also added a second layer of glazing and improved weather
stripping.
That summer, my world of tropicals opened up and soon I found I
needed to increase vertical room for my bananas. The new addition used
some fiberglass panels for glazing. The summer was warm but successful.
That winter, a means of secondary heat became available, so I installed an
old potbelly stove. In December, I was forced to construct a 3ft by 3ft
section on the northeast corner when temperatures were below freezing. The
next 2 days, we received a blizzard, and a day after, the coldest
temperature of the season. All winter, only 1 plant, a geranium, died from
cold. In spring I re-roofed my east side and enclosed my chimney, thus
ending my major construction. (A small airlock is located on the west side
as well.) The final building dimensions are about 8.5ft by 11ft by 10ft
high.
I also have approximately 300 gallons of stored water. Among my
favorite plants are my strawberry and pineapple guavas, a lemon, a lime,
an orange, a grapefruit, a bougainvillea, a sea onion, a purple heart, and
of course, my bananas. There are also many others, including herbs, and
some ornamental flowering plants. My heat is provided primarily by solar,
and assisted by wood burning. I am attempting to create all of my own
electricity using a photovoltaic and wind combination. For cooling, I am
also going to attempt to use a small fogging unit, and an exhaust fan.
Space is at a premium and something always seems to pop up, but it is
always a fun challenge. I hope everyone enjoys my long but hopefully
interesting story, and I wish everyone success and a sweet reward. -Dr.
Nate
Hoophouse
I
recently finished putting up a 10'x20' hoophouse kit from the supplier
in Cape Cod. Their ads are in Organic Gardening and I think Kitchen
Gardener and Sunset mags. I am happy with the results. The
shipping is
inexpensive as they can get, the service is prompt and friendly, and if
you want to leave out part of the kit, as I did, you can. I used
Tuffbell which I purchased separately instead of the plastic that
comes with the kit. I am proud to say that although I am a female , I
was able to follow the directions and do all of the work myself, except
for pulling the covering over the frame once it was up.Astrid@keepsite.com
Sacramento
Sun Catcher!
Hi Shane, I really enjoy your page, I would like to share the pictures of
the greenhouse I just finished a couple of months ago.
The greenhouse is free standing and built from tempered glass that was
once sliding doors all over Sacramento. I don't know if Sacramento is
really the climate that needs a greenhouse, but I wanted one.
My first plans were to build a 10'x 12' greenhouse. Knowing myself
and the availability of free glass, the house turned out to be 10'x 21'.
This is all the room I have left in the back yard that is available to
use.
The glass was given to me by a local remodeler that was only interested in
keeping the aluminum. The glass came in three widths, 24",
34"and 46", the common size is 34" wide and all was
74" to 76" long.
The glass size dictated the design of the greenhouse. I used the 46"
pieces for the long walls and 2, 34" pieces and one 24" piece
for the ends. The glass was set in schedule 40 pvc pipe that I cut a slice
out of. This was done so the glass would have the edges protected, as
tempered glass explodes when hit on the raw edge.
I considered building a pointed roof but this would have made the roof
peak too high. The roof I ended up with is 10' wide with a 76" flat
top and 34" sides that are slanted in to make a trapezoid
shape.
I just happened to have two pieces of 18"x 60" glass that filled
in each end of the greenhouse. With a old window sash weight and a pulley
I can open each end of the greenhouse for ventilation.
To support the glass and keep it up in high wind, I decided to use
concrete blocks for the corners and stanchions. I filled each of these
with steel and concrete. This part of the construction took the most time
as I dug large footings and had to make sure everything was level and
square. The blocks do block some light but they have turned out to be very
handy for supporting the shelves.
The center shelf is 0" wide and 12' long. It's supported from the
roof trusses with chains. This I did for two reasons. The first is that it
gives me shaded room below the shelf that I can use for whatever without
legs in the way. The other reason was to help control crawling
insects.
I haven't yet decided what to grow in the greenhouse, but there's enough
planted in there now to get the warm damp smell that makes just being in
there worth all the work.
---Greg
Labor
of Love!
Shane,
I have been working on my greenhouse since the beginning of August and it is
nearly done. I have to share with you pictures I took of it because it is
through the knowledge I acquired mainly from your book. I used some of Norm
Abram's (of THE NEW YANKEE WORK SHOP) construction ideas and adapted them to
my own design. I weighed heavily the design considerations for a functioning
green house set forth in your book.
The location of my greenhouse is north central Massachusetts. My intention
is to use it all winter (burr..............).It is a 10 ft x 12 ft
structure. I plan to incorporate the solar greenhouse philosophy because I
haven't got electricity in it yet. The materials used for the framing is 2 x
4 Mahogany. It sits upon cement block that are three feet in depth at it's
deepest point. The foundation has a footing that is 12 in x 12 in. All was
manufactured from the 2 x 4's, including the door. I don't have solar window
openers as of yet for the 10 windows but are coming.
I broke ground on the first week of August and have been working on it on
the weekends and after work. On October 15, 2000 I took the photos
(ATTACHED) and I would like to think it is 98% finished. (except for getting
some plants started). The cost to me was just under $2300.00. The labor was
free. As the title suggests, it was a labor of luv.
Thanks for all your help.
P.S.
I found the McKlosky marine spar varnish that covers each and every
board on all sides with 2 coats.
W.L.Heath
Junk
Greenhouse:
This photo was taken in around 1979. It was one of the first home
solar greenhouses constructed in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was built by my
former neighbor, Isador Lopez, who was in his 70's at the time. He had
long dreamed of having his own greenhouse. After seeing how simple my
solar heated greenhouse functioned, he seemed empowered. One day after
cleaning out his garage and yard, Isador went to the dump with his truck
full of trash and junk. After he unloaded his truck, he saw old sheets of
plywood, pieces of 2x4's, cushions from couches (for insulation), along
with other potential building materials. Keen on getting himself a solar
heated greenhouse he loaded his truck up with the stuff.
When he arrived
in the driveway with his truck still full of what appeared to be more
junk, his wife came running out and yelled "I thought I told you to
get rid of that stuff!" Isador replied, "Ma, I found some better
junk, I'm gonna build me a greenhouse on the garage and grow
tomatoes!"
With that, he constructed his
greenhouse in only 2 days. His greenhouse grew plants right through the 20 and 30
below winter temperatures. It even heated his garage. The
total cost of the greenhouse was $30.00 (1979 dollars). Even his wife was
thrilled.
One night that
same year, I was driving home from work and I did a "California
stop" at a stop sign. A patrolman who happened to witness me, pulled
me over. For some reason he took a severe dislike of me. He made me follow
him down to the station and insisted that I pay my fine or put up bail.
Not having any money in my pocket, I found myself sitting in jail. I was
new to Cheyenne and Isador was one of the few people I had come to know.
He put up the 20 bucks to get me out of jail. From that day on he liked to
call me "jailbird."
Isador loved
his greenhouse and loved to garden. He proved to me that the technology of
growing food year-round can be accessible to anyone with the will to make
it happen.
Centuries ago, early greenhouses only belonged to the rich and people of
nobility. Now if you want a greenhouse, you don't need a lot of money,
special technical expertise or be a king (or queen). You can do
it one way or another!
Shane
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Carol
Ford, Morris, MN
