| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| coloquilter |
Posted - Jun 07 2010 : 7:47:01 PM
Hello All,
Colo State University extention office and a nearby High School ag teacher brought an expert on Greenhouses,Hydroponics and Aquaponics to teach a 1 day class on some really COOL growing techniques. I am really excited and can't wait to get my greenhouse up ! My Hubby bought me a 20x100 ft when a local greenhouse went out of business. My Plan to to try to grow year round. I bought 2 books by Eliot Coleman that tells what crops will grow best in what season and how to do it with NO heat !I am hoping to over the years make it self contained /solar /passive solar . anyone else with a greenhouse?
Susan |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 5:23:49 PM
You could do a 4x8 and we could probably still get it to work. It might be a bit taller in shape of course.
MaryJane is in zone 5b. You can do several things to keep the greenhouses warm enough to grow year round, though most of the growing during the winter is very cold hardy plants and I believe Sunny said when I took the class that they started kale and such in early February, or perhaps that she was harvesting in February. I can't remember now.
One of the things that I am thinking of doing is container gardening in the greenhouse with soil in black painted totes. Another thing you can do is layer hot compost about 6-8 inches deep on the floor *if not deeper* and then if you want to keep the mess down to a minimum you could always put black garden fabric over the top of the hot compost. Between the daytime ambient heat coming in on sunny days, and the heat from the compost, plus the stored heat in the soil of the container gardens the greenhouse should stay relatively warm. It's not going to be tomato friendly during the winter without help, but certainly things like lettuce and kale can be started much earlier.
Another thing that wouldn't really cost any more than what most of us do for seedlings anyway is to put a single lamp out there with an extension cord with say a 60 or 100 watt bulb.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
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| TJinMT |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 4:41:21 PM
We dug that copy out and found it - page 102 - oh heaven!!! My mom and I were pretty near squealing about it, and my husband wasn't TOO opposed to considering it, if I could cut it in half width-wise and go against a fence - so 8x4 - hey it works for me if I can get it to just happen!!
I'm very interested in heating possibilities. MJ said that she harvested all year round??? Which zone is she in, in northern Idaho? We're in 5 in my yard (grin) although much of Billings is 4b... would you use radiant heat from opaque drums of water, or ??? Well gosh, when it hits 20 below, it's just gonna freeze, no matter what - then that's like what, radiant cold?
What do other folks use for heating sources for their greenhouses, in severe winter areas??
~TJ
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." -CS Lewis |
| knead2garden |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 4:00:50 PM
Alee: Thank you so much for your time and effort. I'm going to see if I can find a copy.
~Ashley
"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 06:48:19 AM
OKay it's the August 2008 "Raising Jane" issue. I missed it the first time I looked but found it! It is actually 8x8! Sorry about missing on the dimensions earlier which is better because it can fit in more places and if you want an 8x16 you can actually put two together!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 06:39:21 AM
Hmm the magazine that has the green house plans must be one of the ones I have at work. Also it looks like that magazine doesn't have any extra copies for sale on the website. I'll let you know which issue it is when Doug gets home from work. I'll have him stop at my desk and bring the magazines home.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 06:22:27 AM
Ashley it is in one of the back magazines that you can order from MaryJanes farm. This green house is actually pretty sturdy and the biggest thing you have to watch out for is the covering plastic. It lasts a few years and then you need to replace it ($20 for a roll at Wal-Mart). Let me go find the magazine issue for you:
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| knead2garden |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 04:38:47 AM
Do you have to purchase the greenhouse plans or can you fing them online? I'm very interested. We just looked at at 10x12 for $600 and it was made really cheap.
~Ashley
"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 11 2010 : 10:41:55 PM
The MJF greenhouse is very economical in size- I'll show you the plans. I want to say it's 8x16 foot at the base. Granted I haven't see your yard, but it is customizable! Maybe we can figure out a way to make it work for you! If not I am planning on getting mine back up and we could always share!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| TJinMT |
Posted - Jun 11 2010 : 9:24:00 PM
Alee - oh gosh I'm drooling! I'd jump tall boulders and slay green monsters to have a greenhouse - my main problem is the space requirements!! For some reason, the kids think they need yard to run in, and my husband won't even go for a children's swingset, much less a greenhouse (fume, gracefully I hope!)... I'd thought about doing a half-greenhouse, against the fence...
Great, now I'm going to be imagining it and thinking of ways to convince the family that mommy really NEEDS a greenhouse... grin...
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." -CS Lewis |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 11 2010 : 8:10:07 PM
TJ- If you want to invest about $150 in a green house, you and I can put a pretty nice one together in an afternoon after a trip down to Shiptons and Wal-Mart! I took a class through MaryJanes Farm on how to build them and have the magazine with the blueprints here. They are super nice in the summer and there are several ways we can get them to be "heated" passively in the winter. And the really nice thing is that they are somewhat portable so if you needed to move it we could! I keep trying to think of a way to have my dryer vent release the heat into my green house but if I snug it up to that side of the house it would be in shade all day during the winter so not too helpful.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| ddmashayekhi |
Posted - Jun 11 2010 : 7:12:47 PM
Lucky you Susan! Please keep us informed on how it goes. Pictures would be really nice too!
I have always wanted to grow vegetables in the winter, so I'm very interested on how this works out for you.
Dawn in IL |
| LakeOntarioFarmgirl |
Posted - Jun 08 2010 : 3:40:45 PM
Wow Susan that's great!
I would love to have a green house here..... hubby bought a hydroponics system 3 years ago, but we have never used it....he expected me to set it up, figure out how to use it, then use it. Sigh.... I have all I can do to just keep the summer garden going.
However, I have determined that I am never eating a store bought tomato or store bought lettuce again, so I guess I better get moving! lol!
Make sure you post pics and tell us how your green house venture is going!
Brenda
FarmGirl # 711
Nothing we achieve in this world is achieved alone. It is always achieved with others teaching us along the way. Lee J. Colan
http://theviewfromhere-brenda.blogspot.com/ |
| knead2garden |
Posted - Jun 08 2010 : 09:06:48 AM
So happy for you! We are looking for a good used greenhouse right now and can't find one anywhere.
You should post picks when you get it all up. I'd love to see it:)
~Ashley
"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum |
| TJinMT |
Posted - Jun 08 2010 : 07:02:21 AM
My thumb's greenish tint has overcome my entire face!!!! Er, meaning I'm pleased for you jealous!! How neat! What zone are you in?
Early early this spring I bought one of those stand-alone 4-shelf jobbers with a plastic cover. It works pretty well but I don't think keeps things much above freezing overnight; I had thought about running an extension cord out there and laying a heating pad under it to help my seedlings through. I didn't actually DO that though, and instead every night it was forecast near freezing, I was hauling flats of seedlings in the house and arranging them all over every flat surface in our small kitchen!! Hubby was fair to gritting his teeth!
Best of luck with your greenhouse!!!
~TJ
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." -CS Lewis |
