Very nice idea. Simple and easy. Will bookmark. Paws

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Yeah I always want to take pictures later during the season and I always put it off for tomorrow - then I never get around to taking them. Will have to try harder this year. I enjoy seeing other people's gardening photos as well so I urge all to post their gardening pics in whatever forum in which they may apply. Regarding my system, the cost savings is really what my system is all about. As with you, I disliked spending so much money on plants every year and not having much selection to choose from regarding veggie starts, so that is what got me going. That and getting cabin fever so badly during winter that I get desperate to see something, anything growing. Today is a good negative example of my system. The high is 39 degrees and it is cloudy so I only have cold-weather plants (cabbage family mainly and greens) out in the grow box. The impatiens and veggie starts are all under lights in my nice warm growing room. Plants go out or stay in depending on outside temperature and sunlight potential (which affects the potential temperature inside the grow box). It is a bit of a labor intensive system but by doing this I never really have to acclimate my plants. By late April, though, the plants end up outside in the growboxes 24/7 until they are planted in May. I am zone 4b. My average last frost date is around May 10 - I always figure two weeks into May because it is easier to remember when doing my count-back regarding when to start certain seeds. I up-potted 100 impatiens and quit for the day. Went out and did some dividing and transplanting of some perennial flowers until I got chilled. Harvested fresh asparagus, wild ramps, leaf lettuce, winter onions, green garlic, and fiddleheads for my annual charcoal and cherry wood-grilled free-range Black Angus porterhouse steak birthday dinner. Picked up a bottle of wine to round out the celebration. Life is good, despite the inclement weather. Only bummer is that the Morel harvest is still weeks away...

I have pretty hot temps here in southern New Mexico, but not as hot as Phoenix. Because of your cooling challenges, I wonder if it wouldn't be helpful to talk to other folks with greenhouses in your city. There's an Orchid Society of Arizona, and it looks like they have meetings in Phoenix. (You could even just email one of the officers, asking for basic greenhouse info.) I looked at their online forum, and found one post saying that all of their members do in fact use swamp coolers in their greenhouses. Arizona Orchid Society website We get monsoon rains here too, and I agree it's something to plan for. I'm adding screen panels to my new greenhouse as an aid to my cooling problems, but I'm reminding myself that summer monsoon rains will blow right in through the screens (unless I design a solution for that too.) I'm also waiting for the delivery of an exhaust fan with enough power to exchange the air twice a minute at the highest setting. A swamp cooler may be in my future, but I want to try some other (simpler) methods first. I don't have the experience to comment on the low-light question...but I think there are probably lots of folks here who have had to locate greenhouses in less than perfect spots. Best of luck! Sheri (Las Cruces)

Thanks Flora: very kind of you.Indeed if we were closer I would take you up on your kind offer.I need lots of glass to cover though. Thanks Gardengal: Glass is not out of question as yet.I think that the poly or fiberglass is lighter and cost effective. Its going to be a big area so I want to keep most of the light without the UV. Just need some ideas from my fellow gardeners.Thanks again.