A recent update from the person who received the yucca is that it is green and doing well. The transplanted cholla are doing well, of course, but it will be a while before I know if any sacaton survived. We have been making progress but not as quickly as we hoped. (No surprise there! ;-) ) We have the foundation blocks for the outside beds in place up to ground level and filled with dirt. Pavers have been placed, but not yet leveled, between the existing shed and the north edge of the foundation. We have the water and electrical stubbed in. We have the SHCS tubes in place for the outside beds of the east greenhouse and hope to start filling that section soon with the removed dirt. We have removed all planned use of poured concrete from our plans and have made this planned structure possible to remove easily while still unlikely to be blown away. (Mostly due to bolting the foundation via J-bolts to rebar under bond beam cement blocks.) DH will be checking to see what type of permits/inspections we will need for electrical, water, and structures. I suspect that it will be just water and electric. We won't fill in any more until we find out. It is getting hot already so we will be putting in the outside structure and shade cloth before the central shed and greenhouses. That way we can work in the shade. :-)

"Has anyone used the cement/soil/gravel mix to make a base?" IÂm not so sure why you would want to put soil into a concrete mix. Concrete does have a "life", and if you degrade itÂs properties, youÂre asking for it to fail or break down in years to come. My daughter is just finishing her university training as a civil engineer, and has given me earfuls of stuff she had to learn about concrete (for building big bridges), and suggests doing concrete right. "I was thinking of making forms around the perimeter, 6" high, 11'X13', then mixing cement/soil (maybe gravel?) and filling in with that mix, so I'd have a level, hard floor a few inches above ground level. Not sure how I'd attach the frame yet, suggestions welcome." Talk with your hardware store, there are several types of frame mounts that are set into the concrete when pouring. Making forms around the perimeter is a good idea, for structural strength. You have both the choice of just creating a concrete foundation edge (would save concrete costs), or making the entire floor concrete. If you want a surefire foundation, you'll dig a foot or more in depth around the edge and use rebar with the concrete. Then you should be able to withstand those winds.

I would put 2x4 wood base for the whole greenhouse and them shim it level with blocks. Make the blocks of different thicknesses by the width of the 2x4 and attach them with screws or nails from the underside of the wood foundation. There will be gaps between the blocks fill some with insulation if you want. Maybe some gaps would be good for drainage on the low side. The hardware store will have all kinds of anchors show them a picture of the shimmed wood frame and tell ask them to help you with a plan. Make sure no hardware will be in the way of the bottom of your greenhouse. Then build your greenhouse on the frame and screw it to the wood. This post was edited by rustico_2009 on Thu, Mar 14, 13 at 12:10

Great pictures! Fortunately, the tree in our way died about a year before we put up our greenhouse (still had to cut it down, though!) We had a furry OSHA inspector too (all extra paws and hands were greatly appreciated.) I love my 10x12 HFGH, enjoying it for my third year. It's totally stuffed with plants, year round. "- We will add more clips to prevent the panels from flying off in the wind - a major concern." Sounds like you've read the archived threads here about the recurring problem of lost HFGH panels. In addition to extra clips (we did that too) it's pretty easy to add self-tapping screws to the panels, as even more protection against panel loss. The 10x12 is pretty tall and makes an even worse target for wind damage, but there are some scary threads archived here about wind-damaged 6x8 HFGHs as well. Here are some photos showing how we screwed the panels into the aluminum frame (thanks to previous GardenWeb forum members who suggested this improvement.) Part Six, Adding the Panels "- Depending on the temperatures, may add a blind on the western end to prevent sunburn and excessive late afternoon heat." I definately need shadecloth on the roof, west end, and south side (my succulents and cacti cook in there without it.) I also believe that adding shadecloth has helped to increase the lifespan of my HFGH panels in our sunny climate. (I used Aluminet shadecloth.) Some GardenWeb HFGH owners have reported problems with the HFGH panels deteriorating after exposure to sun, but others don't seem to have this problem. My panels have yellowed, but I see no other signs of deterioration (fingers crossed.) "In winter, may add water jugs as heat sinks in cooler weather." In theory it seems like this would help, but the general consensus seems to be that you'd need very large containers of water to retain enough heat to truly benefit you into the wee hours of a cold morning. Most small greenhouses can't afford to give up the high percentage of space required to make this work, but there's lots of good reading on this topic in this forum (posted by folks who are much smarter than I am.) "- Wish list: shelves, solar fan, temperature activated window control" Just a warning, the HFGH solar fan is not powerful enough to adequately cool your greenhouse (sounds good, but doesn't quite work.) If you do a search in this forum for HFGH solar fan, there's a thread with a knowledgeable poster sharing his calculations that a 6x8 HFGH would need three of the HFGH solar fans to exchange enough air to drop the temps (if my memory is right.) There are also some posts from folks saying the HFGH vent openers don't last long at all, and it's best to research and purchase other brands that have a better track record. Good job, congratulations, and happy greenhousing! Sheri