Advice on Greenhouse Construction

11 years ago

I just found and joined this site so I could chat with locals to get the best information on constructing a greenhouse here in the Phx area. I am using a metal portable carport frame as the base. It's up, and that's it. Need to plan from there. I want to grow tomatoes year round, squash, sugar peas, eggplant, a variety of peppers, mexican cucumber, and not much else. I have a separate herb garden that is doing well, but with the big greenhouse, might add more. I need help planning location, covering, etc. any advice appreciated asap.

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Comments (4)

tomatofreak
11 years ago
If you just want to keep plants from freezing in winter, you might be able to wrap your frame with a couple layers of heavy-duty clear polyvinyl and hang lights, some infrared bulbs (for heat) or run an extension cord to a heater and get by. A greenhouse for both winter and summer is *much* more complicated than that and would require water, electricity, heating *and* cooling. You definitely don't need a greenhouse for spring/summer veggie gardening. If you intended to grow orchids or hostas, you would.

Here's one guy's take on building a "winter greenhouse". It's a bit more complicated than you'd think.

Here is a link that might be useful: building a winter greenhouse
agility_mom
11 years ago
I am also planning my greenhouse but since you have your frame up, you are farther along than I am.
What I have noticed is that cooling is a big concern here in the valley. I plan on building mine out of block,concrete, glass and steel. In my plans, I want to have the north side and west sides fully enclosed except for some shaded ventilation windows or openings of some sort.

The winter before last, I made a temporary greenhouse out of thick opaque plastic sheeting. I noticed that it seemed to actually be colder in there than outside unless I put the heat lamps in there. During the day everything roasted but then at night they froze (unless heated). So, I had to open the vent areas early in the day and shut everything up later in the day. Then in the early evening I would turn on the lamps. It worked and my pineapples, tomatoes, adeniums (yes, even these) as well as several other frost sensitive plants all lived.

I have noticed at some of the nurseries like Baker and Tropica Mango, they have plastic type enclosed greenhouses. The one at Tropica Mango is similar to what you are describing. The man there is very friendly and helpful. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you wanted to check his out.

Keep us updated on your progress and please post pictures when you are done.
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Thank you for the advice. I live in Florida so it would def get pretty hot, but it also rains a lot and that was the main reason for the greenhouse at first. The white latex paint sounds smart ecspecially for the joints since there are the costly pvc parts. As for the plastic, I saw polycarbonate sheeting, but it was very costly so I went with the $1 plastic with the idea that I could easily replace it if anything happens. I put up a picture showing a possibly way to hang the plastic over, and maybe leave the short side open to the wind? I am kinda putting the aeroponic idea away for another day because I'd rather have a method that doesn't need to spray water for 10 seconds every 30 minutes. Something I could water without all the noise of a pump all the time. I was looking at ebb and flow systems, but am concerned that being outside will cause algae to grow on the growing medium rocks. Also I am still trying to decide on what kind of shelving material to use that can support plants and run long ways through the greenhouse? Thanks! P.S. Some of the original ideas came from the product in the link below. Here is a link that might be useful: Raised Greenhouse
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I take it this will not be used in the winter since you didn't mention insulation. The cheapest vapor barrier would be a roll of polyethylene. Another option is 4'x8' FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) panels. These would look nicer and offer more strength and durability, but are typically $20-$30 per sheet. Both poly and FRP can be found at Home Depot, Lowes, etc.
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I was away for a couple of days. #1. Absolutely! You're transferring BTUs from the collector into your pit during the day. It's essential for the operation of the system for the pit to be warmed. If you have direct sunlight, that collector will get hot very quickly. Depending upon the angle of the sun, and hours of light, you should get about 30,000 to 40,000 BTUs per day into the pit. It can hold a lot more than that, but you're limited by the hours per day, and also the relative inefficiencies. If you had a warm spell during the winter where you didn't really need to run it at night, theoretically, you might be able to charge it with maybe a couple hundred thousand BTUs. #2. You should wet the ground thoroughly once you've completed the structure. It should remain sufficiently damp after that point with the factors you mentioned. Make sure you wrap the tarp up and over the foundation such that outside rain won't be able to fill the pit -- otherwise, you'll have a swamp in there! #3. The hinged covers have three purposes: a) reflecting additional solar energy to the collector via the mylar film (make sure they're angled correctly when attaching the chains). b) avoiding snow/ice/freezing at night during the winter. Depending upon your hardiness zone, it may also be necessary to circulate some water through the collector at night to avoid cracking the cement or damage to the water lines. If severe freezing is a sure thing during the winter, then the collector should run day and night. Your "day/night" valve will just open the loop through the radiator, instead of shutting off flow to the collector too. c) to protect the solar collector during the warmer months when the system won't be running. Hope this helps. -Bruce
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tomatofreak
11 years ago
Except for the opening statement about locating a greenhouse where it "gets maximum sunlight", this is a really informative article about all the factors involved in planning and building one.

Here is a link that might be useful: building a greenhouse
Pagancat
11 years ago
I had a 16x24 "hoop house" in Tennessee - and true enough, the toughest part about a greenhouse is cooling, not heating - and it was much cooler there. Unless you have shade cloth or a really big tree with leaves in the summer, you'll fry everything.

The best feature of my house was the roll up sides - very simple to make and made a huge diff with the heat exchange. But once the air outside warmed up, ventilation fans were a necessity.

HTH!

Advice on Greenhouse Construction

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tomatofreak

agility_mom

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