I am new here. I built a passive solar greenhouse from a plan I found in The Passive Solar Energy Book. All walls are solid except the south face. I poured an 18" high perimeter foundation, put in chicken wire, then large gravel, and bricked the center area. Under the shelves I placed water filled black barrels. I don't know how well this works as I have nothing to compare it to and I assume it depends on your individual climate. However, here, in the foothills of central California we get sun in the winter (T-shirt and jeans OK outside) though it gets cold as soon as the sun goes down. The GH is not finished and has openings at both ends where I plan to put in an exhaust fan and some intake louvers. Even with these unfinished openings it gets very hot. . .this month it was up to 115 degrees. I don't have the electricity ran to it yet, so leave the door open and can keep it between 90-95. I hooked up a weather sensor in the GH and have that linked to my computer and see that it rarely gets below 45 degrees at night even when it is about 30 degrees outside. Again, I am new to this and still learning what I need to know and cannot say how effective the heat sinks are. I plan to put in an exhaust fan, two intake vents (trying to decide whether to have motorized or gravity louvers for the intakes). I will put in a HAF fan system. . looking at one of those rectangle thermostatically controlled window fans with two small fans both reversible and with speed controls and set one one direction and one the other direction to get circular horizontal air flow - these used be about $40 at Lowes. I also had a spare 6" fan in a section of heating duct pipe so I installed that to duct runs to opposite corners of one side of the GH - about 6" up from the floor and then ran it up to a "T" in the center of one shelf and then and blow air into the center of the GH . . even when it is hot in the GH it is considerably cooler under the shelves - really amazingly so. Still experimenting. Everything I have planted has really grown rapidly even with a lot of heat an no fans as of now. At times in the winter it can get down to 20-25 degrees. . . this may happen a few times a season. I will have an electrical thermo controled heater to turn on when it gets that cold. Hopefully I won't ever need to heat it very often. I think my problems will be to keep it cool enough and air circulation.

Hi Toni The potting mix for leaves needs to be very light with at least fifty percent perlite which creates air pockets for the roots to breathe. Then add potting mix. I get the one labelled for AVs from Ace Hardware and Garden Center. Some people add some vermiculite which retains moisture in the mix. They should be placed in very small cups such as very small solo cups with small holes cut in the bottom for drainage. I use an Xacto knife also bought at Ace. Sometimes I cut about a 3/4" around from the top of the cup if it seems too tall. It is better for no more than one or two per cup because when they grow, they need space. If you cannot do this all in one day, put the leaves in water with a pinch of sugar. You can find many photos on this forum for rooting leaves and samples of trays with clear plastic lids to put them in after putting them into each small cup. You can also find the trays with tall covers at Ace. Because you live in Calif you probably have an Ace near you. The leaves will take nine months to grow to the small plant stage so they won't take up much space for a long time. You will start to see many more white plants in stores. It can be hard to find pure white but I saw Optimara has a new one on their website also. Yes, some folks like older or vintage violets. Have fun. J

Welcome hummingbirddaisy. I agree, new things are starting all the time and you are right: it is a great place to be! Lots of helpful folks here, so ask any questions along the way, and you are sure to get answers about swapping/sending. Each Pal or Swap will have a hostess and part of their 'job' is to answer your questions as well. Have fun! Poochella

Hi, Mac. According to the previous owner the swales were redone as were the foundation drains. It's likely they weren't done exactly right (I don't think she's lying about it and it looks like all the drains have new fittings). Do you think that if the rain spouts are emptying into the foundation drain area that this could be causing the problem? The thing is, the ground outside is bone dry - we have a big overhang and a large, very thirsty maple nearby (we have to have the roots cut out of the drain system routinely). I was thinking of installing a bunch of rainbarrels and then doing hoses at the tops to divert overflow away from the house. What do you make of that? The drylock is just for ambient moisture (because the concrete is so gross now). Does it look to you like the water is coming from that gas pipe? AND thank you so much for responding. I was hoping to avoid digging up all the soil around the foundation, but it seems like we might not have a choice. That kind of sucks. : (