Succulent Rain Shelter/Semi-Greenhouse
It's finally up and I've moved my plants in! This semi-greenhouse/rain shelter will be the growing area for my succulents while they are out on the roof for the summer/fall. Most of my more valuable Haworthia are still staying inside, but this will let me run much fewer grow lights while temperatures are good outdoors.
The roof is made from UV-resistant 7.2 mil poly for greenhouses. Thicker and sturdier than the normal 6 mil, but not much cost difference at this size. Purchased from a large greenhouse supply company. There was a minimum order requirement, so I have a bit of extra left over. The roof is sloped to shed rain/snow/ice, hopefully it will be enough.
The roof also hangs over two of the ends by 1-2ft in case of stormier weather. For the other two sides, I just put my plant benches further away from the sides. Any plant that is very particular about watering was placed towards the middle/away from the sides.
I used corrosion-resistant deck screws for all connections. 3-1/2" for some, 2-1/2" for most, and 1-5/8" I think for the poly attachment. The poly was attached by rolling the ends with a 1x3x8 and screwing that down every 9" or so to distribute the force. Having a large number of clamps is VERY helpful for attaching the poly. Two people are absolutely required and three would be even better.
For now I've suspended a white mesh fabric over half of my plants to provide additional shade. The current amount of light during the day is quite high (June/July is peak light in my area) and approximately 30% more than what my bright grow lights were providing. Doing some more light measurements today to see how well that worked out and if I need to tweak the setup further.
The framing is primarily constructed of pressure-treated 2x4's, with some additional reinforcement where required. Bracing was important for rigidity on my roof, but I tried to keep the 'entrance' large so I wouldn't hit my head on anything. The frame is lifted off my deck with wooden feet to reduce the chance of rotting. It's important to not leave wood out for too long while waiting to build or else it will dry and warp. For some boards, I had a little warping at the end and just clamped and re-screwed those locations.
The benches were custom built by a friend of mine. He does a lot of carpentry work and did a fantastic job. Each bench is solid enough to jump on it without any concern. They're built of pressure treated wood, which I've sealed further with a 'transparent' sealant by Behr. Not sure about the longevity of the acrylic urethane sealant and that will be a learning experience. The sealant was not really 'transparent' because it contains pigmentation for UV protection.
On top of each bench, I've placed a plastic egg crate lighting louvers, cut to size with a pair of wire cutters. This is to prevent water from pooling and sitting around the bottom of my pots. The benefit is to prevent rot, mould, and pests. My deck is slightly sloped, which allows the water to drain.
And that's pretty much it! It's nice to have a place to sit and enjoy my succulent outside. =)
Comments (40)
ewwmayo
7 years agoWhile I'm up here, might as well post some photos of plants you probably haven't seen in a while.
Crassula 'Gollum' - turned a nice yellowish colour over the past few months.
Crassula ovata - I had defoliated this one almost completely at the end of April. [Thread is here.[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/well-didnt-need-those-jade-leaves-anyway-dsvw-vd~3844656)
Adromischus maculatus - much 'chunkier' than before.
Gasteria 'Little Warty'.
Stomatium mustellinum - a very firm and tight clump.
Echeveria purpusorum with a size comparison to Fenestraria rhopalophylla - it's larger than my Echeveria elegans now.
Faucaria 'Super Warty' variegated - doing well for me. No flowers yet.
Crassula 'Morgan's Beauty' - Not as spectacular as it was when blooming, but still one of my favourite plants!
And one last image in case anybody wanted to request photos of other plants in my outdoor collection. =)
ewwmayo
7 years agoFinished my light readings today in DLI (PAR):
- Indoor Primary T5HO: 32
- Indoor Secondary T5HO: 16
- Outdoor Under Poly: 28
- Outdoor Under Poly + White Mesh: 12
So it looks like I've adequately prepped my plants to be outside! No more worries and checking daily to see if they got sunburned since I put them out there.
Surface or leaf temperatures are much better, so I expect better growth:
- Indoor Day: 34C / 93F
- Indoor Night: 26C / 79F
- Outdoor Day: 44C / 111F
- Outdoor Night: 16C / 61F
Although tomorrow is supposed to go up to 31C / 79F ambient, I'm a little curious to see what my leaf temperatures end up being.
Couple more photos of some different Anacampseros:
Anacampseros rufescens - slightly etoliated despite a ton of light. Hopefully it improves over summer.
Anacampseros telephiastrum variegata - a little stretched but flowering!
Anacampseros retusa - Getting ready send up a new inflorescence as well. =)
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Old Lord and Burnham greenhouse
Comments (7)Tamara Smathers: did you find a source for your curved glass? I have a L&B attached to a house we bought several years ago. I must confess we use it more as a covered porch than a green house. You go through the greenhouse to reach the back door. Other panels that were cracked when we moved in were replaced without a problem, but these curved ones!....Last summer 2 of the curved glass panels were damaged by falling tree branches. I have had no luck finding a repairman who works with curved glass here in Atlanta. I found a source online but the shipping fee was huge! And then who will install them? For now I have a creative semi-rain proof solution of umbrellas attached to the broken areas! LOL....but I'm ready to deal with the problem. I'm wondering if I should look into replacing the panels with polycarbonate or something like that..any tips? Thanks!...See MoreWhen is it safe to stop using artificial light?
Comments (16)Zsofia; I apologize. I didn't know that you need to sleep in the morning and work late nights. If you keep it dark first thing in the morning (until you wake up), then it make sense. Plants don't mind when they start day. From times you mentioned I was under impression they get many hours of light & hardly any darkness, which is, obviously, not the case. Perhaps you read one of my posts where I described how I use lights. I have lots of plants in very dark basement, with not even a window for some, and very small window (that I cover) for others. I keep lights on from about 6:30pm until 7:00am. So they have 'reversed' day, but still experience proper daytime and nights. And yes, the electricity is much less during those hours. I do have lots of lights, so it helps some to keep them on at those hours. If I kept plants in room with natural light, I would use the supplemental lighting as I suggested. You could put succulents outdoors if it is possible to make some kind of a shelter: even just a plastic sheet that can be rolled up or down as necessary, just to keep too much rain off. I have used that for few years (didn't use it often, but it helped during few periods of extended rains we had). I had plants on shelves next to the garage wall. I stapled plastic to a piece of wood fastened to the wall just under the soffits, and other end had another piece of wood stapled to it. That way I could just drop it down if needed. No need to enclose sides - plants need air circulation anyway....See MoreGreenhouse question and review anyone?
Comments (22)Don't know how much these units cost but a very easy and low budge project can be had with tubular PVC. I've been using my portable summer greenhouses for several years to house almost all of my plants outside. My only recommendation is to use ¾" PVC rather than ½" as I did. Also, I have found they are more stable when smaller separate units are constructed. I use irrigation tubing sliced down the middle to hold the plastic covering on the frame and 15 pound cement weights (white squares 2nd pic) on the base to hold in place. These are easily made using small Priority mail boxes with the bottoms cut to fit over the PVC. Place a plastic grocery bag inside and fill with cement with the box sitting on the PVC base. Use a heave gauge wire or metal hanger as a carrying device. After several days the cement will have set up and the box/plastic bag can be removed. Each unit is 6' x 8'. The benches are around the perimeter giving easy access to all plants from the outside. The black irrigation hose must be cut to at least a 4" piece or they will pop off...See MoreMy little winter greenhouse
Comments (4)yes, that's why I asked. I see in your little greenhouse some cacti (eg. Mammillaria etc.) that don't appreciate wet weather - which is moisturelevel- (is that the word in your language?). They go dry and dormant during wintertime; they like a cool and dry surrounding. So maybe this shelter is not the best place for them. My neighbour - like me cacti-andsucculentfreak- sets all his plants very dry and has them in a very dark barn where there is no frost etc. His plants come out every spring excellent. I myself had a smaller house and put the plants very dry in a complete dark attic. After a few years experimenting they did rather well overthere and restarted every spring without big problems. Anyway: good luck harry...See More
Ingrida (São Paulo/Brazil)
7 years ago
bunkfree_4a_canada
7 years ago
Violet Blackwould
7 years agoViolet Blackwould
7 years agoewwmayo
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
deva33 Z8 Atlanta
7 years ago
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
7 years ago
nomen_nudum
7 years agoVery nice Real good job on the lay out and overhang Kind of a different technique on the ends, although I do think it will work the same as the normal method used on a hoop style hothouse that uses an aluminum frame where a flashing is used to tuck the plastic in.
In comparison, here the common is a double layer but plastic is also thinner
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
7 years agonomen_nudum
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoewwmayo
7 years agoPagan - I've rolled the poly sheet on all sides around a 1"x3" and then screwed it down every 10" or so. A little extra reinforcement for it wouldn't hurt.
How did you attach the corrugated plastic to your pergola?
Jeff - I went with poly because it was the cheapest solution with the highest amount of light transmission. This is in hopes to let me maximize my outdoor time in the spring and fall when light levels are a bit lower.
Was the polycarbonate sheeting expensive or difficult to install?
The tap water here comes right from Lake Ontario and is essentially free for me, so I didn't think the trouble of rain water was worth it. Since I have so many succulents that are picky about the amount of water they receive, particularly my Mesembs and fuzzy Crassulas, it's just far less stressful for me to water everything myself.
Nomen - Thanks for the photo, pretty slick setup whoever's that is! Looks like they've run power and lights into it as well. I don't think I could handle those succulents either.
The method I used to attach the poly seemed to be the most recommended online. The idea is to use a strip of wood to securely distribute the force along the entire edge. I'm curious to see how it will hold up over the winter.
Beth - Rest assured, over time I'm sure it will fill up. Here are my other plants, still hidden away inside under lights!
Pagan
7 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoKevin
Congrats on new home for your succulents.
Not sure if you noticed (and answered) question by pagan about existing beams?
I do have one remark - I would have rolled the plastic under rather than over, since rain water will collect in the rolled up areas (tried to indicate on your photo below). It still could be done. The strips you used seem to be the best and easiest way to go. I also tried to create a pocket and insert long rods into it, but strip of wood seems to be better - and plastic is more secure.
I had (since I moved, I need to build a new shelter) plastic that rolls up completely and I would let it down only if it was raining extensively - but understand that you prefer to have watering under control. Roof is high enough that you have good air circulation.
I am quite sure 4' distance is too long to support weight of snow (even if roof was made of something sturdy) - are you planning to use it year-round?
I have to say that you are so organized and everything is in proper place, really neat...am j-e-a-l-o-u-s of that (I am messier, for sure).
breton2
7 years agoewwmayo
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoHarry - For the winter, I will be bringing all the plants back inside. I figure that it will be much more productive to keep them under lights rather than go with a heated solution since it's so cold here.
Pagan - The polycarbonate panels are just totally out of my price range to the point where I didn't even consider them. They really do look fantastic though. The slingshot in a pot is a sensor yup. =)
Rina - The idea with rolling the plastic under is that the wooden strip help distribute the force. Having the entire 2x4" space to adjust for pulling the plastic was really helpful because when you work with plastic nothing lines up perfectly!
Wiggle wire is the real solution, but with an obvious added $$$. The other alternative is to attach the plastic on the underside of the framing, but it's a lot trickier because you only have 2" of fastening area to work with vs 4".
I'll be adding two more supports for the poly on the top later in the summer. Pretty sure it should be enough for the snow after that.
Nomen - I do agree with the collecting of the water inside. On the sides it's not an issue because it's nicely sloped and will run out. The end piece is an issue and I might have to re-mount it on the bottom side instead.
Here's more of my succulents after being outside in the Canadian sun: (except the last four, which I've snuck in for fun!)
Duvalia corderoyi
Aloe x spinosissima
Gasteria 'Satsu-satsu-no-matsu'
Sedum makinoi 'Ogon'
Huernia zebrina
Crassula aborescens
Haworthia bayeri leata (De Rust)
Haworthia louiza
Haworthia decipiens minor MBB6587
Haworthia maughanii 'Maarten'
ewwmayo
7 years agoewwmayo
7 years ago
Renee
7 years agoewwmayo
7 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoewwmayo
7 years agoRuss1023 (central Fla)
7 years agonomen_nudum
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
7 years agonomen_nudum
7 years ago
nomen_nudum