Preparing for fall/winter greenhouse gardening

[Alan]

It's hard to believe that in just 45-50 days we will more than likely get our first good frost here in Southern Indiana, not to mention the fact that here I am in a string of record breaking 100 degree plus, drought days that i'm thinking about frost and what has got to be done to prepare the farm for winter production. Needless to say the next week or two is going to be busy since I plan on running two 20X48 greenhouses and an 8x8, plus Several cold frames and keep the worms from freezing. I've got the tomatoes up and ready to be planted into the custom soilless/spaghnum mix I made earlier this week, and i've got all the seed I need, I've just got get the new greenhouse finished, up, buy some lumber, and plastic, and get a good stock of wood built up for the woodstoves this fall. I'll keep everyone updated and try to get some pics up this winter too, i'll definetly be growing some Celebrity tomatoes, along with some research/de-hybridization projects, some lettuce, cabbage, greens, and more.
-alan

[downinmyback]

Alan how do you have any free time. If i did half as much as you i would be sleeping when not working. Oh what it was like when i was young.

[bluelacedredhead]

Alan, Last summer I brought home some heavy glass panels to make a greenhouse...DH made a chickenhouse instead, lol.

This year I informed him that we needed a greenhouse area more so than some place to house extra birds. (They need to go to the fall auction instead of being fed for naught)..I'd much rather feed us!!!

This afternoon, I was reading some very basic designs and ideas about cold frames and greenhouses.. HOpe we can all put our ideas together and find some good patterns for season extenders!! No matter whether we are in IN, TN, AR, MO, NY or otherwise.....

Anybody have any links to share out there??

[plantsnobin]

I was researching today and came across a website-www.sunnyjohn.com It has some interesting ideas with a lot of links on passive solar greenhouses. It is basically 3 layers of sewage pipe buried, with a fan to slowly draw air through them. Great concept, but I doubt if I could get my husband to consider it-he has to see something in action before he is willing to build it.

[johno]

Thanks for the link. It gave me some ideas...

[Alan]

There is a really good book out, and I can't remember the name of it (though I will look) about building your own greenhouse. I have seen the pvc pipe hoop houses and they do indeed work well and hold up decently without heat, but as all things plastic do they will eventually dryrot, however there is a special UV protected piping that will last longer and could be used. I have also seen a lot of wood framed greenhouse structures put up, even with double plastic and insulation, once again, that's not a permanent solution though since the wood will rot easier due to the intensified heat as well as humidity.

About the best deal that I have seen (for a small hobby type greenhouse/coldfram) is through growers supply:


www.growerssupply.com/farm/supplies/prod1;gs1_cold_frames_high_tunnels;pg105158F.html

These aren't the heaviest duty frames you can get, however, with as short of a witdth as they are you shouldn't have to worry too much about snow colapse. I used one previously to house my worms before I moved my worms up to a larger/wider structure, I now use this cold frame as a cold frame in spring/fall for lettuce, cabbage, ext. It would and could be used for a greenhouse though.

frame the bottom with 2x6's or 2x8's, put self taping screws in all the joints, frame up the ends, throw on a piece of 6 mil, or two mill using batten tape or/and channel/wire lock and a inflation fan for insuation a couple tables and a space heater and you could really plant a lot of stuff in there!

Hope this helps!

-ps. i'm woking on a research paper regarding greenhouse construction at the moment!

[plantsnobin]

Hi Alan. Sorry to here that you aren't feeling well. There is some really bad bug going around this area. Mike doesn't know it yet, but he is getting ready to build me a greenhouse. I think I am going to go 36x60. East to West orientation, North sidewall ht of 8', south side wall 4', with cold frames lining the outside. East and West ends will be solid, North wall fully insulated and interior wall painted white to reflect light. The West end will serve as wood storage, wood furnace, rabbit and worm area, and potting area. I think that space will be 12', divided from the rest of the GH with a wall of plastic. The frame will be treated wood, I would like to have twinwall polycarbonate, but may go with double layer film first. My current GH space is treated wood, with Suntuf on the sidewalls, and regular clear fiberglass on the roof. The Suntuf was guaranteed for 10 years, and still looks good. We got it at Lowes, don't know if they still carry it. I am interested in trying that system at Sunnyjohns, don't know if I can convince my husband. He does have a skidsteer, after all. I asked him last night how wide trusses could be, so he knows I am up to something anyway....

[Alan]

Excelent Karen, if you need any help getting that greenhouse up then let me know and I would be glad to give you a hand. I'll be putting plastic on my new one shortly, i've still got to buy the lumber for it, putting the film on is the worse part, exspecially if it is a little windy!

[plantsnobin]

Thanks Alan, the construction phase is the easy part around here, my husband is a carpenter and he has a good brother and brother in law to help. The hard part is talking him into it in the first place. Since i have only ever lost money, it will take a lot of convincing. I don't have any money for it, but Lowes has a no payment, no interest for a year deal going on, so I could get most of the materials I need there. Since he is self employed, any loss I have will lower the taxes he has to pay, so maybe I can go at it from that angle. I have stubbornly refused to sell plants that I am not interested in, sticking with the perennials that I like, but I realize now that I am going to have to grow what I can sell-so it looks like I will grow some veggies next spring. Let me know when you have some more worms for sale. Karen