 Going Greenhouse |
Going Greenhouse |
May 3, 2011Arcticulates ®Focusing on Alaska's BeautyAuthor: K. FieldsGoing GreenhouseThe past couple of years I have discovered that the house we live in has plenty of room for us, grandkids and guests, but not enough room for trays, upon trays of baby seedlings. They take up a lot of room, and I end up having to take them outside too early, and losing some to the overnight cold.. So I decided that I need a greenhouse. Our budget, on the other hand, says.. no.. no you don't. So I... not being one to let a little thing like lack of moola discourage me, went outside and started wandering around the garden area to ponder about where I would put the greenhouse if I had one, and my eyes fell upon this old dilapadated shed with a leaking roof.
This old shed was packed full of stuff (and spiders... ugh) from previous house owners and tenents.. I knew it was going to be a ton of work to empty it out and clean it up, so I have been putting it off. As I stood there leaning on the garden fence, looking at this 'disaster waiting to happen' building...an idea suddenly hit me.. It would be soooooo worth cleaning out that mess, if I could remake that old shed into a greenhouse, it's near the garden, and a little distance from the house, and in a nice area with sun and shade depending on the time of day. So I asked my husband and son, both avid builders, if they would examine the shed and see if it was worth tearing apart and rebuilding into a greenhouse. They both looked at me as if I were crazy.. grinned and looked at each other, communicating without words as only men can.. rolled thier eyes.. then they went out to the old shed to take a look, while letting me know not to get my hopes up.
After much, much, much debate and discussion.. they decided that the framing was strong and had not been damaged by the leaks, so we should be able to use it as is...but the roof on the other hand was badly damaged, and would have to be discarded, which was not a problem because we would be removing it and replacing it with plastic (eventually some clear hard plastic roofing). So they decided that this would be a perfect building to remake into a greenhouse, and it would save a ton of money, not having to buy all the foundation and framing materials. It took most of the summer to get the piles of stuff removed from around the building and inside it. It was filled to the brim with useless stuff. Most of it was ruined by the leaking roof and/or by the squirrel and shrews nesting in it, so loads and loads went to the dump. The rest went to whoever wanted it (someone else's trash is someone's treasure).
We finally got it all sorted and cleaned out, and could start tearing off the walls and roofing. This took a couple of days to get done, and we discovered that the sheets of plywood on the sides of the building were in great shape, so my son-in-law picked them up, and used them to enlarge the boiler-room at his place. The roofing was not salvageable at all so it went to the dump. After all the walls and roofing were removed, all that remained was the foundation and framing which were both in very good condition. The final quarter of the summer was spent putting on the plastic and repairing the built in shelving inside the greenhouse. We ended up with a few holes on the plastic walls from a couple of big wind storms, that whipped the plastic around, hitting the nearby bushes and trees, before we could get it all tacked up, so we patched them up with some clear tape. I also had to cut a lot of Willow bushes and small Cottonwood trees down and away from the walls or the wind would cause them to break through the plastic.
I looked at all the empty space inside the green house and decided that we needed some sort of box to plant things in. So my son (good thing he likes to build things) made a 2' x 3' x 2' deep box and a 2' x 5' x 2 foot deep box, with the leftover pieces of plywood from the walls, and lined them with plastic, put a couple layers of big rocks on the bottom for drainage. And then filled them up with rich black dirt loaded with manure, from a friend's cow farm, which prepared the boxes for the spring plants. As we worked in the greenhouse filling the boxes with dirt, we noticed that it got way... way... way too hot, from the full summer sun shining through the clear plastic. So it was decided we needed some windows for ventalation, or the plants would end up cooking instead of producing.
My son drew up some plans for windows and frames. He designed windows that can be be opened and dropped down, or lifted up. He made two that drop down and two that lift up and hook to the ceiling depending on the shelving and boxes near the windows. When we opened all the windows, the ventilation was at a perfect temperature, even with the hot mid afternoon sun shining directly on the greenhouse. He also built them high on the walls, so that it won't be easy for a Moose to reach in and help itself to the growing plants (we hope we haven't built a nice moose salad bar) and a screen is stapled inside the window framing to keep the birds and flying insects out.
This is my first greenhouse, so this will be a new adventure and learning experience for me. I am looking forward to the rest winter snow and ice to thaw this year, so I can finally use it. I have been planning out in my mind what I will be planting inside the greenhouse and what will be going in the garden. I am excited that the seedlings, that I have started in the house this year, will have a place to be moved to soon... before they out grow the space we have.
Next year I hope to have a small wood stove, or heater of some kind, inside the greenhouse, so that I won't have to wait for the below freezing temps to stop, before I can start using it. This year I think I will be able to move my plants out in the next week or so, where they can finish growing big enough for the garden. I try not to plant anything in the garden until June 1st, which is the official interior of Alaska's planting date. Because extreme tempertures changes finally are more stable, and there shouldn't be a fear of a frost killing the small plants.
So last summer's adventure in turning a old leaking shed, which had become a catch all for a lot of stuff nobody wanted, into a beautiful useful greenhouse... is done! I am looking forward to using it and will post some photos of how that went later. Meanwhile.. I remember back when I was a kid and we raised chickens.. I want to get back to that.. hmmm... I do believe we have another shed which we aren't using for anything, that may make a great chicken coop...in that clearing a little ways from the greenhouse... hmmmm.. Oh.. HON.. I HAVE AN IDEA!!! Later... K Fields See Also: Triumphant Harvest!
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