Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["E. E. Mitchamore Jr" <emitch@att.net>]

I really like the idea of two layers of protection, with no supplemental heating:

 

1) A simple, single layer "greenhouse", preferably with only southern exposure and some thermal mass.

 

2) Lightweight "Row Covers" INSIDE the greenhouse, over the seedlings.  These would be manually deployed only during the coldest nights.  Could be a sheet or tarp, too.

 

Use of this two-layer approach simplifies the greenhouse.

 

E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
www.hillcountrynatives.biz

----- Original Message -----

From: TradingPostPaul

To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 10:20 PM

Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Greenhouse kit: does this sound like a good deal?

They have those at our local Harbor Freight which we call the Toy Store. I
don't question your comparison numbers, but if it's meant to be practical
far as return on investment, there are questions. Let's keep in mind that a
12 x 10 is just about adequate for starting plants from seed for a large
home garden. But if it's for growing food directly then it isn't big enough
and it would take years at least to repay the investment.

I built an 8 x 14 for under $150, though with film and wood instead of the
poly panels and metal. It's strictly for germinating in flats and pots, and
with a small electric heater it did the job for a couple months before last
frost. It protects small potted trees like figs etc. before setting out.

The $599 12 x 10 could certainly be a good hobby greenhouse, or from a
practical standpoint it could repay the investment by growing starters for
a large garden. There are also alternatives though. Cold frames can help
get a jump on the growing season, or hot frames or even floating row
covers. There's a lot of good information on season extension in books and
websites. It means more than just having the earliest tomato. It means you
can grow two or three crops a year in the same space, depending on your
learning curve. I'm in the middle of this learning curve right now.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 5/15/2007 at 2:49 PM Bobby G wrote:

>hey folks, local Harbor Freight store has greenhouse
>kits selling for $299 for the 6 x 10 size, and $599
>for the 12 X 10.  these use semi-rigid polycarbonate
>panels, the corrugated type panels that are approx. 5
>mm thick, and the frame is angle-aluminum.
>
>given that polycarbonate sheets are pricey at $1.70
>per square foot (e.g., 200 sq. ft. at $340) plus the
>packing and shipping charge that every greenhouse
>supply house adds on (usually $100 or $120), this
>complete greenhouse kit seems much less expensive than
>buying just the bulk polycarbonate sheets (then having
>to build a frame for the greenhouse).
>
>bobby g
>



_______________________________________________
Livingontheland mailing list
Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland