Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Kraft Marty <martyk@allspecies.org>]

Thanks Paul.

On Dec 23, 2013, at 1:08 PM, tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net> wrote:

Apparently the photos went thru, wasn't sure due to size.

No I don't line bed frames, just pine. The spinach is Viroflay, tastes much better than regular.

My greenhouse plastic is 10x100 ft 6 ml uv roll. Uprights & rafters spaced 4ft apart. With about 30 deg pitch it holds up for years under +- 1 ft snow load, properly fastened to the wood. For that I use a 2" wide clear filament tape over the plastic, stapled to the wood on edges, 1/2" staples with air stapler. 4 ft sections covered one at a time.

Foundation is just 2x4 rail just above ground screwed into treated posts in holes 1 ft deep, cement fill. No nails anywhere, all 2 1/2" ext star drive screws with drill bit. 2 greenhouses about 60 to 80 ft. It gets below zero here & spring winds to 60 mph. Still standing after 8 yrs. Had to replace a few plastic sections not stapled the way I do now.

This is all doable by one person, but obviously not all at once. Plus overall this was a tiny fraction of the cost of commercial hoophouses. With homemade greenhouses everybody has to experiment, skills, tools, budget. :-(

Might add, to keep greens growing this winter, I've added a light bulb under cover on sensitive beds. You can do that without wasting heat on the whole structure. It's a pain but I have to cover beds 4-5 pm or so & uncover around 9-10 am for sun. But refuse to set foot outside in cold wind.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
------------------

On 12/22/2013 10:22 PM, mobius wrote:

52B7C89A.6050104@mainestream.us" type="cite">

On 12/22/2013 11:13 PM, tradingpost wrote:

52B7B858.5040608@lobo.net" type="cite">I've mentioned this but pictures should help.
greenhouse beds shots from last season, adequate protection down to zero at nite

Nice!  Do you line the boxes to make the wood last longer?

Boy I could use some of that spinach right about now.  For various reasons we didn't manage to grow anything last summer.

I've got three sheets of that double layer plexi stuff to put up a greenhouse.  I forget what it's called, 4' X 12' each, and some lumber, but I haven't figured out quite how to build it so it will:
a. survive the Maine snow
b. still get sun after shedding said snow (keep snow bank from covering the window)
c. keep it warm enough to maybe grow through the winter (or not, may not be feasable)

I've been following all the ideas here with interest but a viable plan just hasn't gelled.

I really like the underground idea to keep it warm but if you go deep enough here (5 ft'?), you'd have a ft of water in the bottom.
The only spot with enough grade faces east, unfortunately.

I'm thinking the best idea may be to make the window almost upright with a deep shed behind it and a strong load bearing roof.
Maybe heat it with compost but I'm not sure how long a pile would make heat without any fresh manure added.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

Fred
in Maine
(long time lurker)
....

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Marty Kraft

Please respond to global warming in your own way. Let care of nature become second nature.