----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2001 7:38
PM
Subject: greenhouse questions
Dear friends,
If this a topic that is in the archives already,
just let me know and I will go research (I am relatively new to the list but
don't recall such). I will go back and reread my Growing for Market
articles - but if other advice, I would much appreciate it.
I am in a position to purchase a greenhouse - I
will have some help to build one but cannot quite figure out where to go to
order the parts.....the best price and materials among all the
options
Here is what I want - one with dimensions approx.
16 (to 20) width and as long as I can get while still allowing for adequate
ventilation (that info is in the Growing4 Market article)...it will be
UNHEATED and there is NO SNOW in my area......
Is there any preference for shape (quonset,
arched, etc.)
Is metal better than pvc pipes (i live in such an
incredibly windy area year round that my screens are ripped off my two
porches)-----i am assuming some kind of metal frame is a better, sturdier
option....I am willing to spend what I need to in order to make sure that my
greenhouse DOES NOT BLOW AWAY (I should emphasize that
it is REALLY WINDY here.....friends even from just a few hours away cannot
believe how WINDY it is here, so that is my biggest concern in purchasing and
building a greenhouse)
and should i go with plastic, or the stiffer
materials (more like a plastic glass) or the third option, a kind of wired
plastic that comes in a roll but goes on rather stiff
one farm had an opaque (looked white) greenhouse
plastic for winter time because it helped moderate the heat spikes of a
southern winter and he kept his chickens in there over the winter (they were
on pasture rest of year but left behind a wonderfully composted planting
bed)....never thought of that before....still got plenty of light...but i will
be growing winter lettuces and greens in half of it, so can you put half clear
and half opaque on it?
i live near BWI in memphis and they have all
kinds of greenhouse frames for sale but whether price is the best, I don't
know where else to check....all the "garden" catalogs look pretty
pricey.....
i am a complete dud when it comes to technical
things (though I can milk any goat and raise a gorgeous seedling!) so please
forgive any stupid questions (my husband, if it is possible, is even less
talented in this area than i am....so i am throwing myself on the mercy of
strangers!)
there are some big commercial nurseries nearby
that use greenhouses for storing their trees and shrubs, but no working farm
greenhouses....only what i read in books.....
thanks so much
nan at dancing goats farm
water valley, mississippi
p.s. on a happy note, friends and colleagues have
already offered to have a "greenhouse-raising" party for me, so we can
probably assemble and/or create almost anything that folks suggest (thank
goodness it is not just me alone.....it pays to be a good neighbor is the
first thing the farmer under whom i apprenticed taught me! the next was
always to give the customer a bit more than they expected and you will win
their loyalty)
---
You are currently subscribed to
market-farming as: unclebil AT bright.net
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
leave-market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
Get the list FAQ at:
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/documents/market-farming.faq