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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Getting the Greenhouse Ready for Spring

Yesterday afternoon it was nice and sunny. I took advantage of that in the afternoon to get some work done on the Greenhouse.






We built this Greenhouse in June 2008. Check this out to see how we built it in a weekend.


Over time, we made some improvements to it by edging the beds inside. The Gman also built a collapsible table inside - this is where I can hold flats and flats of seedlings.

In early Winter, once all the veggies have been harvested, we get the Greenhouse ready for winter. Due to the large amount of snowfall here, we put a tarp over the Greenhouse, in hopes that this will help the snow to slide off. If you live in a high snowfall area, make sure you design your Greenhouse with a steep enough pitch on the roof so the snow slides off.






During the Winter, after large snowfalls, I have to do some maintenance if I want my Greenhouse to have a better chance of withstanding the weather. If you click on here you can see how I make sure the snow comes off the roof.

I also have to shovel a wide path around the sides of the Greenhouse. It would do us no good to have the snow slide off the roof, only to stay around the perimeter and slowly crush the sides of the Greenhouse.

In those pictures, you can see how we weigh down the tarp. We use old bleach and milk jugs which we have filled with water. Why are they painted black?









These jugs do double duty here. Not only do we use them to weigh down the tarp over the Winter, but we use them inside the Greenhouse during the growing season.

We set them alongside the plants - because they are black, they will warm up quickly with the sun shining on them. Then at night, when the temperatures cool down, these jugs release some of that warmth they soaked up earlier in the day.






Here's a picture I took yesterday. You can see that most of the snow around the Greenhouse is now gone.




And another picture after the work was done. The tarp is folded and tied up and put away in the shop. The jugs have had another quick coat of spray paint, as some were starting to flake.




Here's why we do all this work! Check out the tomatoes, these plants are loaded with fruit. We also grow some corn in the Greenhouse as well as peppers and squash.

Do you have a Greenhouse?  Or are you planning to build one?

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7 comments:

HossBoss said...

NICE greenhouse! We have gotten snow (light dusting) in February for two years in a row now, but snow is a real rarity here. We do have high winds regularly though and I'm not sure just sheet plastic for the roof would hold up very long. We're on our fifth year of drought conditions but when it DOES rain, it's a gully washer so that might be a problem too. I bet I could use clear corrugated fiberglass panels for the roof though, and have sheet plastic on the walls. I could roll up the walls when it was time to clean out or even plant the greenhouse.

Hmmm ...now WHERE should I put my greenhouse. Thanks for the inspiration!

: )

A to Zen said...

Nice greenhouse. I would love to build my own. Not sure we have the space.

Farmhouse Fixers said...

That is fantastic! I am extremely jealous! Is that growth during the cold season?

umbrellalady said...

Great greenhouse! I have one but it is all of about 4x4 feet! It works well enough but I truly wish that someday I might have a larger one!

Unknown said...

Wow! Your greenhouse looks phenomenal. I especially love the use of the black jugs in winter and also in the spring for warmth. That is brilliant! Thanks for sharing, and thanks for stopping by Nest Candy!

Jen said...

Limey started building ours on the weekend. Just need to put the plastic up and order some soil. It's 12x32 so will hopefully fit all the pepper plants I started!

Annie said...

WWRWHorses - yes of course you could use corrugated panels for the roof and that is a great idea about being able to roll up the walls.

Even having a small greenhouse is a huge bonus. The Gman says he wants to build me a larger one, but we may just go with adding a hoophouse instead.

Hoophouses are an inexpensive way to bascially get a greenhouse. Is this a possibility for any of you?

Morgan, the growth is from last year. Winters here are far too cold to use the greenhouse.

Pictures Limette, we need pcitures! I am so busy these days that it is hard for me to get to everyone's blog, but I will try!

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