DIY Greenhouse??

[Shdwdrgn]

This weekend I add a new wing to the greenhouse. I got the compost bins built and installed in the back corner, where they were intended to go, and re-did the sheet of plastic to fully enclose the barrels inside the greenhouse. I finished by mowing the front yard, mulching up the fallen leaves as I went. Fresh cut grass is supposed to be for starting a new compost bin, so here's hoping. That filled the barrels about 1/3 full each. I topped them off with some squashed veggies, leaves and muck from the pond pumps, and fresh cut plant clippings from the aquariums. The only thing missing is the non-meat table scraps. Since the leaves really sucked up the moisture, I sprayed everything down a bit more, but eventually the high humidity inside the greenhouse should balance out the moisture content in the barrels. I'm excited to finally have the compost bins going (I've had them sitting for half the Summer), and can't wait to have something useful to amend into my soil next Spring. It won't be much to start with, but after a few years I'll have a nice cycle going.

Funny thing, the English Ivy has completely died off for the season, except you can see behind the plastic where it's starting growing new leaves again. Guess it likes the new heat source it found.

So the only thing left is building the doors, but that can wait. We have snow in the forecast for Thursday and Saturday, I'm just hoping the heaters arrive in time. I hope we actually get some snow though, it will be nice to see the effects of some weight on the roof.

 

[ReeseTheBeast]

This weekend I add a new wing to the greenhouse. I got the compost bins built and installed in the back corner, where they were intended to go, and re-did the sheet of plastic to fully enclose the barrels inside the greenhouse. I finished by mowing the front yard, mulching up the fallen leaves as I went. Fresh cut grass is supposed to be for starting a new compost bin, so here's hoping. That filled the barrels about 1/3 full each. I topped them off with some squashed veggies, leaves and muck from the pond pumps, and fresh cut plant clippings from the aquariums. The only thing missing is the non-meat table scraps. Since the leaves really sucked up the moisture, I sprayed everything down a bit more, but eventually the high humidity inside the greenhouse should balance out the moisture content in the barrels. I'm excited to finally have the compost bins going (I've had them sitting for half the Summer), and can't wait to have something useful to amend into my soil next Spring. It won't be much to start with, but after a few years I'll have a nice cycle going.

Funny thing, the English Ivy has completely died off for the season, except you can see behind the plastic where it's starting growing new leaves again. Guess it likes the new heat source it found.

So the only thing left is building the doors, but that can wait. We have snow in the forecast for Thursday and Saturday, I'm just hoping the heaters arrive in time. I hope we actually get some snow though, it will be nice to see the effects of some weight on the roof.

Looking good, you have been busy. Nice work.

 

[ReeseTheBeast]

I tried to grow peppers this year as well but the did horrible in my raised beds, staying aroubd 4" for months. I put them in my hydroponic bed in the greenhouse and I just harvested a nice large bell pepper. Attached pic is of my fall cucumbers but I will post pics of the peppers later.

 

[Becky]

Sorry to hear about your peppers Your cucs are looking good though!

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Since it's been a couple months, I thought I would update... The greenhouse is still going despite some storms. The first heavy wind that came up started flapping some of the roof panels -- I had forgotten to tie down the bottom edge on the front side! It was an easy fix though, got some straps in place before any damage was done. The heaters were delayed from Amazon, so I ended up setting up my propane heater for a couple nights. I burned off a good deal of gas so it's not something I would do except in emergency, but we had a couple nights that got down to almost 20F, and using the light bulbs as heaters would not have been enough.

Since the heaters came in, the temperatures have been pretty nice inside. Unfortunately we had a couple more nights of cold winds, and didn't think to tie shut the plastic door flap, so the first two tomato plants inside the door have died. Also all of my cucumber and zucchini plants have died, but I still have three tomatoes with fruit that is ripening. I was also able to save the green tomatoes from the plants that died, which ripened up quickly once I brought them inside. It's still getting too cold at night for the tomatoes to get fresh blooms though. On the other hand, I cleaned up a section of soil and planted some radish seeds, and they have started sprouting!

So the weather next week is looking bleak. Thursday night got down to 12 degrees, but the greenhouse only reached 34. However starting next Thursday the overnight temps are supposed to be around 6-8 degrees, for several days, which doesn't bode well for the tomatoes. Well this was all an experiment anyway, and it's still pretty amazing to have living tomato plants in November. I think once the tomatoes do die off, I'll turn down the heaters and see if just a little warmth is enough to keep the radishes growing. And I haven't had more than an inch of snow of the roof yet, but the plastic has held up just fine so far.