Guess whos back with a brand new build:Greenhouse

Hi guys

As i have said, for a very long time, i was going to build a greenhouse.

Well, this is becomming a reality.

Pics to follow.








Forgot to take more pics, built the greenhouse cover, with seems, not taped or tiet anywhere, made it to fit like a glove.

No draughts what so ever.

Will upload clearer pics in the morning when i check temps.



Quit cool now, but didnt have time to heat up due to build.

Later

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Nice to see you back @Fishlips !!!

Haha you have sure been busy... looking good!!

 

Thanks @MariaS jip i have

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Hi @Reedfish

Planning on doing ponds inside it with aquatic plants, and also fish.

But will first be working on my heating system. Will be heating large bodies of water with mother natures help in a few different ways. I want to go green with this build.

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Very exciting ... make sure now water can puddle on the roof. Keen to see the water heating progress.

BTW you could do aquaponics on some of the sides - even if it is just a single run of pipe.

Saw loads of small scale growing in Thailand - as in next to a garage



or hydroponics on a vacant urban bit of land



Later Ferdie

 

Just a word of advice befre you have any heartbreak - you really should cover the top of the greenhouse with some shadecloth - and pull it quite tight. You then put the plastic OVER the shadecloth - all you need is one little bit of rain ( yes I know it's winter) and that plastic will form puddles and tear with the weight of the water on it.

 

Good morning all

Thanks for the advice and input.

I did take the rain thing into consideration...

I am thinking of aquaponics as well as soon as my setup is up and working properly, with the right system water changes can be unheard of, and only topups will be required.



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Will be monitoring temps from today and see what we get, will post here.

Might not be 100% acurate, but it should be good enough though.

Will try and over winter and propigate some pons plants too, i hope for the best.

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Imy sides can open.

But when im done my water volumes will be 500 to 1000 liters per pond anyway, doubt my water will heat up to much

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are you not scared that the wind will blow it away?

 

Ne, its very firm to the ground and stable. Tied down properly

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I've seen what a strong wind does to structures such as these. They end up in the next suburb. You will have to provide additional trussing and make sure the side panels can release the pressure if necessary. Alternatively, or additionally, you have to get 4 mm braided steel cable and tie the main frame (all parts of it) down to stakes driven at least 1 m into the ground, on all sides. Not to be a prophet of doom, but a gazebo type frame is meant for picnics on a sunny day, not a serious permanent structure. If you are going to put exotic fish in tubs outside, you have to flood proof them as well. So the first step would be to put in a flood barrier with interlocking bricks, sandbags or similar, and the next step would be to make sure that the tubs are lifted well above ground level, while properly anchored, so that water can pass under but not over. This is not to discourage you, but to make sure you do not lose your livestock and contaminate ecosystems with exotic species. I am all for ventures such as these, but they must be done with the necessary planning.

A note on greenhouses: The ceiling height is important in a hot climate such as ours. Most of the heat accumulates in the 1 m or so below the ceiling. If the greenhouse is tall, that leaves plenty of headroom for plants and people without feeling this direct heating effect. However, if the ceiling is too low, as I believe yours is, the summer temperatures are going to be too high. You can mitigate that by having a wet wall with forced circulation, which will also drive the humidity up, but that is at the expense of water and electricity consumption. So think about it carefully. In the end, you could probably achieve what you want to with an open frame slanted roof with clear polycarbonate or fibreglass panels shaded with 40-60% shade cloth. To keep the tubs up to temperature in winter, the key is to insulate them individually. A good place to start is to surround them with polyurethane or polystyrene panels. For the lids you can devise something with lexan double-panel sheets.

Whichever way you go, best of luck with your venture.

 

Thank you

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Ditto on that. We had another farm many many years ago and we had two tunnels - supposed to be very sturdy and strong structures. Yet a freak storm blew on one and it was promptly "Huff, puff and blow the house down". R40K in damages and repairs - insurance wouldn't even cover it, the bastards. Even the roofs of the staffing quarters were blown off too.

@dorff - try the farming tunnels in the summer, up to 50*C but warm in the winter. I worked in them for a year or so - plenty of tomatoes and peppers all year round. During the summer, we had to leave the "doors" open at both ends to keep the temps down.

 

I hate to admit that im wrong at times and heard headed, lesson learned, but my greenhouse was an epic fail.

Worked very very well while it lasted, but the storm winds took it out last Friday.

Im also to blame because i rushed it and excitement took over.

Im not giving up yet, going to start all over again, but with a better concept, few ideas and plans, will just see what materials work out too, but this topic will still carry on with a version 1.2.... ish

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Oh dear, let that be a lesson learnt. Rather pay a little more for a strong structure. I would suggest using steel pipes - expensive but it will hold you down for a very long time and add some weights to the bottoms to keep it down. Structures like this is a lot like an umbrella in windy season...

Let me show you the damage that a freak storm did to one of our tunnels - yes I still have the photos of the farm from when I was in my early 20's.










Tomatoes



Peppers - green, black, red and yellow.



If you want it to last you a long time, do it properly. Take note of the floor - it even has plastic sheets spread out with the gravel underneath the grow bags to drain away the excess water from the dripper system.

Now you get an idea of how much damage a freak storm can do to a farming tunnel, you'll have a better understanding. Also you can build greenhouses with wood frames - I saw a DIY article a year or so back, wanted to build one for my mother but it always comes down to money, we just never have the money to buy the items needed.

This is a good structure to start with - if you have snow, it will slide off the sides. Snow and hail will damage plastic - perhaps include some shade cloth on top so that the plastic doesn't get shredded if you ever get hail.



I did build a small one with a wooden frame - A-frame type - to protect seedlings during the winter and it worked very very well. Small but useful.

 

Last Friday i got high 20s even with the crappy weather, i might go with the texas pepper design as showed in your clip, but might even do a flat roof wooden frame type with coregated poly carbonate, and not the pvc style.

Thinking of anchoring posts with concrete too...

But we will see what style i go with will maybe start building July or August again, but it must be done by 15 October

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