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Construction
We sited the Greenhouse on the south side of our garage patio in an area free of shade.
The perimeter foundation blocks have been set and the pressure treated 2x6 sills
for the walls are in place. The walls have been built and are laying on top of one
another on the far side of the foundation. Our covered utility trailer is being used
for construction tool storage. |
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Frame
The Cold Frame Greenhouse is 12ft wide, 16ft long, and 11ft tall. 4" thick
solid concrete blocks were used for the floor and perimeter foundation. |
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South Side
The South Side is 16ft long and 8ft tall. The studs are spaced at 3ft. The
lower 2ft of the wall plastic has been rolled up for the summer - the opening is covered
with screen material. Lastly, a sunscreen is draped over the south roof to cut down
on the summer sun. |
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West Side
The west side is 12ft wide and 11ft tall. A 36" wide storm door allows the
option of being all glass for heat retention or all screen for maximum ventilation.
the white rectangles on either side of the door are manual register vents. |
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North Side
The North Side is 16ft wide and 8ft tall. To give the structure added strength,
studs were placed inbetween the 3ft frame studs. Also, the lower 4ft of the wall is
3/4" exterior plywood. In addition to the structural strength the plywood
provides, it also allows bags of potting soil to be stacked against the north wall. |
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East Side
The East Side is12ft wide and 11ft tall. The angled panel is a hinged, screened
window controled by an automatic piston positioner. The smaller rectangles on either
side are manual register vents. The plants on this east side get a half day of sun
and seems to be a good way to help them harden off for full sun. |
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North Roof
The North Roof has 3 vent openings. The left and right ones are manually operated by
lengths of PVC pipe from the inside. The large center vent is operated by an
automatic control piston. |
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Interior
The Interior has a 4ft wide central aisle and 4ft deep shelving in south and north bays.
The shelves are 2ft, 4ft, and 6ft above the floor and are covered with 2x4"
fencing. The coiled blue hose in the upper right is a garden hose. The metal
trash can holds potting soil and the green plastic trash can holds fertilized water.
Two sections of a 3ft wide plastic shelf are used as a potting table. In the
upper left corner, an old furnace fan is used as an exhaust fan. |
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Drying Sunflower Seed Heads
In late summer, we empty the plants from the greenhouse. We then install temporary
shelving made from 2x4" fence at 1ft intervals between the normal 2ft spaced shelves.
Sunflower seed heads are sorted by size and laid out to dry. Several
oscillating fans ensure a good air flow around the drying seed heads. |
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Greenhouse
Addition - 2005
In between snow storms, I have been laying out the foundation for a 8x16ft addition to
the south side of the greenhouse. This will increase both our ability to grow
plants as well as increase the number of sunflower seed heads we can dry. |
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Greenhouse Addition - 2005
The wall framing and rafters are in place. |
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Greenhouse Addition - 2005
Major construction is done. This is a northwest view. Notice the row of hinged
vent "windows" (made of wood and greenhouse plastic) on the roof's north face.
In the next photo notice I added a little overhang for these vents to help keep the
rain off them. I also added thermostatic controlled box fans in the vent openings to
boost exhaust airflow. |
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Greenhouse Addition - 2005
This is a southwest view - looking over one of our lavender beds. On the south face,
there is a vent curtain at ground level going the entire 16ft length of the side.
There's a second 16ft vent curtain just under the roof overhang. These two south
facing screen inlets worked well in conjunction with the north roof outlet shown in the
previous photo. |
