Big plans and good news.
Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I went out for dinner with my family and took a night off. I had some pretty great news yesterday and thought I deserved it. The news? Oh just a promotion at work that came kinda out of the blue! I'm now officially a software engineer. (I was already, but now I get to say so...) I do have to admit that with the economy in a pretty dismal state, and knowing that there are friends of mine that have had a fairly rough go of it lately, I felt more than a little reticent about posting the good news up here but at the end of the day it's not just a blog about gardening, homesteading or living a little more sustainably, it's a blog about me. So that's the good news.
Now, what's all this about big plans huh? Well they're plans that A~ and I have been kicking around for some time now and finally have decided on. You may remember the pergola that I built for A~ for mothers day a few years back.
This isn't the best picture of it, but you get the idea. Anyway, We've decided that we don't use it nearly as much as we had hoped that we would so it's getting..."modified".
We decided that we need a greenhouse much more than we need a little used pergola. So the big plans are....drumroll please...
A solar greenhouse for the backyard. When finished it will be 10' X 12', I'm designing it with good solar gain and shading principles (I hope anyway, I'm no architect.) so that in the winter I should be able to maximize the amount of sun that the greenhouse gets while the awnings and angles should allow some shading in the heat of summer.
I've got a couple of dwarf citrus trees that have been clinging to life in the house this winter, as well as a fig tree, that I want to be able to keep out there over winters. Two of the biggest reasons for wanting it, are to be able to start our spring veggies out there and then to prolong some of them over the winter months. Next year we're hoping for fresh tomatoes in January!!
So, if any of you have any suggestions based on my drawings, basic as they are, I'd love to hear them. I hope to only have to build this baby once. It may take a while, perhaps even more than one summer building a little at a time, but it'll be a great addition to the ole 'stead don'tcha think?
All the best till tomorrow.
P~
Now, what's all this about big plans huh? Well they're plans that A~ and I have been kicking around for some time now and finally have decided on. You may remember the pergola that I built for A~ for mothers day a few years back.
This isn't the best picture of it, but you get the idea. Anyway, We've decided that we don't use it nearly as much as we had hoped that we would so it's getting..."modified". We decided that we need a greenhouse much more than we need a little used pergola. So the big plans are....drumroll please...
A solar greenhouse for the backyard. When finished it will be 10' X 12', I'm designing it with good solar gain and shading principles (I hope anyway, I'm no architect.) so that in the winter I should be able to maximize the amount of sun that the greenhouse gets while the awnings and angles should allow some shading in the heat of summer. I've got a couple of dwarf citrus trees that have been clinging to life in the house this winter, as well as a fig tree, that I want to be able to keep out there over winters. Two of the biggest reasons for wanting it, are to be able to start our spring veggies out there and then to prolong some of them over the winter months. Next year we're hoping for fresh tomatoes in January!!
So, if any of you have any suggestions based on my drawings, basic as they are, I'd love to hear them. I hope to only have to build this baby once. It may take a while, perhaps even more than one summer building a little at a time, but it'll be a great addition to the ole 'stead don'tcha think?
All the best till tomorrow.
P~
Labels:
backyard projects,
DIY,
gardening,
greenhouse,
home projects
10 comments:
My parents' greenhouse used vent openers that were essentially a piston packed with paraffin. The wax melts and expands, pushing the piston out and opening the vent...no electricity required. Just remove the cylinders in the winter (but don't underestimate that freak sunny early spring day that can cook a greenhouse before you realize it and don't leave the cylinders in and seal up the vents because the cylinders will shear off the pin and poke through your greenhouse...a little experience here but I still highly recommend them). Theirs didn't use the thermal mass wall so your temperature should be more stable. What materials are you planning on using to build your thermal wall?
Congrats on the promotion! That is wonderful news. It is great to know that not everyone is having such a hard go of things lately.
Good luck on the greenhouse. I can ask my husband if he has any suggestions when he gets up if yu want.
How exciting. I would love to have a greenhouse.
Congrats on both the promotion and the greenhouse, p. You deserve both! :)
Paul,
We built our greenhouse/polytunnel this past summer. We got our plans out of a book. It is on our blog site.
We are hoping to put vents in and our heater this spring. I am hoping grow some citrus this summer and hold them off in the greenhouse during our winter monthes.
I am so excited for you!! It was a lot of hard work but we are Very excited about using ours this summer.
Renee
Gardendesk.com
Hi P, congratulations on the promotion. Now, this green house, I can't quite get my head around it. Is it a solar greenhouse using a solar panel on the roof or are you putting on a glass roof, angled to maximise sun exposure?
I really shouldn't be commenting on this because I have no idea of your cold weather but, I will comment anyway. ; - )
My suggestion would be to put in a brick floor or a short brick wall on the sunny side. Bricks absorb heat during the day and will give you a little heat bank that will warm the air for a few hours longer than without it.
If you left up part of the pergola, you could grow a deciduous vine, like grapes. You'd get shade in summer and sun in winter.
Good luck with it. It looks like a good project.
congratulations on the promotion and the plan, I look forward to seeing the end result
Great news there Paul wonderful to read your good news. Watching the green house with much interest.
Again good on you.
Congratulations on the promotion. good news is welcome here. I'm thrilled to hear that not everything is so bleak. :)
The greenhouse sounds wonderful and I look forward to seeing its progression.
Paul,
I just came across this post (http://www.strawbale.com/straw-bale-greenhouse) and thought of you and your post on the greenhouse.
Interesting bit on strawbale greenhouses and a great blog if you have never seen it before.
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