We have always dreamed of having a green house. This one isn't exactly a dream come true but it was a place to start.
I have put together a Greenhouse page for more background, pictures and a place to post futures pictures of our activities therein.
js
did to your electric bills.....Sharon in Canada, zone5
re in and what it
=46rom the snow, manner of dress, and native flora I'd guess zone 6-7. As to electric bills their gardening is obviously a hobby, not a business... no one does recreational gardening to save money. Why do so many people equate so much in their lives strictly with dollars and cents... don't yoose ever enjoy anything just for the sake of pleasure derived.
Jack Schmidling wrote in news:13mfhl7kohgk3f8 @corp.supernews.com:
I'm going to have to make sure that the next time I get over to the States is going to be around October..... in whatever year :-)
From the snow, manner of dress, and native flora I'd guess zone 6-7. As to electric bills their gardening is obviously a hobby, not a business... no one does recreational gardening to save money. Why do so many people equate so much in their lives strictly with dollars and cents... don't yoose ever enjoy anything just for the sake of pleasure derived.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Because some budgets are not infinite, professor.
On Dec 18, 10:24=EF=BF=BDam, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrot= e:
That post wasn't offered to discuss their pocketbook, it was obviously offered in hopes people would join in celebrating their enjoyment of something they find pleasurable, not for yoose sick bi-polars to poo poo their happiness. Can't any of yoose clinically depressed folks ever look at the glass half *full*.... sheesh, so much resentment of anyone enjoying their life. The poster didn't ask you to pay for their greenhouse.
4-5 depending on what map you look at.
Lou
Great pictures Jack. The whole DIY thing is rather silly. I can't tell you how many kits I've bought and had to get replacement hardware. I bought a New Braunfels smoker years ago and had to drill all the holes out bigger and use bigger and better nuts and bolts. I had to have a bit of welding done because the wheels would have fallen off.
Anyway I'd love to have your greenhouse. Have fun.
Lou
Yes, after perusing their web site it seems they're in Marengo Ill... perhaps most of those photos are from a month or two ago, seems only the one with snow is more recent... looks like a relatively mild season for that area. I've been contemplating a greenhouse of sorts myself, but I'm thinking more along the lines of a smallish (12' X
12') four season shed-like structure attached to my house, I need something substantial if it's to hold up to the winters here... I'm wondering how that plastic sheet structure will hold up to wind and snowload, I don't think it would last very long here and I'm in the same zone 5. And If I set it out somewhere in the open I'd not be able to get to it very easily with the typical one and two foot+ snow falls not to mention drifts over my head. The rear of my house faces dead south so it's in full sun all year, but even so I wonder what it would cost to heat! hehe What a stupid question, anyone installing a greenhouse realizes it must cost something for maintaining temperature in cold climes... as dumb a question as someone going to buy a yacht and asking how many knots per gallon... yoose think golfers care how much balls cost... that would be like someone buying an All-Clad pot but can only afford to use it to cook ramen.
I've had the same experience with DIY kits, often terrible instructions and poor fasteners... the last one was a simple trash can cart, cost like all of $16, took me about four hours to figure it out and retool to make the parts fit.
I wish I could have something so simple but I doubt it would last very long in this climate. I've been tossing around the idea of a sort of greenhouse for the five years I've been here and finally decided it would make more sense for me to have something like these:
That's why it was so cheap. The parts are all chinese made, and the hardware is cheap. Many times I just toss the hardware in the recycling bin and use all new. Mini-blind hardware is the worst. Just use real screws for those.
Those are cool. But do you need an extra room? In your situation I'd dig down a bit to use the earth as insulation. Sounds like you need to decide if you want a room or a greenhouse. Either way, attached to the house is the way to go. I don't and never have had a greenhouse, but Louise has more gardening books than I have cookbooks. From what I've read, using the earth is the way to go. It depends on the budget. Paying it forward you'll save money, and enjoy your investment.
Lou
And I'm not sure you need to think in terms of heating the whole shed/ room. A friend in Oregon has a stand-alone greenhouse about 8' x 12' which he heats only a few days per the typical winter when they get a hard freeze. The rest of the time he uses some kind of warming devices that just keep seedbeds and pots/trays warm. Task lights on a timer targeted for specific plants when he wants to jumpstart something. This approach, he says, minimizes the electric bill. - aem
I saw an ingenious greenhouse that was heated with decaying compost under the floor. Steam continues to pour off the top of our compost piles year round. I'm sure the "cost" of doing this is maintaining the compost pile, but it can work well with the proper care.
Underground you're talking of a "cold frame". a very different concept from a greenhouse.
cold frame noun : a usually glass- or plastic-covered frame without artificial heat used to protect plants and seedlings outdoors
A cold frame can cost next to nothing but it's not something one uses as living space, not even for grown plants.
I wouldn't call a conservatory an extra room or a need... that's like calling an inground swimming pool an extra bath tub and deeming it a necessity. I always wanted a conservatory, a nice way to enjoy my plants and my outside view... and it sure would be nice to have a conservatory that contained a swimming pool. okay, a spa. One of my neighbors had a 3 season room added, it's very nice, probably the most popular room in the house. But were it me I'd have gone all the way and for a few dollars more made it an all season room, because in this clime without heat and insulation you really can't use it from October thru April... that's half the year that it can't be enjoyed. I think it would be a nice addition to my office, and I really wouldn't want the spa, if I did choose a water feature I'd rather a small koi pool... do I really need these things, no, does anyone. No one needs to do recreational gardening either.
Sheldon expounded:
Try standing up in a cold frame, Sheldon.
True, but there are also greenhouses that are dug into the ground to use the earth's natural insulation. Commonly called a pit greenhouse. Google away.
Northern Illinois, whatever that is.
We just got an electric bill and it looks like about $125 for that month. However, it is much colder now and we had to add another 1500W heater to maintain 65F. Interestingly, this is exactly what was predicted from the nifty calculator I found somewhere on the net.
You plug in the dimensions, material and desired temp and the lowest outside temp and it came up with 3000 W. Allowing for various outside temps and sunshine, I now estimate about $200 a month.
I have been arguing with myself and my wife about spending $50 a month for high speed access and our frugality just says no but no problem with $200 for a tomato.
We all have our priorities.
js
I will but after setting ours up, I learned that more heat is lost through the ground than through the glazed exposed surfaces. This seems hard to believe but thinking about that electric bill, we put down a double layer of TechFoil and one inch styrofoam sheets. TechFoil is basically two layers of bubble wrap between two layers of heavy aluminum foil.
Seems to me if what you say is true, all of this was for naught. I suppose if you dug it far below the frost line this would help but nothing down there would be in reach of the Sunlight so I guess I need to Google.
js
It's obvious that it gives you a lot of pleasure and I can certainly understand that. Very nice but all that white stuff is enough to make me appreciate my mere frosty winters.
And the spinning is great. I'm just spinning some dog, alpaca and wool mix.
I know of someone who grows grapes in a climate which in Australia is considered cold (ie heavy frost and too little summer sun to ripen grapes). He grows them in what he calls 'sun pits'. Basically these are just deep trenches in the ground on a North facing slope and with some clear roofing material thown on top. They work - cheap but effective.
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