The greenhouse project is coming along well. Here it is about 80% completed in the construction phase. This is a Harbor Freight greenhouse that Kelly got heavily discounted because the boxes had been damaged or some such thing. I can't remember what the deal was, because it was over a year ago, but these usually go for about $200, and are often discounted to $169 or so, but Kelly got two of them for $40 each - or something like that. So we are glad to have it. This greenhouse is 6x8 and we built it up on a cinder block foundation so it would be tall enough that I could get into it without crawling. There will be gravel on the inside of it, and we'll put in some shelves, etc. for plants.
You do have to be careful with greenhouses in Central Texas. We have to deal with both temperature extremes in the same season. While it may get down in the high teens or 20's at night, the days can easily be in the 80's, even in the middle of winter. Our temperature swings make growing very difficult here. Anyway, a greenhouse has to be constantly monitored to make sure that it doesn't get too hot or too cold. Using vents and opening the door; removing plants during the day and letting them sit out in the sun; and possibly running a small space-heater at night are all solutions for the Central Texas winter gardener. Lord willing we will learn from this small one and then build a very large one. That one (DV) will be heated by a rocket stove and other ambient and "mass" heating. I hope to build a greenhouse in which we can grow citrus and other marginal Central Texas trees, like olives.
I hope to keep up with the progress on here, so tune in regularly for updates.
Your servant in Christ Jesus,
Michael Bunker
3 comments:
Like your new format & the ease of navigation to your other sites. Looking forward to learning about how greenhouse's fare in Texas.
I like your new greenhouses, We built one a few years ago and I always enjoyed my time there, it was truly a blessing. Of course there are a few things I had to learn the hard way, like having the shade cloth in the summer, and the fan and thermostat and learning when to water and how much. It was a great place to propagate plants and transplants. Our son and his wife and children are using it now and have had great success starting all their plants for the garden since our set out date isn't until late May. Anyway we hope you all will find the peace and satisfaction of growing things in yours, Judy, Fairfield, PA, "everyone say hello"
What a good deal on the green houses!
It will be interesting to see what techniques ya'll develop to manage the plants and green houses in regards to your climate.
The new layout is very nice, I like the background.
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