Protective Structures-Greenhouses, Screenhouse, Cold Frames, Frost Cloth

 
 

I have built PVC framed greenhouses for as little as $50 that are large enough to cover three trees, the trees cost me $120. Some plants can be protected with frost cloth or frost cloth and Christmas lights for a little extra warmth. I have used buckets and barrels full of water heated during the day from the sun, misting systems, kerosene lanterns, wood stoves, and even propane plumbing torches to heat off grid structures. I prefer the water heat storage, but sometimes you need extra. The winter of 2009-2010 was the worst in the 26 years I've been here. It was below 20 degrees every night but one for two weeks straight. I saw a minimum of 7 degrees that winter. The ice built up about 4 feet thick. The weight crushed the irrigation system. I lost most of the trees. Only the greenhouses heated by wood stoves survived. We are not likely to return to that climate, but one should be prepared. I have since switched to passively solar heated greenhouse styles. One must be open to learning from your own mistakes. It is easier and profitable to learn from those with more experience. The passive solar designs are a little more labor and capital intensive at first but work better and are cheaper in the long run. I mean they require less labor and energy inputs allowing you to produce and earn more for the same long term expense. Properly designed they make it possible to produce out of season and in some cases with nearly no spraying. They should also be passively cooled. That is one design requirement I've had to engineer myself. Every structure I've seen here is actively cooled and ventilated. This can be done with a solar system but nearly doubling cost. I will give some numbers when i settle on a design. Of course, if this warming continues, passive cooling will be our focus. The pineapple house shown in the photo gallery is my favorite so far, but this is not an organic design because of the pressure treated wood. As I understand the rules, PVC and Galvanized steel are allowed, so this season we're making a few tweaks to the design. I'll let you know.

                                                                                          Passive Solar Greenhouse

 A passive solar greenhouse is insulated on the north, south, and east wall, and is only glazed on the south. This type greenhouse, when longer than wide and oriented east west longwise, receives about 95% of the sunlight that a normal hoop house type receives, but is much better insulated. Combining this with passive heat storage and passive cooling creates the environment that almost any plant needs year-round. This type of greenhouse is widely used in China. Another search term for more information is "Chinese Greenhouse". The angle of the southern facing glazing depends on crop, target season, materials used, and latitude.

                                                               The "Pineapple Plantation"

     My dear friends Dave and Lin moved up here from south FL about seven years ago. They brought pineapple plants they'd grown on their patio, no protection needed back home. But on this end of the state it is necessary. We tried several protection schemes, but didn't get real success till we built the passive solar house. We cover it in the late fall and uncover in early spring. No cold weather maintenance necessary. The work is done when the weather is pleasant. It is pretty quick and easy. I've gone inside during cold winter days and it is warm and comfy inside. So warm that the winter season fruit ripens sweet, that does not always happen even in the southern part of the state. That is a full size fruit picked ripe summer 2019, Yum!