We started with a hoop house made with PVC that had been used for a low tunnel. I attached these to posts to created headroom. In winter this was covered with plastic and in summer it was covered at least partly with morning glories.
One day our daughter Anna asked to borrow the truck and came back with three sliding glass doors that someone had replaced. I took the framing from insulated glass panels which still had good seals and our new greenhouse was off to good start. The design was inspired by our friends Barry and Jennifer Miller who had been able to keep greens through the winter by having barrels of water inside the greenhouse. These are placed along the north wall which has no glass and is well insulated. The low winter sun hits the barrels and the heat stored during the day warms the air inside at night.
Almost all of our greenhouse is recycled, even the insulation. For side windows I doubled or tripled single sheets of glass with spacers between.
Here a very happy rosemary plant sits just inside a triangular window that has been removed for ventilation.
The greenhouse has proven to be a happy place and not just for plants. The photo at the right shows the hammock while the more recent photo below shows that you will be able to pick figs while lying in that hammock.
We can even shower in the greenhouse. A submersible Little Giant pump sits in one of the rain barrels connected to a six gallon hot water heater. About 20 minutes before showering we turn on the heater and, after waiting for the water to heat, we turn on the pump. Two of us can comfortably shower this way and total electric use is about 1kw.
Our grand-daughter Ella makes a fresh salad sandwich. You can tell by her jacket that it is not summer outside.
Happy Campers The Creations of Hap & Lin Mullenneaux 