Questions concerning material and design for a medium sized greenhouse.

I can't address all of your questions but I can answer a few. I have a 50' long X 20' wide Green House. I grow in boxes tier posts that are set in the ground. The growing boxes I use are five stacked to a pole. I plant the four corners in stages, depending on what I want to grow. If it's lettuce, I plant the bottom four corners of each box first and a week later the next box up and so forth. After the first row is ready to be harvested I harvest the four bottom corners and replant. A week later I harvest the next boxes up and replant. Along the sides, I have snap beans, three or four different species of tomatoes and cilantro and other plant species. With this system, I can harvest if I wanted to much more but usually, I don't, I get 50-70 pounds of vegetables a week once everything has begun to mature. That is a lot of veggies. Once you pick it you either have to eat it, sell it or give it away. Otherwise, it will rot and you throw it away.

I used metal poles, 2 1/2" diameter and they are galvanized, each is set in the ground three feet with cement for the frame. It looks like a Quonset hut. There is a heavy duty plastic impregnated with fiberglass cloth on the floor to keep weeds from sprouting up. It is held in place with steel staples I made from rebar and then bent in the shape of a "U". Those are pounded into the ground throughout the greenhouse. The outside covering is plastic designed especially for greenhouses. That is held in place with "U" channeling and the plastic is held tight with what I call "Wriggle wire". It is inserted inside the channeling and holds the plastic very tight. We get some nasty wind here in December and January and it has to be strong.

The greenhouse is sealed from the bottom up and all the way around it. There are two entries to get in and out. Each door facing the other. You open the first door, step in, close the door behind you and then open the next door. It helps to keep bugs out. When you step through the first door you step into a pan of disinfectant solution.

Inside on one wall, I have two 3' fans to cool it down when it gets too hot inside. On the opposite wall near the entry door is a panel that has my plumbing, valves, hygrometer/thermostat, and various on/off switches that control either the feeding of nutrients of the plants or the watering of them. There is also a sprinkler system on the overhead to work in conjunction with the fans for cooling, I simply change the valve settings to get either water or plant food to my plants. I mix my own ingredients together that I feed my plants and it is in a liquid state.

I wash the floor once in awhile with a pressure washer because slime will begin to accumulate because the floor gets wet a lot. I wash the outside of the house as well. To keep the dust off. I can't eat all that I grow so I sell much of it and keep what I want for myself. We also donate food to an orphanage and to the poor in and around our area. Lettuce goes for $1/head. My onions, cilantro, rosemary, mint, eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, Bell Peppers and so much more go for less than the marketplace sell it for and since it is all organic, (I never need to spray) the quality is always first rate. It is a closed area and well sealed off. I don't have an insect problem. Before I put the second entry on to the house I had a couple of problems. I had to tear out all of the plants, disinfect and then start over.

If you build yours on a hillside you should make sure it has a southern exposure. Build your frame so it cannot be blown down and I would recommend the frame be metal. It is very durable. The plastic covering shouldn't be a problem. Get the best you can afford because it will last longer. If I wanted to I could grow 600 heads of iceberg lettuce a week but I don't want to work that hard. It's just a hobby for me.

Hope this helps a little.

Caseyboy

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Questions concerning material and design for a medium sized greenhouse.