Start of the Panel Greenhouse!

[secuono]

Finally put up the cattle panels for the greenhouse. 8ft wide at the ground, spaced 7ft apart and a couple inches taller than I am, so 5'10" or so.
Total length about 26ft. The cables are to help the tarps keep shape and then where to attach them on the ends. The upside down V would be the front entrance, other side is the closed off back. Going to add 8-12in tall boards to keep dirt in.
The boards and poop, hay, dirt will be added throughout Winter and the tarps will go up in Spring. The tarps will be taken down for Winters to keep as little snow load on the panels.

Any tips or tricks from people who've made this type of greenhouse before?

 

[NwMtGardener]

Woohoo! That's exciting! I havent built that exact kinda greenhouse, but we cover our structure every year. Lets see...tips. Plan ahead for how to ventilate. Our greenhouse is on top of a raised bed, essentially. So, at the bottom of the plastic, i roll a long narrow strip of wood up in the plastic, and we staple that stick to the wood frame of the greenhouse. So when i want to raise a side to get really good ventilation (more than leaving the door open or just bungying up the end) i can unstaple the stick, and roll the plastic around it, and bungee it up. That way you can really easily adjust the height, and roll it back down at night.

Dont pick a windy day to spread your plastic. Or do, if you want a bigger adventure!

Hmm, cant think of anything else, i'll chime back in if i come up with something.

 

[secuono]

I was thinking how I hate watering, so was going to attach the sides and then have a separate one for the top. So when it rains, I can just remove it, which can also be moved away for air.
I made ones for the coop, the hay and a mini for the goats, so wind does make it more interesting for sure.

 

[journey11]

Awesome, can't wait to see how it turns out. I was going to use my cattle panel chicken tractor for a greenhouse (take off tarp, put on 6 mil plastic) in early spring until it blew over the hill and got all smashed up.

 

[bj taylor]

that looks so great. ours is similar. we placed concrete blocks along the sides, filled the holes w/cement & stuck rebar in & over tying another rebar to go down to the opposite side. it leant a lot of strength. also we framed a long table on one side. we put dutch doors (plywood cut in half) on both ends. the top half of the doors stay open for ventilation but the closed bottom keeps critters from helping themselves. I ended up turning it into a chicken coop in one corner & barn in the rest of it - but I love it non the less.

hope you get to grow lots of lovely food in there.

 

[897tgigvib]

I used to work in a greenhouse, 2 times actually.

They can get hot in summer, so the things about ventilation really are important.

Might want a way to stop grass from encroaching from the sides. BJ's concrete blocks would do that, or more cardboard covered with soil or something.

You will DEFINITELY want at least 2 THERMOMETERS, one in shade, the other in the sun in the greenhouse. Nice big, good, easy reading ones. At 90 degrees most plants get stressed in a greenhouse. At 95 some plants may start dying. At 100 things are all in trouble. Those are SHADE temperatures. The one in the sun will get you doing things when you see it at 120. (yea). FANS of 2 kinds. General circulation, and Exhaust for flow thru.

Oh, you are going to love the things you can do with a greenhouse Sec! You'll want a spigot for water in it. Shelves.

 

[secuono]

It'll be mainly for spring and fall, rest it'll be open. It's in full sun, no shade at all, other than my own shadow.

 

[so lucky]

I see you are using three cattle panels. They are around $27 each? Have you estimated what it will cost entirely? I would like to have a small hoop house, probably 2 panels. But that is only about 8 feet, so may as well go with three. I have just the place for it. Fair amount of natural shade in the summer, but sunny in spring and fall. I will watch your progress with interest and a fair amount of envy.

 

[secuono]

They were $23 here. It's the only thing I've bought so far. If I decided to go with real greenhouse plastic, then that will be the second high cost item. The poop and dirt will come from the rabbits and possibly hills I dig out to level. Though, we are buying 11 cubic yards of fill dirt to go around the house and stop out cellar from flooding all the time. Might 'borrow' some of that dirt if there's any left over.
I plan on buying and adding sand, peatmoss and some garden soil to mix with the rabbit poop and dirt. Going to dig up the beds I have in the front yard and put them in the greenhouse, too.
I'm thinking of making a solid wood back end and cutting a big hole for a window in there. Have 2x4s to make some kind of better door in the front and the window in the back.
The 1x6 or 1x12 I'll have to buy for the bottom to frame the dirt in.

 

[majorcatfish]

sorry no help here. but i like the design please post more pictures as it progresses