One Alaskans greenhouse

[Alasgun]

Due to our short season and the challenges that presents, a greenhouse is essential if you want to reliably grow some things up here.
we grow tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, bush beans, celery, parsley and summer squash in ours.
initially there were shelves around the sides and we placed smartpots on those shelves.
Well, pretty soon you’ve got everything jamming into the ceiling, making things difficult.
Last winter i upgraded by building the beds shown here. It accomplished a couple things beyond lowering the plants and now the irrigation is more user friendly, the crops have a deeper bed for a better root zone and it’s easier to maintain than with the bags. In the fall all the bags were dumped into brute containers and re-amended for the following year then the bags refilled each spring. Now i just apply the compost in the fall and walk away from it!

just some odd rambling here and a few pictures inside and out. In the spring it’s pretty loaded up till i move all the stuff on the sawhorses etc out to the beds. Then in short order it becomes it’s own jungle!

 

[dickiebird]

Nice setup.

THANX RICH

 

[thistlebloom]

I like that a lot! What are the dimensions? I would be thrilled to have a greenhouse and we have discussed it. Just haven't committed to solid plans for one. Do you use a heat source at all?

 

[Alasgun]

@thistlebloom, this one is 12ft. Wide by 24 ft. Long. I use a Toyo stove to heat from mid April till early October. It stays on 24/7 set at 64 and it mostly runs of a night when it cools. During the day (some days) that 16 in. exhaust fan runs from 10:am to 7pm! No more than a couple weeks of that. In a season i’ll burn 100 gal. of #1.

 

[ducks4you]

That's quite a setup!!
I notice that you have the ingredient that I do NOT--surrounded by trees. We get straight line winds that take down corn too often and if I had Your greenhouse, it would be ripped to shreds.
I am content to build a cold frame this year from the free bricks I picked up last year. It will be south facing, right next to my garage, FULL SUN, and have protection from the west...where the wind usually comes from.

 

[thistlebloom]

I found a Toyo dealer 20 miles south of me. Definitely something to percolate on.

 

[Alasgun]

@thistlebloom, the toyo’s are nice. Anything “direct vent” will no add moisture during combustion, which is a good thing. They’re very reliable, and very user friendly.
Now, we are talking about heating a greenhouse here so some consolation is needed. Set at 64, when the ambient dips to 20-30 my greenhouse will still be in the mid 50’s. When the ambient goes into the 10-20 range we shut everything down for the year. This year, on a whim i kept everything going into November (wanting to break my previous tomato record) and the stove ran 24/7! During that time it burned 100 gallons of #1, a little over $200. Normally 100 gallons will carry me thru the entire season when it’s only running of a night. This is the lazer 300, the smallest one they make.
Our greenhouse is double pane which helps some but i dont mind the expense of fuel as it‘s worth it to us having another month plus of grow time!
I’ll get a better picture of it and the dehumidifier which is a huge home run as well! Without which none of this would work as well. More to come.

 

[thistlebloom]

Obviously you have generator backup. Right now I'm in the thinking it out phase. I confess my garden has been a lower priority the past few years, as well as being in an increasingly unsuitable location. (That got changed last year )
I've been distracted by my horse, and working a physically demanding job.
But with the country going to hell soon I'll be making some necessary changes.

 

[Alasgun]

Generators, yes but i pray it doesn’t come to that! The toyo is a huge part of the equation for us but equally important is that de-humidifier. Most years it runs 20 hrs a day to keep the RA at 60% or below. Without which the various mildews can run rampant up here. It’s normal position is under the sink, next to the stove.

you mention the state of the country, back at Y2-K when the world was gonna end; i built that wood stove and have fired it less than a dozen times since. These days, it holds up the ivy and a salt lamp! But like most Alaskans, we’re ready for anything

 

[catjac1975]

Due to our short season and the challenges that presents, a greenhouse is essential if you want to reliably grow some things up here.
we grow tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, bush beans, celery, parsley and summer squash in ours.
initially there were shelves around the sides and we placed smartpots on those shelves.
Well, pretty soon you’ve got everything jamming into the ceiling, making things difficult.
Last winter i upgraded by building the beds shown here. It accomplished a couple things beyond lowering the plants and now the irrigation is more user friendly, the crops have a deeper bed for a better root zone and it’s easier to maintain than with the bags. In the fall all the bags were dumped into brute containers and re-amended for the following year then the bags refilled each spring. Now i just apply the compost in the fall and walk away from it!

just some odd rambling here and a few pictures inside and out. In the spring it’s pretty loaded up till i move all the stuff on the sawhorses etc out to the beds. Then in short order it becomes it’s own jungle!

Thanks for sharing. It is all very impressive. I am a big fan of anything Alaskan. I love all they discovery TV that follows people that live off the land. I have seen the giant crops that can be grown when you have 24 hour sunlight. Keep the stories coming.