My first Greenhouse.

Do-it-yourself projects such as greenhouse or shadehouse builds and related topics.
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Peterthecactusguy
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My first Greenhouse.

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

Ok, so for awhile I hinted at a possility of making a greenhouse. Well we are talking about making one. It will be outside in AZ, and I will also be turning it into a shade house for cacti during the summer months. (I also will hopefully get some shade cloth for where I live at as this project will be at my ex's parent's house.) We are going to turn one of those portable garages with the tarps(which long since fell apart) into a nice green/shade house. I have several questions. What % of shade cloth is good. I can't remember for the life of me..
And also the last one what mil of plastic is good. Since we are using a pre-existing structure, I think the easiest (and cheapest) way for us to build this is to use plastic sheeting.. IE plastic in a roll (not panels).
Any help would be appreciated, as I really don't have any experience at all with this type of thing.
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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cactushobbyman
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by cactushobbyman »

I often thought about using those portable garages that have seen their better days. Plastic rolls; I think you need at least 6mil or heavier. That may last you 4 years, unless hail becomes an issue. Price out the plastic and compare with corrugated panels. You might find a little more now and you won't have to pay more in the long run. Also, anchor the feet down or the wind will take it away.
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Peterthecactusguy
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

oh yeah we are going to work a little bit around it on keeping it anchored. Raised beds will go on the sides and help cut down on the wind plus I will pound the stakes in well. :) and thanks, I will look into the plastic.
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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majcka
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by majcka »

[quote="Peterthecactusguy"] What % of shade cloth is good. I can't remember for the life of me.. [quote]

I use 30% shade cloth. And that is all I can tell you. Maybe you'll need 50% :-k ?
Maja

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Saxicola
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by Saxicola »

Good luck on this project! I think 40% is the most commonly used type of shade cloth. Make sure you have really good ventilation in the summer as the greenhouse will be hotter than the outside air without a good cooling system. With the kind of heat you get in AZ I could see it easily being 120-130 F in there. I guess if you are just using plastic you can remove it in the spring to allow lots of airflow.
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CoronaCactus
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by CoronaCactus »

Cactushobbyman brings up a good point. Around here i could not find the corrugated panels for less than $40 per sheet (4x8') maybe you can find better in AZ? As for plastic, we buy that online, even with shipping its cheaper than the local places. for around $250 you can get a 32 wide x 100' long roll of 4mil. You didn't say what size GH your building, but that big roll will probably last several years. Thats just the size we use, there are many different sizes available. The 4mil i put on our nursery houses has lasted 3 years and could go atleast another 2, thats all year long, not just the winter.

As for shadecloth, i would recommed no less than 40% when using plastic, maybe even 30%. Depends on if you leave it on all year long or just in the winter.

When anchoring down the sidewall posts, you could get slightly bigger diameter pipe to use as ground posts so your sidewall posts slip into them and cut into 3' lengths. Pound those in the ground so about 8 inches is above ground, drill 2 holes in the ground post and the sidewall post and bolt them together. Once it's all built, then go back and dig around each ground post to about 16inches deep and pour concrete.
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Peterthecactusguy
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

Darryl thanks. I will keep all that info in mind. I will do some checking and see what I can come up with. I will see about the anchoring because in AZ we do get freak storms. I will have to measure the frame and see how large it really is. I think it was something like 12'X8' X8'(plus whatever the roof is) but I need to measure it to be sure.
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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cactushobbyman
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by cactushobbyman »

CoronaCactus wrote:When anchoring down the sidewall posts, you could get slightly bigger diameter pipe to use as ground posts so your sidewall posts slip into them and cut into 3' lengths. Pound those in the ground so about 8 inches is above ground, drill 2 holes in the ground post and the sidewall post and bolt them together. Once it's all built, then go back and dig around each ground post to about 16inches deep and pour concrete.
I built a batting cage for my son and use a larger size pipe in the ground as the anchor, then slid the pipe frame inside the bigger and bolted it. The batting cage was 10' high x 10' wide x 50' long. Those anchors lasted from Babe Ruth through High School ball. I use Lowes standard shade cloth, most likely 70/30. 8)
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Peterthecactusguy
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

I am going to take the measurements tomorrow and I Will upload some pics too. I have been busy the past couple of days, sorry :)
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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Peterthecactusguy
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

ok the measurements are 8ft wide at widest, 8ft tall at tallest and apx 17 feet long.
(edit) pictures are done uploading :)

Image front view. (nb this is not where it will be place we are still discussing where it will be placed)

Image side view .. NB you can see my truck, an O. ficus-indica and a bunch of saguaros, plus the scar where the pipeline came through.. in the background.. the edge of where they dug up for the pipeline is where my truck is, they cleared all the brush towards the right of the first sagauro you can see.


Image a better view from the side. :)

so that is basically what the framework is going to look like. :)
Thanks for any and all advice and comments.
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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cactushobbyman
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by cactushobbyman »

Just a thought, I would trench the footprint of the frame into the ground if the soil will let you. Drive re-bar into the ground and attach that to your frame. Back fill the trench with the soil or pea gravel and that should anchor the frame. I would add cross members to the four other frames to add support. I would come up about 2 feet and add another member the full length on both sides. Note, if it is made of PVC, PVC pipe doesn't cost too much. Then use plastic to cover. :)

I added a link that can give you more ideas. http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/cr ... lcome.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Peterthecactusguy
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

the pipes are actually made out of metal. It's lightweight metal but still made out of metal. I could add the stuff to the sides for support. For anchoring I might use some of those heavy blocks that they use for foundations or I might make some out of cement. (or maybe possibly put rebar in cement. I don't know how perm the structure is going to be. We havent really decided where to put it yet.

In the first picture there is a well (off to the right) and straight infront of where the garage is is the water tank.. (the water is pumped and then sent to the water tank where it's stored and as water is used from the tank it is pumped into the tank)

BTW that hoop house thing is great. If I put a hot house up on my house I might do something similar .. :) and I think you are right about the crossmembers I will need to strengthen the dang thing. And finally I will need to build a door. I havent really figured out how to get in and out. It will need to be wide and allow my ex's mom access. She has MS so in the future she may not be able to walk in like most of us can. Shelves will be put around the edges.

One thing she asked me and I am not sure is which way is a good way to set it.. long ways or short ways.. BTW the cliff is north.. First picture faces west 2nd north third is south or actually more like southeast... :) once again any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, we havent started building yet :)
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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cactushobbyman
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by cactushobbyman »

Our weather is not to different except in the winter, more tule fog. My greenhouse is arrange east to west. More exposure in the winter.
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Peterthecactusguy
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

thanks. I was planning it that way because in the winter the sun is almost exclusively in the south half of the sky.
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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Glochid Fingers
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Re: My first Greenhouse.

Post by Glochid Fingers »

Its been awhile. How is the building going?
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