Greenhouse Fever

Yes it's that time of the year! Time to get seeds in the dirt! Last fall I got some serious greenhouse fever and the result is this awesome little greenhouse! We did a lot of checking around and finally decided that the best way for us was to built one with some of our fencing supplies. Michael and I have had a great time building this together!   

A south facing hillside makes a great spot for a greenhouse. The north wall can be in the ground several feet which makes it easier to heat.

All dug out and ready to pound some posts!

We do fencing so this part was easy for us. There are many ways to built a greenhouse! It is great to have it in the ground like this, but not a must.  

Putting in some extra posts for built-in tables...

Here we will need a retaining wall. Since we have a whole pile of broken or cracked fence posts that we can't use on the job, we are going to use them here!

This is how the wall turned out. It got really cold after that last picture so I didn't get any of the progress. We just stacked them on top of each other log cabin style and filled the dirt back in as we went along, to hold them in place. They won't budge! 

We built a simple frame on top of the posts and put the plastic on. Tip for plastic: Pick a warm sunny day to put it on if possible. The warmth expands it a little, so then when it gets cold, it will be nice and tight. Now, if it is really warm, you can overdo it if you stretch it too much!
It was pretty cold by the time we got this on so it is kinda sloppy, but it works! We want to put two layers on eventually and install an inflation fan to blow air between the two layers. This will provide extra insulation.  

Good drainage is important in a greenhouse. Who wants to slosh through the mud every time your plants need attention? Seriously, you will take better care of your plants if you make it nice to get to them!  

We put some finer gravel down as needed, and decided to put ground cover over everything to keep the weeds from growing. Also makes for easier cleanup!

Ventilation is also important in a greenhouse. It gets hot fast when the sun starts shining! We left the plastic loose on the south side so we can roll it up halfway. This is a good way to provide ventilation once it gets warmer. Right now the door and window at the ends are sufficient to cool it down.

This part just never gets old - watching all the tiny sprouts emerge and start to grow. I still sprout my seeds in the house, using the same technique I used last year. You can check out my seed starting posts here. LOVING all the space I have to grow all kinds of things!

Lets just say, baby and I are loving it! We have been soaking up the sun and even getting a tan :) I must say, one of the best parts was building everything with my husband. It still needs some work, but we're already enjoying the fruit of our labor! ...Happy growing to everyone!!!