Construction of the Greenhouse

(By John)

In the last post, we discussed the technical aspects of how unheated greenhouses are supposed to work.  In this post, we discuss the actual construction of the greenhouse.

        

    Once we had done our research, we then turned to the question of actually turning our small (6’´6’) front porch into a greenhouse.  The main criteria were that:

1.      The construction would need to be easy, and

2.      The materials needed to be really, really cheap.

Keeping this is mind, we began our search.  The plastic sheeting had to be tough, yet still let a large amount of light in.  Most of the rolls of plastic were too opaque.  In the end, we ended up buying three rolls of much clearer four mil insulating plastic intended for covering windows during the winter.  We got the outdoor variety, as the indoor kind seemed too flimsy.  We also got a few rolls of clear indoor/outdoor tape and outdoor duct tape.

All in all, everything came in at under $40.  We scrounged a few plastic drain gutters from the basement, and got to work. The total labor (carried out by Dad, my brother Paul, and me) lasted about three hours.

The greenhouse from the side.

The greenhouse from the other side.

At first, we were a little put off by a potent chemical smell inside the greenhouse.  Was this bad for us?  Was it bad for the plants? Would it be bad to ingest plants that had been exposed to it? Was there not enough air circulation?  Luckily, the smell dissipated in a few days, largely due to our high-tech venting system. (Okay, the vent was originally due to a mistake while taping, but we made the most of it once we found out.  It's shown below, posing with a giant foam puzzle piece to hold it open.  It may look a little odd, but it works.)  

The air vent.

It had occurred to us, of course, that some sort of venting was needed.  We thought that the air coming through the slats in the deck, from the house, and from any little spaces in the plastic (this is far from an air-tight enclosure), would probably be enough.  We usually keep the vent closed, opening it on the rare occasions when things get too hot. 

The greenhouse from the front