{"id":180,"date":"2006-12-02T14:27:39","date_gmt":"2006-12-02T14:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/?p=180"},"modified":"2017-02-05T03:30:09","modified_gmt":"2017-02-05T03:30:09","slug":"the-greenhouse-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/2006\/12\/02\/the-greenhouse-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Greenhouse (part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"greenhouse<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday dawned clear and warm.\u00a0 The perfect day for completing the greenhouse!\u00a0 I had a nearly square frame to use for the foundation, done the previous weekend, and now it was time to level the ground and anchor the frame.<\/p>\n

The site was nearly level, so small adjustments would be sufficient.\u00a0 This is an important consideration in the Hill Country, since we have\u00a0\"level\"<\/a>little\u00a0top soil and digging in the \u201ccaliche\u201d (a kind of soft limestone rock\/soil) is difficult.\u00a0 I proceeded with an old-fashioned pick axe and a carpenter\u2019s level.<\/p>\n

Since the pick-axe blade was about four inches wide, the channel it cut in the ground made a perfect bed for the PVC frame, and I didn\u2019t have to remove much caliche.<\/p>\n

Next, I needed to fix the frame to the ground in some way.\u00a0 Since the greenhouse would be very light weight and covered with plastic, it would make an excellent \u201csail\u201d.\u00a0 With the substantial straight winds we get out here, the greenhouse would simply blow away if I didn\u2019t take precautionary steps.\u00a0 Also, I intended to flex the ribs in slightly when joining them to the ridge pole, and the PVC frame would bow out at the sides if not anchored.<\/p>\n

\"spike<\/p>\n

One of my many trips to the hardware store revealed a good solution — 12\u201d spikes (essentially big nails), washers and \u201cstretch\u201d wire.\u00a0The wire is commonly used in fencing around here, and can be twisted and bent into a variety of shapes.\u00a0 By sinking spikes at intervals along the PVC frame sides, and then twisting a piece of wire to join the pipe and spikes together, I was able to create a stout anchor system for the greenhouse.\u00a0 So far, so good.<\/p>\n

Next, the sides.\u00a0 I started by cutting several lengths of PVC and laying them, along with the needed connectors, into the center of the frame. \"pvcThe length of the uprights wasn\u2019t critical,I was just going for a pleasing shape when the structure was all done.\u00a0 Each pipe was then glued into one of the \u201cT\u201d joints in the frame using \u201cwet\/dry\u201d PVC cement.\u00a0 There are several grades of PVC cement, and the \u201cwet\/dry\u201d version (commonly colored blue) is easy to use because it doesn\u2019t require the use of a \u201cprimer\u201d (the purple stuff) to adhere to pipe.\u00a0 Using it reduces the gluing process to one step.\u00a0 Short horizontal pieces were added at the top of each upright using \u201cT\u201d and \u201ccross\u201d connectors to stiffen everything up.\u00a0 A structure was starting to emerge.<\/p>\n

The \u201crafters\u201d were next.\u00a0 This had been given a lot of thought, and using a single ridge pole with sections of pipe flexed \"pvc<\/a>into it to create a kind of \u201cA\u201d frame shape, that seemed the simplest way to go.\u00a0 I started by laying all the parts out to make sure I had all the pieces.\u00a0 After cutting of the pipe, I started gluing each rafter together.\u00a0 It\u2019s worth noting that the hardest part of all this is cutting the pipe.\u00a0 I recommend getting a good PVC tubing cutter, a pliers-like \"cross<\/a>device that cuts PVC quickly and easily.\u00a0 It speeds up the entire project quite a bit and takes most of the effort out of what I consider the worst task.<\/p>\n

Time to connect the ridgepole into the walls.\u00a0 My idea was to flex sections of PVC from the top of each wall upright into the corresponding ridgepole \"partial<\/a>connector.\u00a0 The first couple of connections went pretty smoothly, but it was clear that I was stretching the pipe and connectors quite a bit.\u00a0 I would have to be careful if I wanted to avoid sudden failure of the ridge joints.\u00a0 A bit more work and I had it.\u00a0 The structure was complete, and ready for the plastic covering.<\/p>\n

I was planning to use heavy(6 mil) plastic,\"fullthe type normally used by contractors for creating dust barriers on remodeling projects.\u00a0 It\u2019s not very expensive, and can be replaced every season if necessary.\u00a0 Incidentally, I plan to replace the plastic in the spring with 50% shade cloth.\u00a0 That way, I can get double-use out of the greenhouse to provide shade and\u00a0 \u201charden\u201d seedlings before transplanting them into the direct sunlight of the garden.<\/p>\n

Attaching the plastic to the PVC frame proved a bit tricky.\u00a0 I had already thought of taking short lengths of \"trapped<\/a>the thin-wall pipe, and cutting a small section lengthwise so that it could be flexed over the frame with the plastic trapped underneath.\u00a0 But by Sunday, I got up to discover that half of the plastic have worked it\u2019s way loose in the wind, I knew some refinement was needed to my plan.\u00a0 Self-tapping sheet metal screws proved to be the answer, since they added that last little bit of strength to capture and hold the plastic to the frame.\u00a0 The screws can be added to the PVC easily since they will drill their own hole.\u00a0 One easy step!<\/p>\n

I was nearly done.\u00a0 The addition of plastic to the front and \"dirt<\/a>back followed by some \u201cgorilla\u201d tape at the seams made for a nearly air-tight structure.\u00a0 Since I was running out of daylight, and I needed to get plants out of the cold, I skimped on the door, opting instead for a \u201ctent-flap\u201d opening sealed with spring-loaded clamps.\u00a0 One last step: a plastic ground cover and a thick layer of shredded hardwood mulch on the floor and around the outside perimeter. \u00a0 Besides making a nice surface on the floor, it would help \u201cseal\u201d the greenhouse down to the ground.\u00a0 Incidentally, I left the plastic long on all four sides to that it draped\u00a0 the \"open<\/a>outside ground by about a foot — a place for the mulch to \u201canchor\u201d the plastic to the ground.\u00a0 \u201cP.T\u201d\u00a0 made a final inspection of the project.<\/p>\n

I was expecting cold, but not freezing weather that night.\u00a0 A good chance for a test!\u00a0 Some time before, I found a nifty \u201crecording\u201d thermometer at a surplus \"two<\/a>store, and thought this would be the perfect application of the specialized device.\u00a0 It consists of a dial-type analog thermometer with two additional pointers that can be adjusted.\u00a0 By placing them close to the actual thermometer pointer, they are moved along as the temperature varies leaving a record of the high and low extents.\u00a0 One would go inside the greenhouse and the other would stay outside<\/p>\n

Time to move the plants inside.\u00a0 \"plants<\/a>Some inexpensive plastic shelving multiplied the floor space and provided different levels for small and large pots.\u00a0 In theory, the warmest parts of the greenhouse would be off the ground, so I planned to favor the most temperature sensitive plants and put them on shelves ( or at least off the ground some).\u00a0 There were quite a few, so by the time I finished, the space was nicely filled.\u00a0 A 1500 watt, oil-filled, electric space heater completed the interior.\"safe<\/a><\/p>\n

The following morning, I looked at the thermometers and found that a temperature difference of a few degrees resulted.\u00a0 Just enough for typical winter conditions around here.\u00a0 While this simple structure wouldn\u2019t help those with extended below-freezing periods, it is just the ticket for protecting plants from the occasional freeze.\u00a0 Mission accomplished!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday dawned clear and warm.\u00a0 The perfect day for completing the greenhouse!\u00a0 I had a nearly square frame to use for the foundation, done the previous weekend, and now it was time to level the ground and anchor the frame. …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[23,25,136,26,22,21],"class_list":["post-180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gardening","category-greenhouse","tag-diy","tag-hill-country","tag-homesteading","tag-how-to","tag-pvc","tag-texas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions\/229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}