Greenhouse Vegetable Production
All who are interested in extending your growing season - particularly with vertical plants - may want to save the following description of covered T-Frames. You can plant 4-6 weeks earlier in the Spring, and harvest 4-6 weeks later in the fall if you do it properly.
1.In a garden with 18" X 30' beds and 3 1/2' aisles, place 8 T-Frames at 10' intervals in two adjacent beds parallel with the inside stakes, so that the 4" X 4" posts are 3 1/2' apart.
2.The top of the "T" should be 32" long, and thus the width of both together is 6' 6". For stability, nail each set of two T-Frames together - bridging the gap between them - with 6 1/2' long 2" X 4"s. Next, tie all T-Frames together lengthwise using 6 - 10' 2 X 4's. Now you have a 6 1/2' X 30' greenhouse frame covering two Grow-Beds or Grow-Boxes.
3.Buy 32 - 3/4" 45 degree PVC elbows and 1" pipe straps. Nail or screw the straps and elbows at 2-foot intervals along both sides of the 2 X 4 frame, with the elbows facing up and to the center of the greenhouse. Buy 16 - 10'-long pieces of 3/4" PVC Schedule 200 pipe, 16 - 3/4" pipe straps, and 4 - 8' pieces of 1" X 2" lumber. Cut the PVC pipe and the 1" X 2" lumber to to 7 1/2' lengths. Nail the 1 X 2's together, using the 6" pieces, making a single piece 30' long. Nail or screw the 3/4" pipe straps to the 1 X 2" wood at 2-foot intervals, on the same side of the wood as the 6" pieces which hold the wood together. Insert the 3/4" PVC pipes through the straps. With the wood on top, insert the PVC pieces into the 45 degree PVC elbows - creating the arched roof.
4. Buy a roll of 6-mil 24'-wide greenhouse plastic at least 37' long (do NOT use construction plastic. It will become brittle and tear within 3-4 months). Cover the greenhouse, with 3 1/2' overlapping on each end. Buy 8 - 1"-long eye bolts and 130' of 1/4" nylon rope. Attach eye bolts on the side of each T-Frame T - 1" in from the edge and 1" down from the top. Cut rope into 8 - 16' lengths. Tie one end of rope to each eye bolt. Hammer a 3 1/2" nail into the top of the 2" X 4" on the upper outside edge near the eye bolt. Tie short loops into ropes at 10', 12' and 14' to give 3 levels of opening the sides of your greenhouse plastic.
5.Buy 16 - 8'-long pieces of 1" X 2" lumber. Cut all to 7 1/2' lengths. Cut 2 into 4 - 3 3/4' lengths. Place wood on both side edges of greenhouse plastic along both sides of greenhouse and screw together, sandwiching the plastic between the two pieces of wood. Alternate lengths of 1" X 2" between 3 3/4' and 7 1/2', to make the entire 30' length strong. Roll plastic sides up in warm weather, and lower in cold weather. Fold and attach plastic on ends to secure an air-tight covering in cold weather, and open when weather is warm.
All kinds of Greenhouses wherever it is (and whoever its owner may be) a greenhouse is bound to be one of three things:
1.It is a structure wherein certain plants are grown for the purpose of securing their flowers or fruit in other words, a flower or fruit factory; or it is a general laboratory attached to the garden, where plants are propagated, nursed to health when sick, and wintered if tender, and grown for use in the dwelling;
or 2. it is an indoor garden with all that the term implies of a place in which to loiter as well as to potter about a place of real charm and beauty as well as a suitable home for the plants which grow therein. In this last character it may be more a conservatory than a greenhouse, although a conservatory is not, strictly speaking, to be regarded in the same way as a greenhouse, since it affords a home only for plants grown elsewhere and brought into it for show. Some of the elaborate winter gardens are of this type as well, being planned to be continually filled from growing houses built for the purpose. But the garden under glass is not of necessity carried on in this double fashion since plants will grow in it even as they grow out of doors or in the outdoor summer garden if it is planned to that end.
For the fullest enjoyment of a garden enthusiast there is no doubt that this is the better choice, since the varied operations of both gardens may then be carried on supplementally and a variety of effects be enjoyed-not identical with each other, by any means, but along parallel lines.
Actually,there is a for every kind of place and person. And there is sound reason for every kind of place and person having one; for a greenhouse is, not in any sense of the word an extravagance, save as it is made one in the manner of handling. To the large place it is an essential adjunct of both the ornamental and practical gardens; to the medium sized establishment it is a valuable addition to these; and to the tiny plot of ground around a suburban home it is practically a multiplication of opportunity by two at any rate, if not by four or five.
And going one step further it is a garden where there is no ground at all since the roof of a city residence will furnish an ideal site. Similarly, it may require the time of several men, or only one; or it may be its enviable owner's own particular hobby, sharing the heat of his house and not dependent, therefore, upon separate stoking; and occupying him in his off hours. If it is to be cared for in this way, however, it is well to say at once that it should be small; for, like a garden, a greenhouse may easily be large enough to get out of hand and never be entered in again!
The kind of greenhouse, which is decided upon, will of course govern its location very largely. The purely working glass, fiberglass or ploycarbonate house should be placed where its relation to the garden that it serves makes for the highest degree of efficiency in handling the plants as they go in or come out; and apart from this consideration there is actually no other, as far as the building itself is concerned, aside from the vitalness of its freedom from shade of trees or near by buildings. It must have unhindered light and sunshine.
With regard to the garden's appearance and design, however, the location of a building of such aggressive character is of tremendous consequence, and demands the most thoughtful care. For improperly placed it may irreparably mar the entire garden picture; and yet, given proper thought, can be a most attractive acquisition.
Fitting it to study that is now being given to greenhouse design from an architectural as well as from a practical standpoint, and structures that are pleasing in appearance have been developed fit to assume a place in the garden scheme. So it is no longer necessary to hide even the strictly utilitarian building. But unless the greenhouse can be made an acceptable unit of the general scheme and not obviously an afterthought it is better not to let it appear at all, but have it obscured by proper planting.
On small suburban grounds it must of course take a relatively prominent place and may become in effect an addition to the home. In this connection a transition from dwelling to greenhouse by means of a glass corridor will usually solve the problem of their relation to each other by separating them enough to allow each its individuality; which is far better than any attempt to weld them into a single unit. As a matter of fact, they cannot be so welded, and the effort actually to bring them together may be to the detriment of both.
Sunshine to the fullest degree is of course requisite. Choose a site, therefore, where this is insured and permanently so.
The angle of sunlight incidence at noon on the shortest day of the year is 22 degrees; therefore the greenhouse must be kept beyond this angle's distance from anything on its south side. Be careful also to choose a well drained spot and a comparatively high one, for poor drainage and damp conditions generally are breeders of mildew; and with this handicap in surroundings it is practically impossible to maintain the proper atmospheric conditions under the glass.
These conditions being observed the points of the compass may be disregarded generally, though if fruits on trellises are to be grown the trellis should run north and south. This will mean that where it is lengthwise the house itself must run north and south, but where it is crosswise the house will run east and west, bringing the trellis north and south.
Its Shape and the FrameThe type of frame most generally in use today is the modified curved eave, whether the structure is an even span or a lean-to. It has very attractive rooflines, gives a maximum of light to the plants, and allows ample side ventilation above the benches. As to the form of the house there is no question about the superiority of the even span; and there is seldom any good reason for building anything else. The lean-to may of course be the only thing that will fit in certain restricted places, but if it can possibly be avoided it should be.
Even when the greenhouse is to be attached to the garage or wing of some existing building, it may perfectly well be even span and stand end on instead of being only half a house with excessive roof height standing side on. Plants growing in a lean to are bound to " draw " or lean strongly in one direction because of the uneven distribution of light, and the difficulty of proper ventilation.
The all aluminum frame house is naturally the most expensive to build, but as maintenance costs practically nothing and repairs are nil, its first cost is soon more than compensated; and thereafter it is daily a gain over the hoop house. Greenhouse glass must be the pure white variety, and here again, as with the material of the frame, quality is economy and the "double thicks" glass, which weighs twenty-two ounces to the square foot, should be used if possible. Glass that is still heavier is often used in the modern houses where the framework calls for large-size sheets. Ground glass has been used for exotics, but in general it is better to use the clear glass and depend for shade when it is desired upon light fabric drawn across the span.
Summer shade for the roof must be provided for, and there has been nothing better devised than a rolling slat screen. Commercial houses of course freely practice White washing or some such brush-applied shading material, especially, but it is unsightly and does not, moreover, allow for the entrance of the sun when you wish it to enter. In practice the wash is put on the outside in early summer and the weather removes it by late fall.
Keeping Things WarmThe very heart and soul of the greenhouse is its heating system. It will make no difference how perfect its appointments and its construction, nor how skillful its attendant, nor how beautifully it is planned, if its heating system falls short. It is then a dead thing as dead as a tomb! In greenhouse heating, as in all others, it is desirable to provide for greater capacity than the figures show will be actually needed, since it is always more economical to run a fire in check than under draft. Then, too, there may come, once in a decade or so, a season of untoward severity, during which only the excess heat that has been figured on will save the night, if not the day.
Unquestionably it is a wonderful idea, this greenhouse one of turning summer into winter and temperate regions into tropical and converting. Sunshine into flowers or luscious fruits, generally right against the calendar. Yet it is timely to remember right here and now that this is not exactly what happens in a greenhouse. As a matter of fact, gardening under glass is not simply protected from the weather gardening, wherein the work is carried on with the same materials as are used out of doors; but rather it is gardening with very special materials in most cases, as well as under highly artificial conditions. In the greenhouse three of the four factors of garden work are controlled, but the fourth is quite beyond control.
Temperature, soil, and moisture are adjusted as delicately as necessity demands; but light still remains outside the reach of all our cunning and what is more, light is diminished always, however cleverly we may build, quite apart from the fact that normally light diminishes greatly in winter, just when we expect the greenhouse to be most active! So that while we control the three and increase these however we will, we diminish the fourth in spite of everything; and create, therefore, something quite different from any outdoor conditions.
A New World Opens up---Realize, therefore, that you do not need to confine yourself to the plants of our outdoor gardens that we may bring in and establish in gardens under glass-but also a whole world of plants of another character (many the result of careful and long breeding or selection) which must be as carefully studied as new worlds always are, in order that their requirements shall be understood and met. Moreover, these plants come from widely different places, and require a great deal more than simply protection from cold to enable them to grow so far from their native clime and condition; and they are not all of the same taste and temperament, either-not by any means. Some like much moisture and heat, others need little of either, and still others come between and will be satisfied with no extremes. This can be easily met by a careful selection, according to the proposed temperature of your greenhouse; or else by having a series of " compartments " run at the different temperatures to meet these varying needs.
Of course your own common sense tells you not to expect to grow everything that may be fancied in your greenhouse, simply because it affords protection to things that are not hardy in your latitude. You will attempt growing only what you make definite provision for when you are building.
A greenhouse is a glass-built building for growing plants. With illumination from the sun, heat enters the house with little of it escaped as the glass traps it. The temperature inside the house ismuch higher than that of air outside. Plants grow there can have more warmth and healthier.
Our atmosphere is like a huge greenhouse. Greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, acts like the glass of a greenhouse. The changes in climate of the Earth and the subsequent effects are called greenhouse effect.
What are greenhouse gases?
Name of gas Contribution Source(s) Carbon dioxide(CO2) 50% From burning coal and oil, and the removal of vegetation Chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs) 20% From air conditioners, refrigerators and aerosols Methane(CH4) 16% From rice growing, animal waste, swamps and landfills Ozone(O3) 8% From air pollution Nitrous oxide(N2O) 6% From fertilizers and burning of coal and oil
Source: Global Ecology Handbook
How the problem intensifies
The burning of coal and oil in cars, power stations and factories gives out huge amounts of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. The rapid growth of population needs more food. More cattles, sheep, etc., are reared. More people breathe out more carbon dioxide, and the waste of animals generates methane. Forrests are cleared or burnt for development. Fewer plants can contribute for the absorption of carbon dioxide that maintains the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The level of carbon dioxide increases. Carbon dioxide and greenhouse effect
Much carbon dioxide is absorbed into oceans or used by plants for photosynthesis. Nevertheless, the production rate is higher..
Chemists have monitored atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration since 1958. Analysis of air trapped in ice cores from the polar regions permits us to know the past carbon dioxide levels from about 160,000 years ago. The level is fairly constant since the past ice ages some 10,000 years ago. Until the industrial revolution some 300 years ago, the concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by about 25%.
The accumulation or the gas has caused absorption of radiant heat. The climate changes.
The impact
Greenhouse effect may be beneficial. When the Earth is warmer, there may be an increase in agricultural production. But the problem is that the amount of greenhouse gases increases dramatically. It grew 3 times in the past 100 years. Such rising may induce harmful effects to the environment:
Rise of sea-levelClimates do change naturally over long periods of time. However, the Earth becomes warmer in the recent decades. It was found that 9 hottest years on record occured during the past 14 years. The mean Earth temperature in 1997 was 0.43°C higher than the past 26 years.
Gobal warming causes the polar ice sheets melt. It increases the sea-level. It will possibly rise 18 cm by 2030 and 58 cm by 2090. Flooding will probably occur in lowlands. Many cities along the coast may be under sea water.
Changing rainfall patternsWarming also affects rainfall and food production. Some places have an increment in rainfall and some will decrease. There may be flooding or drought in various farmlands. Food is important for lives. That means more people, especially in the developing countries, suffer from hunger.
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a glass-built building for growing plants. With illumination from the sun, heat enters the house with little of it escaped as the glass traps it. The temperature inside the house ismuch higher than that of air outside. Plants grow there can have more warmth and healthier.
BUY, OR MAKE...YOUR CHOICE....BUt GET ONE !
3Rings Web Services
