Pages

Let me off the grid! A journey toward artful, holistic living in the middle of Sin City...

A journey toward artful, holistic living in the middle of Sin City...

Monday, February 25, 2013

I Built a Greenhouse!

Yep, I did. It's 4' high, 5' wide and 10' long.  And it didn't take too long, either.  It would have taken less time if I'd followed the directions here but of course I had to modify things...


It's made with PVC pipe and plastic sheeting.  Pretty easy IF you know what you're doing, which I did not.  But I figured it out anyway.
I needed to make three of these hoops:
It's a really good idea NOT to knock over the can of primer and get purple gook all over the work area like I did.  Grrr.  It's also a good idea if you're modifying someone else's plans that you need to think things through completely, which I thought I did but obviously did not because when I put everything together, I hadn't reckoned on bracing the longer sides.  I did not take a picture of that small disaster, but trust me, it was not pretty.  Back to Home Depot for another length of pipe and then:
Ta-DA!!! Thank the gods for zip ties.  What a marvelous creation.

Then things got really exciting because the wind kicked up as I was trying to wrestle with the plastic sheeting...
This is as far as I got and then decided to quit because the wind wasn't going to.  The very next day I had at it again, and
Success!  It gets pretty toasty and my seedlings love it.  I bought an inexpensive thermometer to put in there and found I had to open the plastic a bit because it was 90 degrees inside after just a couple of hours!   It's not beautiful to look at, but it IS functional.

I wish I wasn't so dumb about building things. I'm sure it takes me twice as long just because I have no experience.  But I figure I learn something with every project, so perhaps in 10 years I'll be able to zip through stuff like a pro...

This post is linked to Homemade Mondays

5 comments:

Gayle said...

Julia I am impressed!! I need something like this....I might try it myself. If I do I will let you know! thanks McGiver!!

marilyn said...

Julia, Thanks! tomorrow, that's my job, a cold frame. You're an inspiration.

Kelli @ The Sustainable Couple said...

AWESOME! I'm going to try this in a few weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.

rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...

Wonderful! A greenhouse adds so much value ~ and fun to gardening. Enjoy!

Carol said...

Very cool!