My New Greenhouse

Joanie

Here are pictures of the new greenhouse that I've been having fun with. It is 6' x 6' x '6, so essentially its apex is as tall as a tall man, and as wide as the spread of his arms. Luckily I'm not a tall man. The path inside is pea gravel for several inches underneath, and then river rocks on top of that. Landscape fabric under the whole thing, which will be extended around the sides when I have more money in the budget again.

This was a kit from Costco, and we put it together in an afternoon. It does take three people to do it, and about five hours. The panels are tough plastic. The picture showing the vent, also shows the blue tarp which was anchored over it for several days while the silicone caulking dried.

It keeps everything nice and humid, and with the vent closed and the door closed it keeps the nighttime temperatures about 10 degrees F above the outside temperature, which is just right. We don't get freezes here, so I just wanted the tropicals to be a little more comfortable, and mostly to resolve the humidity issues for summertime. (We get very dry but not too hot)

I'm arranging shadecloth now, as I study the sun and what is needed. Going to look for something in the 30% range, and then in summer maybe 50%. The whole south side will get covered.

Joanie

Attached Images

	greenhouse1.jpg (50.2 KB, 267 views)
	greenhouse2.jpg (48.7 KB, 197 views)
	greenhouse3.jpg (60.7 KB, 229 views)

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Joanie

The vent, and a lava rock "sand tray" with some of my mame trees. You can't see the trees very well in this pic but I hope to take some more photos later. Some of them will be for sale through the auction site here, the ones planted in fulgurite.

Joanie

Attached Images

	greenhouse4.jpg (37.0 KB, 113 views)
	greenhouse5.jpg (56.9 KB, 326 views)

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BrianBay9

Nice looking set up Joanie. One thing seems constant....no matter what size greenhouse you build, it will be too small within a week!

What's going in there? Given your climate, I would assume you didn't need a greenhouse for much.

Cheers
Brian

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Joanie

You're right, it's more of a fun thing than a necessity. Right now it has two Brazilian Raintrees in it. They lose their leaves here in winter, because they don't like going below 50 or so, and we get down into the low 40's. Because of this, they seem to lose a whole growing season, as well as twig dieback. Having seen the BRTs in Florida and how healthy they look, I can see that just a little boost of temp and humidity will help them here.

There are also four azaleas. That's an experiment, because I see that azaleas here are often grown in greenhouses, and I'm guessing that they like higher humidity too (being understory shrubs) So far they seem really happy, but it's early yet.

One Dawn Redwood, which will stay here in summer to keep the humidity up, but will probably winter outside for that little extra coldness.

The mames, because otherwise they want to be watered every twenty minutes. A couple of sickly houseplants (our house has very deep eaves so the rooms never get very much sun) and a moss tray. Also a few root cuttings, again for humidity and warmth.

And when it rains next, I want to sit out there and watch the rain as it flows down the sides. Like being in a big bubble.

Joanie

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bnsaijim

I dunno, I've had a hard time so far... my wife gives me another year or so...

(28'x30') about 1/3 full...

jim

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Jim Stone
Seki Bonsai Studio
sekibonsai.com
Santa Fe, TX

onlyrey

Joanie, weather looks pretty foggy out there. I know you are in Cal, but this looks like if it was Wash state.

Show us a full pic of your greenhouse once the weather clears

Joanie

Rey, we are often cloudy and foggy in the spring. The warm inland desert air hits the cool ocean air and gives us a "marine layer" that is fairly constant. We call it "May grey" and "June gloom" .But when the inland temperatures hit 100 degrees, and we're a lovely cool 67, we don't complain a lot! However, later in the summer and fall we have hot, clear, dry days and hot desert winds that can shrivel up a maple's leaves in hours. The humidity can go down in the single digits, and people are irritable and uneasy. When that happens, the tender leaved trees will visit the greenhouse to keep their foliage alive.

I'll take a sunny picture eventually, just for you!

Joanie

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Attila

Joanie,

Now is the time to start your new passion: rare wild orchids (the ones fetching thousands of $$ a piece)

Ian_Homer

Joanie,

Love the greenhouse ..... have fun !!!


Onlyrey....... love the Avatar That is super cool

Best Regards,
Ian.

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