Monday, July 14, 2014

A Really Cheap Greenhouse (If You Don't Mind Digging)

(Find this image here.)

So there we were at at the Sinus Spectrum watching the kids and our spouses run wild, when my sister-in-law started inexplicably speaking my language. "Bryan thinks I'm crazy, but I want to build the kids a playhouse with a green roof." She pulls up a photo on her phone of a thriving green roof. The conversation rolled forward quickly as she got around to some even better buzzwords for me. "I really want to build a 10'x20' aquaponic greenhouse, and I want it to be completely off-grid." Now we're talking! So we started discussing details. She wants to start small with an aquaponic setup using a single IBC tote filled with veggies and tilapia and start expanding from there. When we got around to the off-grid portion, we discussed a solar water system for heating and solar electrical for cooling, and I remembered an older Treehugger article about building a greenhouse partially underground in order to insulate the space very well and to cut down the amount of building material (& $) needed.

All that is to say, for those of you contemplating building a greenhouse, here is that Treehugger article I mentioned:
Build a $300 underground greenhouse for year-round gardening (Video)

May you start your own healthy and delicious underground revolution!

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