Author Topic: mini-greenhouse project  (Read 4809 times)

Waterfall

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mini-greenhouse project
« on: May 12, 2015, 06:17:17 AM »
Hi guys,

I just wanted to share with you this little greenhouse I have built. The idea started with having a way of keeping my Soursop alive over winter, the Sydney climate is too marginal for Soursop.

Originally I was just going to put a much larger window in our garage which faces the sun all day to keep the wind off of it so went about purchasing a used window from ebay for $30. Then it kind of snowballed into something more substantial as I read about the temperatures a Soursop would require.

It was then decided to make a small lean-to structure in front of the current window which would mean there was no need to modify the garage at all.

Some photos.

Pavers were layed for the foundations.


The frame is built with H3 pressure treated pine.


The frame was stained and then bolted to the garage, there is a layer of foam between the frame and the foundations.


The $30 window was then put in, the rest is twin wall polycarbonate.


I then put insulation batts in the rear and side wall and then lined the inside with corflute sheet sealed with metal flashing tape.


The roof is on a hinge so it can vent out the heat and there is also a door, foam is used to make the opening air tight.


The autovent opens at around 25 deg C.


Temps will drop to around 4 deg C in the early morning during mid winter for maybe 1 hour but mostly temps are closer to 8 deg C overnight. What I decided to do was place a large low profile water tank under the plants with an aquarium heater in it set to 30 deg C. It's actually an under bed storage container and its also sitting on a layer of Styrofoam.


The lid is not strong enough to support the weight of the plants so I made up a little shelf which suspends the plants slightly above the tank. I put some black plastic over it to prevent UV damage and also help the water absorb some heat form the sun.


The Soursop is very small since I grew it from seed last spring so there is plenty of space for some of my other plants which are destined to go in the garden bed just in front of the greenhouse once I finish preparing the area.

I have the Soursop in there along with a Rollinia, Achacha, Jackfruit and one of Luc's Garcinias.


We are almost in winter now down here and so far the greenhouse is around 3.5 - 4 degrees C warmer than outside during the coldest part of the night. I have temp sensors which log to sd cards for keeping an eye on the performance.
During the day if it is sunny temps peak at around 32 degrees C or about 22 if its cloudy or raining.

The roof is auto opening but I found this is not sufficient on sunny days so before leaving for work I open the bottom of the window about 4 inches which allows cool air to be drawn in as the hot air flows out the roof. I need to make something so this process is also automated, just not quiet sure how to do it yet.

This was a cloudy day.







« Last Edit: May 12, 2015, 06:26:43 AM by Waterfall »

ben mango

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2015, 08:46:28 AM »
cool little green room. is that jackfruit from seed or is it grafted? i think rollinia is a good choice for this situation, since i have seen them small (6-8ft) before but still with good fruit set. that jackfruit, especially if from seed will be a challenge to keep small enough for that room

Waterfall

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2015, 06:56:22 PM »
cool little green room. is that jackfruit from seed or is it grafted? i think rollinia is a good choice for this situation, since i have seen them small (6-8ft) before but still with good fruit set. that jackfruit, especially if from seed will be a challenge to keep small enough for that room

Thanks, the jackfruit is a seedling yes but the only plant that will stay in the greenhouse is the soursop, the rest are going to be planted in the ground in my garden.

As soon as the temps warm up in spring the greenhouse will be empty, its only really there to get through winter.

starling1

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2015, 07:22:01 PM »
cool little green room. is that jackfruit from seed or is it grafted? i think rollinia is a good choice for this situation, since i have seen them small (6-8ft) before but still with good fruit set. that jackfruit, especially if from seed will be a challenge to keep small enough for that room

Thanks, the jackfruit is a seedling yes but the only plant that will stay in the greenhouse is the soursop, the rest are going to be planted in the ground in my garden.

As soon as the temps warm up in spring the greenhouse will be empty, its only really there to get through winter.

The only issue I can see is that by the time the soursop gets to fruiting stage, it will not fit inside the greenhouse.

Waterfall

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2015, 08:27:25 PM »
The only issue I can see is that by the time the soursop gets to fruiting stage, it will not fit inside the greenhouse.

I hope with careful pruning it can fit. The roof is 2.6m tall, width 2m and depth 1m. Maybe once it is that large it can survive outside in a sunny wind free position. Failing that I can try growing something else in there, I also plan on raising veggie seeds in there at the tail end of winter to get a head start.

starling1

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2015, 08:36:23 PM »
The only issue I can see is that by the time the soursop gets to fruiting stage, it will not fit inside the greenhouse.

I hope with careful pruning it can fit. The roof is 2.6m tall, width 2m and depth 1m. Maybe once it is that large it can survive outside in a sunny wind free position. Failing that I can try growing something else in there, I also plan on raising veggie seeds in there at the tail end of winter to get a head start.

If you're going that route, you should consider investing in a large root pruning pot filled with a soiless medium. Pearlite and coir will be fine. This will give you a much better, larger rootmass and will increase the yields you get at the smaller pruned size. It also won't weigh a tonne--easier on your back when moving it around, for sure.

Easefirst

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #6 on: December 20, 2015, 11:43:32 PM »
The only issue I can see is that by the time the soursop gets to fruiting stage, it will not fit inside the greenhouse.

I hope with careful pruning it can fit. The roof is 2.6m tall, width 2m and depth 1m. Maybe once it is that large it can survive outside in a sunny wind free position. Failing that I can try growing something else in there, I also plan on raising veggie seeds in there at the tail end of winter to get a head start.
I wonder, how your soursop is doing?

JeffDM

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #7 on: December 21, 2015, 03:10:23 PM »
Great looking setup, but are there any concerns about moisture build up that close to the house?
Oops, just looked again and noticed that it was next to the garage, but I would still be concerned about moisture.
« Last Edit: December 21, 2015, 03:24:18 PM by JeffDM »

Waterfall

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #8 on: December 21, 2015, 04:34:56 PM »
I wonder, how your soursop is doing?

I will upload some photos soon.

It never really stopped growing through winter inside the greenhouse but very slow growth, mostly the trunk grows not a lot of leaves. At spring time I put it back outside and the growth sped up but still slow. Now its summer here and the growth has become very fast, the tree has a lot of large glossy leaves growing on it.

Waterfall

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2015, 04:37:40 PM »
Great looking setup, but are there any concerns about moisture build up that close to the house?
Oops, just looked again and noticed that it was next to the garage, but I would still be concerned about moisture.

Thanks, I sloped the pavers away from the garage so any water will run away from it toward the garden. The garage is standalone, not connected to the house. It is not heated either so the only condensation that forms is inside the greenhouse and the garage remains dry.

Waterfall

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #10 on: December 22, 2015, 12:34:50 AM »
Some photos taken today.






knlim000

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #11 on: December 22, 2015, 04:09:19 PM »
here's my soon to be greenhouse.


funlul

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #12 on: February 18, 2016, 01:18:19 PM »
Wow to both of you, nice projects!
Looking for scionwoods: loquat, cherimoya, jujube, chocolate perssimon

Waterfall

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2016, 07:32:52 AM »
It's almost winter again downunder so I have put my soursop back in the greenhouse along with a pair of dwarf jackfruit seedlings (Nangka Mini) and some sapodilla seedlings I want to graft onto once they have grown some.

I have lots more garden photos on my facebook page too https://www.facebook.com/urbanfruitfarmer/?ref=bookmarks


Delvi83

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #14 on: May 12, 2016, 01:26:17 PM »
Congratulation....during sunny day i think you'll have almost summer temperature in your greenhouse...it's small, near to the house and the Sydney Sun is high also during winter :)

Waterfall

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Re: mini-greenhouse project
« Reply #15 on: May 12, 2016, 06:42:38 PM »
Congratulation....during sunny day i think you'll have almost summer temperature in your greenhouse...it's small, near to the house and the Sydney Sun is high also during winter :)

Thanks, my logs from last year show a typical day time temp of around 27 C during winter inside the greenhouse, overnight it never drops below 10 C.