Our Greenhouse was built by previous owners. We aren’t sure by whom, but we think it might have been the original builder on the property. He was a handy woodworking guy and did some rather interesting and what I would consider tedious things. The benches for example are all hand-built with perfectly made wood slats. All corners are mitered and perfect. We are not that good – but we have made improvements in our building skills this last year.
Unfortunately, the greenhouse wasn’t cared for by subsequent owners and it’s in bad shape. It is functional – but between the rotting frames, recycled sheet glass, and overly weathered exterior will need replacing at some point. Eventually (next year maybe) we will relocate a seed-starting greenhouse somewhere a bit more functional on the property. We really need a power source to run grow lights and ventilation fans.
Speaking of ventilation… that was our project a couple of weekends ago. In true homesteader fashion, Bridgett managed to come by some large used vinyl windows and walked away with three of them for $25. They had never been used and we’re sitting in a carport. They are odd-sized but we decided to replace some of the tempered single sheet glass on the east side of the greenhouse.
Last year when we were sprouting the temp range would be from 50 degrees to 120 degrees depending on the time of day and where the sun was in the sky. Ventilation was very much lacking.
Adding the sliding vinyl window accomplished a number of things. We were able to reframe that side of the greenhouse for better stability. We ditched the single sheet glass which turned out to be tempered glass and a major mess when I broke it (we spent a good half an hour vacuuming the lawn…). And most essentially giving us needed air to the greenhouse when it gets overly warm.
As another touch – we shortened the water spigot post and ran a hose directly into the greenhouse along the bottom for better access to water. We had help from the dog of course who decided it was a great idea to take a nap on the compost pile.
