Palladino Greenhouse

A few years ago, our family decided to try some sort of a greenhouse. (Photos included) I guess you already know that pre-fab ones are quite expensive, so we worked with the "stuff" we had laying around here...and there is plenty of that. Check out what we did and see if you can come up with something better. I would be willing to share your ideas on K2NewsNet (www.kitchen2.com).

Then we hunted down wire to hold the panels together as a unit, "duck tape" (everyone has duck tape, don't you?), 6 mil clear plastic, rope, rebar, nails, landscape timbers, black plastic tubing, 1" x 2" x 12 ft. pieces of wood, a regular hammer, pliers/wirecutters, and a 5 lb. sledge hammer. Lou also used a vice and saw to cut the rebar and bend it.

Unfortunately, we got a late start because there was just too much to do around here, so we planted just before the cold was setting in, early this year. Plants should have gone in the ground around Sept, but it was mid-Oct before we planted. Therefore, the actual growth has been stunted by the cold ground, but all plants are still alive, strong and slowly growing. We were also able to start lettuce and greens from seed in the greenhouse (GH).

The object here is to see if the plants continue to thrive and remain strong through the coldest months. Had we put the plants in the ground sooner, we would have already been eating Brussels sprouts, cabbage, red cabbage, broccoli, lettuce and greens.

These are the candy canes Lou made from the rebar. He cut these into 18, 24 and 30 inch pieces to use according to our needs. He used a saw (not sure which type but I can ask) and a vice to bend the tops into the cane shape.

4. Using two candy cane rebars, we hammered the rebar into the dirt and over the wire onto the left edge at the front and back. Both ends were easily held down. The hook of the rebar was driven into the soil for stability. Although the photo above shows CoaCoa hammering from the inside, we actually hammered the canes from the outside. Much easier!

5. Then four of us girls went to the right side and by pulling up on the middle and right end of the cattle panel, we were able to bend it into a hoop. Once this was where we wanted it, two more canes were hammered in front and back on that side. The first hoop was quite stable at this point.

6. We then added another panel. At this point, we actually loosened the cane on the first, using it for the second panel, so that we could reuse them and not have to use so many canes...one cane eventually held two panels on each side.

Ashley and CoaCoa are really getting into this. Ashley is very strong and loved the workout. CoaCoa was her assistant. As noted, CoaCoa leaned way back in order not to get hit with the sledge hammer. Again, insert the canes from the outside. This was a demo shot without prior thought...sorry.

Next, we all planted the starter plants: brocolli, cabbage (green & red), Brussel sprouts, greens and multiple types of lettuce. We made three rows of plants and left several feet at the end for seed. We also made a walk way out of cardboard.

Here you will see the inside of the GH. As each panel connected to the next, we wired them together about every 2 feet. You can see the wire under the piece of duct tape. The black plastic pipe or tubing was cut to fit across the top where each two panels came together. The pipe was duct taped on. This helped to prevent rubbing or chaffing and tearing of the plastic. Cattle panels have very rough ends where they are cut by the manufacturer, so we had to come up with something inexpensive to hold the plastic away from the panel. This was 1" pipe, but I think larger would have been better.

Next we added the 6 mil plastic over the top. If the GH is large, the easiest way to do this is put all of the plastic open along the bottom of one side. Tie rope to the ends and a couple of places in the middle. Throw the rope over to the other side. Then send a few people to that side to slowly pull the plastic over. Be sure to do this on a very calm day, otherwise you will go sailing. Anchor your plastic down on each side with landscape timbers.

Next, we took rope and anchored it over the plastic going back and forth using the canes to hold it down. This was done about every two panels. If we had not used this, our GH would have blown away in the first storm. One morning I looked outside during a small storm and watched as the GH began lifting and appeared as though it was a zeppelin getting ready for take-off. This was a very freaky sight. So, that afternoon, we decided the rope would hold her down. As you can see, we also used the landscape timbers, rolling the plastic around them and nailing the pieces of wood to the top to hold it together. THIS DID NOT WORK! So, don't bother. After the first hard-winded storm we had, the whole thing unrolled and left us with a mess. When we get the energy, we will have to take off the wood pieces, unroll the plastic and reattach by just folding the plastic and nailing the wood pieces to the TOP of the timbers. Another thing to do...but this was an experiment.

In order to secure the plastic on the ends and add the plastic door covers, Lou cut some of the plastic pipe into 6 inch pieces and then cut slits in them lengthwise. He had to do a double cut to make them open better, about 1/4 " opening. These snapped over the end plastic and the doorway cover. We did this on both sides using about 4-6 per side.

While I'm thinking of it. I must tell you that if you decide to do this, place your GH where the wind can blow through and not across your house. If the wind hits the GH from the side, a serious gust might flatten it. We had this happen when making a goat shelter with only two panels connected. We have had at least 70 mph winds hit our present one and it is fine. However, I would suggest taking the end plastic off so that the high winds can blow through and not against the doors.

This is the finished project. The plants are now about 4 times this size. We hung a large thermometer inside for our knowledge of temperature vs. growth. We watered with a hose one time, using gravity water from the creek. We don't have to water much because it stays moist in there as a GH should.