"Made-It-Myself" In-Ground Greenhouse
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Dean Steward built a 14 by 24-ft. “in-ground” greenhouse for just $120. Going into the ground kept costs down and plants warm. He simply trenched out a walkway between ground level beds, walled it with concrete blocks, and covered the beds with cattle panels and plastic.
“I also have an outdoor garden, but our springs and falls are too cold to garden,” says Steward. “Now I can grow tomatoes into November and start lettuce and carrots early. Our tomato plants were 2 ft. tall by the time I would normally be planting outside.”
Steward laid out his greenhouse with two 24 by 4-ft. beds separated by a 3-ft wide trench and two waist-high block walls.
“I used a backhoe to dig out the trench and laid the walls without mortar,” says Steward. “I drove rebar into each cell and rammed earth in to fill them. It has been more than a year, and they are holding well.”
He added concrete block steps at one end and built end-walls out of scrap lumber. For the roof, Steward drove in two lines of wood stakes, 10 to a side and 12 ft. apart. He fastened 16-ft. long, 50-in. wide cattle panels between the stakes and covered them with plastic.
“I’m 5 ft., 8 in. tall but with the curve of the cattle panels, I can walk on the beds without hitting my head,” he says.
Steward explains that the trench forms a heat sink during the day and the concrete block walls soak up heat to release as outside temperatures cool.
“The tomatoes go crazy in it,” says Steward. “I take the plastic off when it gets hot enough in the summer and put it back on as it cools in the fall. When it does rain, the floor gets a little muddy, but it’s not too bad and not that often.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dean Steward, P.O. Box 444, Dewey, Arizona 86327 (ph 928 713-5085; dsteward@hotmail.com).
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Made-It-Myself In-Ground Greenhouse BUILDINGS Miscellaneous Dean Steward built a 14 by 24-ft “in-ground” greenhouse for just $120 Going into the ground kept costs down and plants warm He simply trenched out a walkway between ground level beds walled it with concrete blocks and covered the beds with cattle panels and plastic “I also have an outdoor garden but our springs and falls are too cold to garden ” says Steward “Now I can grow tomatoes into November and start lettuce and carrots early Our tomato plants were 2 ft tall by the time I would normally be planting outside ” Steward laid out his greenhouse with two 24 by 4-ft beds separated by a 3-ft wide trench and two waist-high block walls “I used a backhoe to dig out the trench and laid the walls without mortar ” says Steward “I drove rebar into each cell and rammed earth in to fill them It has been more than a year and they are holding well ” He added concrete block steps at one end and built end-walls out of scrap lumber For the roof Steward drove in two lines of wood stakes 10 to a side and 12 ft apart He fastened 16-ft long 50-in wide cattle panels between the stakes and covered them with plastic “I’m 5 ft 8 in tall but with the curve of the cattle panels I can walk on the beds without hitting my head ” he says Steward explains that the trench forms a heat sink during the day and the concrete block walls soak up heat to release as outside temperatures cool “The tomatoes go crazy in it ” says Steward “I take the plastic off when it gets hot enough in the summer and put it back on as it cools in the fall When it does rain the floor gets a little muddy but it’s not too bad and not that often ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dean Steward P O Box 444 Dewey Arizona 86327 ph 928 713-5085; dsteward@hotmail com
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