I'm so grateful to find your series! I want to convert my in-ground pool into a greenhouse. I won't have to do as much digging, but I just couldn't wrap my head around getting started. You've shown me how to build a roof on the ground.Thanks again!
It's 3 am Tuesday morning 21/02/17 in Manchester UK could not sleep so i've sat here for the last hour or so watching your video series on The Sunken Greenhouse; total absorbed in the Concept and Design, just wishing we had internet 40 years ago, and I was about 40 years younger to do something Similar. Be proud of what you have created my friend because i know if it was me I would be. Enjoy your Family ( your little girl is very cute ) and your Life " OH " and your Greenhouse. I've Subscribed to your channel and look forward to more videos. Best Regards. Dave.
Congratulations Joe! You've improved on every idea that I've entertained over the years. It's a pleasure to watch a creative person engage like you do. Your greenhouse is going to bring you years of production and pleasure. Good stuff!
thanks so much for the kind words Lee! Only time will tell if all these ideas will pan out.. but so far so good:) It is nice to have it function though:) Joe
Thanks so much RB! Now you're probably sick of my voice...lol... I appreciate you checking them out though! You got the real experience... and saw my changes in plans and thoughts from the first to the this one:)
Thanks so much! Yes, I try to save as much as I can. ... just need to get a little more capacity to make sure we don't overflow during out heavy times:)
Great videos! I'm a homesteader and doing something similar to you. I really like how clearly you explain your thought process. I also like the fact that you experiment as you move through your project because it's honest, real, and relatable. Excellent job!!!
Wow amazing job you don't do things in halves. Very impressed how much detail and effort you went to. Should be good for many years to come. Well done.
Thanks Sam, it's been a big project but I'm happy with it! Definitely a couple things I would do differently if I had a go at it again. Stay tuned as I will be doing another update and answering questions folks had about this process:) Joe
Same as comment below. I'm in the UK and have been looking at walled gardens. In the book I bought on Victorian kitchen gardens, I saw these kind of greenhouses. I was wondering how to stop it filling with groubd water, but not sure that's a problem whete you are? Amazing job, I hope it gives you great pleasure 👍
Thanks Marc! Yes, it's so nice to have it at a functional stage... and you're right, just looking at things or hearing about something just seems to get the brain juice flowing and ideas start coming in!
GREAT VID! You get to the point rather than ramble on like other homestead vids that I've watched.CARRY ON!PS? Now I have to go watch the previous vids about building the greenhouse.
You're Awesome! Very smart. I learned a lot on all six episodes. Very high quality filming. Good narration. That was actually worth my time. Thank You!
Great execution if your plans. We picked up 2 of our rain water storage tanks at the plant that makes them yesterday. They took time to let us see their operation. It was way cool. Thanks Joe.
thanks so much Donna and David! Very cool that you got to tour the manufacturing plant.. I would love to do that! What company? Very cool, I'm gonna have to go check out your channel now to see them in place:) JOe
You have some great ideas, but have to modify a little as it was -17 F here yesterday in Wisconsin. Bought all the corrugated clear plastic for the 10 x 20 in ground somewhat like yours The North half roof and sides will be solid gray and insulated with black water barrels for a heat sink. Will send you some pictures when Spring arrives and I can build mine. Thanks so much for sharing. You make so many ideas spring forward. God Bless.
Great job bubba glad that you're getting something done. Take your time. You seem to have gotten yourself full of things to do. You're an awesome craftsman and you get alot done. Be proud of the green house you made
Thanks so much Jack! Yes, the fence was made with old corrugated metal and acts as a garden fence but has the metal on the two most windward sides to help the plants be protected from our horrendous winds:)
I'd have some critiques for 'use of space' as a personal preference, but there is no disputing - that is some OUTSTANDING - A-1 craftsmanship. Absolutely fantastic greenhouse!
I just came across your site, and wow, what awesome projects you have! I don't live in the desert, but am working on creating a similar rain harvest system for my garden, and future small livestock. Thanks so much for sharing!
Every time I see one of your rain water harvesting videos I get a little jealous! Had some gravel work done on the driveway and diversion channels to move the water away from it, now I need to start planning some holding ponds and swales! You know for that one rainstorm we get a year LOL Stay warm we're dropping into the teens at night here Charlie
Hi Charlie.. that sounds like you've got some good thoughts with directing that water into some ponds and swales! I'd love to hear more on what you end up doing... that's really cool! Solving driveway drainage issues and potentially using the water later:) You stay warm too... we've gotten into the high 20's but so far that's the coldest we've gotten... tomorrow might hit 80! Joe
Lots of ideas just have to get out and do them! It is a bit more fun here as everything is on a slope. People who don't live in the desert can never conceive how the temps can change not only day to day but hour by hour
So glad to see an update, although I am way behind, haha, very excited to see how it is working. I keep looking at this idea and the thermo-air idea (tubes deep in the earth), this just seems so much more practical
You can just connect the two totes by piping the two discharge valves together and leaving the valves in the open position. The second tote will fill at the same time as the first. You can then add another valve at the end of the connecting piping for your new discharge/hose connection. Also, by connecting them you increase water pressure coming out of the new discharge.
Thanks so much Charl! I need to get the starts going but it's so nice to have it functional for now. I've got some other plans to implement but at least it's going to be producing something from now on :)
Amazing work!! One of the most nature aligned project. This should give better yeild on long run. Appreciate this being shared, so others may also benefit.
Love what you’ve done here and hoping your struggles are fewer by now. I wanted to recommend the books Carrots Love Tomatoes and Roses Love Garlic, bc one of the real glaring things I see in your planting space is really inappropriate companion plantings that will ultimately not support good growth, even causing growth inhibition (like onions shouldn’t be everywhere, for instance). I think your greenhouse is gorgeous and it’s on my list of goals to have something as lovely as yours!!
Consider a layer of insulation a few inches down, but above the pipe, to alter the heat transfer path from the surface. In the summer shade over the buried pipe should also help.
james black sorry this is so late...but if you click on my channel on the ‘videos’ tab..,,,scroll back and you’ll see about 3 more videos. Most recently it was the ‘sunken greenhouse revival’ series of two video and then a winter prep from about a year or two ago. I don’t post ever weeks so they aren’t hard to find. Hope that helps
Love the work. Idea: Add 3/4 piece of PVC to that drain. Cut out an Entire side, so the drain pours into a PVC half pipe wall. Resulting in Higher collection success.
Thanks so much Gregory! It really is nice to be using it versus just building it... of course I have enough little tweeks and modififcations planned that the build will probably never officially be done;) Joe
I think you can get a lid for that rain tote that has 2" pvc threads in it so you can hook up your supply pipe to it and keep the tank covered and not worry about what can fall into it. Nice work on the system!
Your channel is amazing, man. Super informative and relevant presentation of the product of some impressive skills, resourcefulness, and lots of hard work. Plus you just seem like a good guy. Thanks for what you do!
In MN, we call it a sun-heated pit. We fill the basement with water barrels and blow air across them. When barrels of water freeze, they release heat, enough to keep lettuces and brassicas above that critical 24-28° F (depending on species.) A friend ran his 18X12' greenhouse on only $50 per WINTER for heat. It was built on South side of unheated garage.
Hi Joan... the pink PVC is indeed for reclaimed water. It's the same as regular white PVC but is just colored for code work. I got all this off of craigslist from a plumbing contractor who was selling it because it was outside too long and started to get sun baked... and the government contract he had wouldn't accept it for the installation... so he was selling it super cheap! that's the same guy I got the 6" PVC pipes for the cooling tunnel... 300'+ of 1.5, 1, and 2" pipe and 130+' of 6" pipe for less than $45! super deal!
Hey there! I've enjoyed watching this pretty much from the beginning. For my thoughts, Michael Reynold's Earthships do about as well on virtually the same cooling runnel you've set up plus venting. Even the minimal units get by on one of about the same length as yours. The big difference is he runs his cooling tunnels further underground and caps both ends I think. Something to consider might be putting in a 90 degree curve vertically and gapping off with a vent cap covered with mesh to keep things other than the rain the cover will stop out. That way you could build a hinged cover inside over the exit and not have to go out however far you finally decide on to open and let air cooled by the earth in. What temperature you finally get coming in during summer will determine if you might what to hill more sand or whatever on top from somewhere on your land or put in a deep tunnel. The only other thing I can think about is a safety rail setup around those stairs before something happens.
Thanks Stanley! Those are some good things to think about! And yes, I do need to do some sort of rail for the stairs for sure. As for the tunnel, I like you're idea of having it come up with a rain cap, or something to that design. Very cool.. I think I saw an earthship video that had that design and I thought it was really smart too! Lots of good stuff to think about:) joe
I couldn't stop thinking about huge underground cisterns to catch rain and to keep fish tanks full of water for aquaponics. Maybe build several more in-ground green houses for more catchment area and plants.
Watched all videos, everything looks great and very informational, lots of education you are providing. Thank you for doing this! I look forward to more videos!
That little water tower is the coolest thing I have seen for a while. Rustic prairie garden art that is functional too. I love it. I want one. I will have one. :)
Hmmm. I never thought of it as a man-cave. I usually think of an underground greenhouse in terms of living space, however. thanks for the idea. I'll keep it in mind when I get around to building mine.
Soon there will be a sweet blu tooth speaker in there...... Your buried tube is going to be air make up mostly when vent fan is on...connect both rain tanks using the connections already there...those two huge tanks will fill and drain at the same time just connect them at the bottom......l just think you have a great set up there guy....wait till you find Dutch bucket growing systems...best of luck from one hobby greenhouse grower to another...Man Cave..solar light string would work too...you will love that space...Zone six here.....
Wow! My Wife and I have followed this whole series. Great job! A bit off topic, but I think you need to start a podcast! I'd be a dedicated listener! keep up the great work!
Hey Tim! Yes, I've actually been thinking about doing a podcast for over a year now... but just haven't as I'm kinda tech challenged..lol... I know it sounds weird from a guy making videos... but hosting and doing the podcast things is just another level that I"m trying to get up the confidence for. And the fact that I'm not sure if I could fill up the air space with enough good content. But I am a HUGE fan of podcasts and that's often what I'm listening to when I work on my projects.... so yes, it should be a reality in the somewhat near future:) Joe
Joe I have an in ground water tank with one fish for my aquaponics system that self waters flood and drain grow bed with a small pump to fill and a bell siphon to drain. Works pretty well but I do wish I had your greenhouse around all of it. Maybe one day I'll get to it.
Thanks DW! Yes, it's got a lot of them... but for it to be star wars-like I'll have to make part8 in the past before the hole was dug and with the old harbor freight greenhouse that I originally tried out...lol...and then film everytime I chased wind blown panels in the desert;)
Nice job on all of this. I'll be using your design as inspiration. I have done rain water collection in tanks like yours, but algae growth got to be a problem. Had to take the plastic tank out of the cage and wrap in black plastic.
Hi Joe As regards the cooling tunnel, multiple short tubes in parallel is the most efficient way to go. With a 100ft tube, the air temperature will drop to ground temperature in the first 10ft and coast through the other 90ft. Its therefore better to split the 100ft tube into 10x 10ft tubes which will cool 10x the volume of air in the same time frame. Consider the surface area of tube in contact with the ground is identical in both cases, 1x 100ft or 10x 10ft, how its utilised is what makes the difference :)
there is also a finite thermal capacity to the ground mass, in which case a longer and deeper pipe would help. on a hot day, the ground around the pipe will absorb much heat and rise measurably.
A longer pipe cant move as much air as several shorter pipes fed in parallel. The total surface area in contact with the thermal mass is the same for both layouts but one will work considerably better than the other ;)
I just fast forwarded to this , didn't watch but wanted to see how far it got , I downloaded all seven. I watched only episodes 1 and 2, this guy's got chutzpa. Good on ya man.
Thanks Yack! yes, I plan to either paint and/or cover the IBC tanks to help them last longer and to keep the algae growth to a minimum. that will probably be a later project... like into the spring or there abouts.
Did I miss how the mini water tower used to gravity feed the greenhouse is filled with water? I did not see anything leading into it...just the hose out to the greenhouse. I saw the water collection coming off the greenhouse, but that was routed to the garden area. Love it all though! Thanks for sharing!
I wonder, what about fungus in the cooling tunnel? There is a lot of condensation inside the tunnel what makes a perfect growing ground for all kind of not so healthy plants.
Thanks so much Phil! Next update will have more plants! ... and maybe something solar related...if I can sell some of my extra garage items to make a little extra spending cash:) joe
lotta technical stuff and everyone has an opinion i see, do yo' thing Joe it looks good. i love the ibc totes and wish they made more attachments for them. love the harvesting shots
Thanks Tory! Yes, there are lots of ways to go on it and honestly I'm still just trying to figure out what will work best for me... lol... but with that said, it's still up in the air.. or ground...lol
Love your videos, just found them and watched them all at once...We have been considering something like this to extend our growing season beyond June to September lol
Joe, you do in a couple of weeks what it would take me a couple of years to accomplish (and you hold down a job!). Great video and the greenhouse will be a source of great enjoyment in the future I am sure. Kindest regards to you and your family.
Thanks Tony! It's becoming a nice place to visit in the morning with a cup of coffee. and thanks for the good words... sometimes I feel like I am pretty slow getting things accomplished... but at least this is pretty much functional now, if not 100% complete... of course it may not be ever, as I will always want to tweak things a bit:)
I'm so grateful to find your series! I want to convert my in-ground pool into a greenhouse. I won't have to do as much digging, but I just couldn't wrap my head around getting started. You've shown me how to build a roof on the ground.Thanks again!
Way to show others what is possible. You are one of the most free families in America living the way you do. So inspiring.
thanks so much Clint! I really appreciate the kind words sir!
Joe
It's 3 am Tuesday morning 21/02/17 in Manchester UK could not sleep so i've sat here for the last hour or so watching your video series on The Sunken Greenhouse; total absorbed in the Concept and Design, just wishing we had internet 40 years ago, and I was about 40 years younger to do something Similar. Be proud of what you have created my friend because i know if it was me I would be. Enjoy your Family ( your little girl is very cute ) and your Life " OH " and your Greenhouse. I've Subscribed to your channel and look forward to more videos.
Best Regards.
Dave.
I never get tired of watching rain harvesting in the desert ! Love your setup !!
Congratulations Joe! You've improved on every idea that I've entertained over the years. It's a pleasure to watch a creative person engage like you do. Your greenhouse is going to bring you years of production and pleasure. Good stuff!
thanks so much for the kind words Lee! Only time will tell if all these ideas will pan out.. but so far so good:) It is nice to have it function though:)
Joe
I just binge watched all 7 greenhouse videos of yours! Fantastic job!!
Thanks so much RB! Now you're probably sick of my voice...lol... I appreciate you checking them out though! You got the real experience... and saw my changes in plans and thoughts from the first to the this one:)
Red Beard Carpentry & Woodworks hah! Me too. At work on the computer...paying more attention to this than work though.
Ian Rothermund It happens :)
Me too...fantastic project, huh?
Me too! really fun to watch.
Great video! It's cool to see how you save all that water for good use later.
Thanks so much! Yes, I try to save as much as I can. ... just need to get a little more capacity to make sure we don't overflow during out heavy times:)
Nice project for the colder places, where we can insulate the ground.
18-inch depth of the air intake doesn't provide much temperature differential during the worst head/cold. Mounding up soil on top helps some.
Great videos! I'm a homesteader and doing something similar to you. I really like how clearly you explain your thought process. I also like the fact that you experiment as you move through your project because it's honest, real, and relatable. Excellent job!!!
I am only 3:30 and already I love your modern walipini. Very close to what I have designed in my head. Totally subscribed.
Wow amazing job you don't do things in halves. Very impressed how much detail and effort you went to. Should be good for many years to come. Well done.
Thanks Sam, it's been a big project but I'm happy with it! Definitely a couple things I would do differently if I had a go at it again. Stay tuned as I will be doing another update and answering questions folks had about this process:)
Joe
Same as comment below. I'm in the UK and have been looking at walled gardens. In the book I bought on Victorian kitchen gardens, I saw these kind of greenhouses. I was wondering how to stop it filling with groubd water, but not sure that's a problem whete you are? Amazing job, I hope it gives you great pleasure 👍
I enjoy watching your 7 greenhouse videos over and over. I am learning a lot. Thanks
The greenhouse is looking SO GOOD! I know you have put so much work (hard labor) into this project...and it shows! Thanks for the great update! :)
Great update Joe ! Its funny how your ideas prompt so many other thoughts... Everything looks great ! Thanks for sharing !
Thanks Marc! Yes, it's so nice to have it at a functional stage... and you're right, just looking at things or hearing about something just seems to get the brain juice flowing and ideas start coming in!
I've already emailed you.... ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
and I already emailed you back.. ;)
GREAT VID! You get to the point rather than ramble on like other homestead vids that I've watched.CARRY ON!PS? Now I have to go watch the previous vids about building the greenhouse.
Looks like a lot of hard work went into that setup. Great job!
You're Awesome! Very smart. I learned a lot on all six episodes. Very high quality filming. Good narration. That was actually worth my time. Thank You!
This project is coming together incredibly nicely... now with a mindblowingly slick water setup to boot. Great job!
thanks Peter! Yes, mindblowing engineering for sure...lol:) .... or rather my efforts to figure out a way to include the water tower...lol
That’s one of the prettiest greenhouses I’ve seen.
It is amazing how carefully every detail of this project was made!
Beautifully methodical.
Appeals to the much deprived artist in me.
Great execution if your plans. We picked up 2 of our rain water storage tanks at the plant that makes them yesterday. They took time to let us see their operation. It was way cool. Thanks Joe.
thanks so much Donna and David! Very cool that you got to tour the manufacturing plant.. I would love to do that! What company? Very cool, I'm gonna have to go check out your channel now to see them in place:)
JOe
It's kind of fun binge watching. Today was Container shed and this one. Excellent work on both projects. And the videos are very well done too.
Excellent update, Joe. The plants look great in the greenhouse and the watering system, too.
thanks Jess! make sure to bring down your metal on Saturday:)
Thank you SO MUCH for taking all the time to record and post! Excellent design and I am so excited to see an update! Thank you for sharing this!
You have some great ideas, but have to modify a little as it was -17 F here yesterday in Wisconsin. Bought all the corrugated clear plastic for the 10 x 20 in ground somewhat like yours The North half roof and sides will be solid gray and insulated with black water barrels for a heat sink. Will send you some pictures when Spring arrives and I can build mine. Thanks so much for sharing. You make so many ideas spring forward. God Bless.
Great job bubba glad that you're getting something done. Take your time. You seem to have gotten yourself full of things to do.
You're an awesome craftsman and you get alot done. Be proud of the green house you made
Looks good and I love the corrugated privacy fence and never knew those ugly blue barrels could be painted. Awesome water tower!
Thanks so much Jack! Yes, the fence was made with old corrugated metal and acts as a garden fence but has the metal on the two most windward sides to help the plants be protected from our horrendous winds:)
I'd have some critiques for 'use of space' as a personal preference, but there is no disputing - that is some OUTSTANDING - A-1 craftsmanship. Absolutely fantastic greenhouse!
I just binge watched all 7 also! Thank you for sharing with us. We appreciate you!
I enjoyed this series of " Sunken Greenhouse "
I just came across your site, and wow, what awesome projects you have! I don't live in the desert, but am working on creating a similar rain harvest system for my garden, and future small livestock. Thanks so much for sharing!
Every time I see one of your rain water harvesting videos I get a little jealous! Had some gravel work done on the driveway and diversion channels to move the water away from it, now I need to start planning some holding ponds and swales! You know for that one rainstorm we get a year LOL
Stay warm we're dropping into the teens at night here
Charlie
Hi Charlie.. that sounds like you've got some good thoughts with directing that water into some ponds and swales! I'd love to hear more on what you end up doing... that's really cool! Solving driveway drainage issues and potentially using the water later:) You stay warm too... we've gotten into the high 20's but so far that's the coldest we've gotten... tomorrow might hit 80!
Joe
Lots of ideas just have to get out and do them! It is a bit more fun here as everything is on a slope.
People who don't live in the desert can never conceive how the temps can change not only day to day but hour by hour
The construction on all of your projects is really impressive. Thanks for sharing.
Your setup is deluxe. I jumped in to #7. I'll revisit the series from the start, hopefully this evening.
So glad to see an update, although I am way behind, haha, very excited to see how it is working. I keep looking at this idea and the thermo-air idea (tubes deep in the earth), this just seems so much more practical
Thanks Marcella! Hoping to have an update soon:)
You can just connect the two totes by piping the two discharge valves together and leaving the valves in the open position. The second tote will fill at the same time as the first. You can then add another valve at the end of the connecting piping for your new discharge/hose connection. Also, by connecting them you increase water pressure coming out of the new discharge.
These are fantastic to watch. Thanks again! But did anyone else notice the chickens attention when "chickens" was said? At around 6:20 in? Awesome!
Yet another awesome series. Your greenhouse turned out N.I.C.E.!!!!
I really like the sunken green house, Your water system is amazing. You should be teaching in schools
Gotta say man, I am moving to Mesa in two weeks and your videos are a huge inspiration. Keep up the awesome work.
Thanks so much Mr W! Good luck on the move:)
Beautiful job + your personality is great with, that little chuckle you do!
Great build! You may want to paint your IBC tanks. They'll last a lot longer in the sun, and it helps to keep the elgea growing in the tank.
Thanks WO! Yes, I plan to either paint or cover them... not sure yet, but definitely do need to get them protected:)
Joe
Hey, greenhouse has come a long way since my last viewing. Lookin purdy good. !
Your very talented and with good ideas. Most people would be afraid, thanks for sharing
So awesome to see plants in the greenhouse. I am really impressed with the whole project, well done.
Thanks so much Charl! I need to get the starts going but it's so nice to have it functional for now. I've got some other plans to implement but at least it's going to be producing something from now on :)
Amazing work!! One of the most nature aligned project. This should give better yeild on long run. Appreciate this being shared, so others may also benefit.
thanks so much Ramesh!
joe
Love what you’ve done here and hoping your struggles are fewer by now. I wanted to recommend the books Carrots Love Tomatoes and Roses Love Garlic, bc one of the real glaring things I see in your planting space is really inappropriate companion plantings that will ultimately not support good growth, even causing growth inhibition (like onions shouldn’t be everywhere, for instance). I think your greenhouse is gorgeous and it’s on my list of goals to have something as lovely as yours!!
nice....lotta work but it's the kind of work that brings a great amount of satisfaction and keeps one grounded. Hope it's worked out well for you!
Consider a layer of insulation a few inches down, but above the pipe, to alter the heat transfer path from the surface. In the summer shade over the buried pipe should also help.
It's been 2 years. I would love to see a follow up. How's it working? Is it still standing?
james black sorry this is so late...but if you click on my channel on the ‘videos’ tab..,,,scroll back and you’ll see about 3 more videos. Most recently it was the ‘sunken greenhouse revival’ series of two video and then a winter prep from about a year or two ago. I don’t post ever weeks so they aren’t hard to find. Hope that helps
Wonderful design. It's turning out great!
thansk so much Alex! It's nice to have it functional now!
joe
I like the water tower, freakin cool man!
Love the work. Idea: Add 3/4 piece of PVC to that drain. Cut out an Entire side, so the drain pours into a PVC half pipe wall. Resulting in Higher collection success.
Everything is coming together very nicely!
You are amazing!
Thanks so much Gregory! It really is nice to be using it versus just building it... of course I have enough little tweeks and modififcations planned that the build will probably never officially be done;)
Joe
after all the hard work it's good to see some plants in there.
Ah yes! I hope to have many more during the next update too:)
Hope you are staying warm Mackey!
Joe
I'm in love with the environment you are living in! Truly wish to live in a place like that someday!
I think you can get a lid for that rain tote that has 2" pvc threads in it so you can hook up your supply pipe to it and keep the tank covered and not worry about what can fall into it. Nice work on the system!
Your channel is amazing, man. Super informative and relevant presentation of the product of some impressive skills, resourcefulness, and lots of hard work. Plus you just seem like a good guy. Thanks for what you do!
Great series on the greenhouse build
VERY NICE!! I just watched all 7 videos, very neat job!
I so like how you did the water system in the green house, so neat.
This is awesome! I can’t wait to see the veggies you’ll be growing.
You Sir are amazing! Endless energy and creativity, great place you have.
In MN, we call it a sun-heated pit. We fill the basement with water barrels and blow air across them. When barrels of water freeze, they release heat, enough to keep lettuces and brassicas above that critical 24-28° F (depending on species.) A friend ran his 18X12' greenhouse on only $50 per WINTER for heat. It was built on South side of unheated garage.
Awesome job Joe!
Thanks CF!
Joe
It would be interesting to see these cooling concepts used on a larger scale small city for cooling residential units.
I've never seen pink PVC pipe. Glad to see plants in there!
I believe that pink indicates uv protected
The purple pipe is for reclaimed water I believe.
Hi Joan... the pink PVC is indeed for reclaimed water. It's the same as regular white PVC but is just colored for code work. I got all this off of craigslist from a plumbing contractor who was selling it because it was outside too long and started to get sun baked... and the government contract he had wouldn't accept it for the installation... so he was selling it super cheap! that's the same guy I got the 6" PVC pipes for the cooling tunnel... 300'+ of 1.5, 1, and 2" pipe and 130+' of 6" pipe for less than $45! super deal!
+homesteadonomics whoa
Hey there!
I've enjoyed watching this pretty much from the beginning. For my thoughts, Michael Reynold's Earthships do about as well on virtually the same cooling runnel you've set up plus venting. Even the minimal units get by on one of about the same length as yours. The big difference is he runs his cooling tunnels further underground and caps both ends I think. Something to consider might be putting in a 90 degree curve vertically and gapping off with a vent cap covered with mesh to keep things other than the rain the cover will stop out. That way you could build a hinged cover inside over the exit and not have to go out however far you finally decide on to open and let air cooled by the earth in. What temperature you finally get coming in during summer will determine if you might what to hill more sand or whatever on top from somewhere on your land or put in a deep tunnel.
The only other thing I can think about is a safety rail setup around those stairs before something happens.
Thanks Stanley! Those are some good things to think about! And yes, I do need to do some sort of rail for the stairs for sure.
As for the tunnel, I like you're idea of having it come up with a rain cap, or something to that design. Very cool.. I think I saw an earthship video that had that design and I thought it was really smart too!
Lots of good stuff to think about:)
joe
The chair idea is the best my brother!
Looks good mate. Thumbs up!
I couldn't stop thinking about huge underground cisterns to catch rain and to keep fish tanks full of water for aquaponics. Maybe build several more in-ground green houses for more catchment area and plants.
Watched all videos, everything looks great and very informational, lots of education you are providing. Thank you for doing this! I look forward to more videos!
That is the best man cave ever!! Producing food for UR family!! Doing a fine good!!
thanks so much Towanna! yes, a man cave it is... now I gotta get some lights to really be able to enjoy it at night :D
That little water tower is the coolest thing I have seen for a while. Rustic prairie garden art that is functional too.
I love it. I want one. I will have one. :)
Hmmm. I never thought of it as a man-cave. I usually think of an underground greenhouse in terms of living space, however. thanks for the idea. I'll keep it in mind when I get around to building mine.
Soon there will be a sweet blu tooth speaker in there...... Your buried tube is going to be air make up mostly when vent fan is on...connect both rain tanks using the connections already there...those two huge tanks will fill and drain at the same time just connect them at the bottom......l just think you have a great set up there guy....wait till you find Dutch bucket growing systems...best of luck from one hobby greenhouse grower to another...Man Cave..solar light string would work too...you will love that space...Zone six here.....
What have you done about flooding when it rains?
Wow! My Wife and I have followed this whole series. Great job!
A bit off topic, but I think you need to start a podcast! I'd be a dedicated listener! keep up the great work!
Hey Tim! Yes, I've actually been thinking about doing a podcast for over a year now... but just haven't as I'm kinda tech challenged..lol... I know it sounds weird from a guy making videos... but hosting and doing the podcast things is just another level that I"m trying to get up the confidence for. And the fact that I'm not sure if I could fill up the air space with enough good content. But I am a HUGE fan of podcasts and that's often what I'm listening to when I work on my projects.... so yes, it should be a reality in the somewhat near future:)
Joe
Outstanding!! I know it's a big undertaking but you'd have our support.
Great to see your growth, excellent to have your ‘stead’ in more of a ‘closed system’ makes good sense. Cheers
Joe I have an in ground water tank with one fish for my aquaponics system that self waters flood and drain grow bed with a small pump to fill and a bell siphon to drain. Works pretty well but I do wish I had your greenhouse around all of it. Maybe one day I'll get to it.
More cool projects. Nice work. And hey, 7 episodes on the greenhouse...that's almost as many as in the Star Wars series.
Thanks DW! Yes, it's got a lot of them... but for it to be star wars-like I'll have to make part8 in the past before the hole was dug and with the old harbor freight greenhouse that I originally tried out...lol...and then film everytime I chased wind blown panels in the desert;)
Nice job on all of this. I'll be using your design as inspiration. I have done rain water collection in tanks like yours, but algae growth got to be a problem. Had to take the plastic tank out of the cage and wrap in black plastic.
The lighting in that greenhouse in phenomenal! Haha just an observation
Really enjoyed the series! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Joe
As regards the cooling tunnel, multiple short tubes in parallel is the most efficient way to go. With a 100ft tube, the air temperature will drop to ground temperature in the first 10ft and coast through the other 90ft. Its therefore better to split the 100ft tube into 10x 10ft tubes which will cool 10x the volume of air in the same time frame. Consider the surface area of tube in contact with the ground is identical in both cases, 1x 100ft or 10x 10ft, how its utilised is what makes the difference :)
there is also a finite thermal capacity to the ground mass, in which case a longer and deeper pipe would help. on a hot day, the ground around the pipe will absorb much heat and rise measurably.
A longer pipe cant move as much air as several shorter pipes fed in parallel. The total surface area in contact with the thermal mass is the same for both layouts but one will work considerably better than the other ;)
Very interesting. I've never heard this before. Can you provide a source for this information or is this something you've successfully done?
very cool - thank you for sharing!
Well done it looks fantastic !
Seems it's coming along nicely. I would increase your water storage capacity 1st then think about some wind power.
good deal man! cool idea, good luck getting er done
I just fast forwarded to this , didn't watch but wanted to see how far it got , I downloaded all seven.
I watched only episodes 1 and 2, this guy's got chutzpa. Good on ya man.
Thanks for checking them out Brent!
Joe
Looking great. The holdings tank not going to last to long in the Arizona sun. May need to put a hoop house shade around it or shade cloth.
Thanks Yack! yes, I plan to either paint and/or cover the IBC tanks to help them last longer and to keep the algae growth to a minimum. that will probably be a later project... like into the spring or there abouts.
Watched all 7 videos....great ideas.
Did I miss how the mini water tower used to gravity feed the greenhouse is filled with water? I did not see anything leading into it...just the hose out to the greenhouse. I saw the water collection coming off the greenhouse, but that was routed to the garden area. Love it all though! Thanks for sharing!
I wonder, what about fungus in the cooling tunnel? There is a lot of condensation inside the tunnel what makes a perfect growing ground for all kind of not so healthy plants.
Very nice mate, looking forward to the next update!
Thanks so much Phil!
Next update will have more plants! ... and maybe something solar related...if I can sell some of my extra garage items to make a little extra spending cash:)
joe
Wow this is amazing!!! Great job , I'm so jealous!!
Pretty slick build. 💯🤙🏽
lotta technical stuff and everyone has an opinion i see, do yo' thing Joe it looks good. i love the ibc totes and wish they made more attachments for them. love the harvesting shots
Thanks Tory! Yes, there are lots of ways to go on it and honestly I'm still just trying to figure out what will work best for me... lol... but with that said, it's still up in the air.. or ground...lol
Great Series, we're trying in a very cold climate and little larger scale
Simply put..awesome work.
Love your videos, just found them and watched them all at once...We have been considering something like this to extend our growing season beyond June to September lol
Thanks Mike! I appreciate that... I would love to hear what you end up doing... it's a big project but fun and rewarding too:)
Joe, you do in a couple of weeks what it would take me a couple of years to accomplish (and you hold down a job!). Great video and the greenhouse will be a source of great enjoyment in the future I am sure. Kindest regards to you and your family.
Thanks Tony! It's becoming a nice place to visit in the morning with a cup of coffee. and thanks for the good words... sometimes I feel like I am pretty slow getting things accomplished... but at least this is pretty much functional now, if not 100% complete... of course it may not be ever, as I will always want to tweak things a bit:)
great job, you are inspiring youg gardeners in europe