Do you mind sharing with us the approximate cost of this greenhouse? If you built it yourself, great, but how much did the materials cost and how much time would you say it took you to build it? Thanks.
Adam, we had a local GC construct our Greenhouse Building. Our build is unique, as it is a Greenhouse, Potting shed (on the north side) and below ground Cold Storage (under Potting Shed) in one... so three building spaces in one. The majority of our materials that went into the GH build was; concrete and rebar, 1000'+ of 4" french drain pipe, translucent panels, 2 x ceiling fans, 2 x framed side walls and framed ceiling, main ceiling fan, concrete pavers for flooring, clean 2" aggregate for climate battery fill, main ceiling mounted exhaust unit, one infrared heat on back concrete wall, two corner air fans in plastic 50 gallon drums (part of climate batters operation), misc electrical and plumbing, subsurface air in-take piping for non-mechanical cooling, and more I am certain. If you can create your space, and understand square & cubic footages, then that will get you on the path for creating a material list with costs. Does this give you some tools to work with moving forward? Thanks for the interest.
Yes it does, thank you. BTW, do you ever take visitors on your farm? My wife is currently interviewing for pharmacy residency programs throughout Idaho, Montana, and Eastern Washington. She has 2 interviews in Missoula and I know you guys are close to Missoula.
Yes we do, and you would be welcome. We are one hour south of Missoula, in Hamilton, MT. Check out our website at abcacres.com Perhaps you will take up a nights stay as part of our Farm Stay offerings, giving you ample time to tour the farm. All the best!
Wish you could expand on your climate battery. Show a drawing of how it is designed. Show your fan system. What is that blue thing? The climate battery output. Talk is ok but would really benefit from ya all showing us what your talking about.
Alpine, I went ice-fishing on Georgetown Lake some years ago. Small tent, propane heater, Budweiser beer, and a few fish to boot. That's a beautiful spot over into the Big Hole. If you have time in your schedule, you should plan an overnight at the farm later this year. We can visit in the greenhouse and give you an up close look at the design / operation. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
No it isn't James. The black wall, 8" concrete, is there to absorb the daylight sun and radiate it back into the growing space. The battery below ground level is a separate aspect to the design. The battery is 7' thick / deep over the entire expanse of the floor with 3" round rock aggregate and 1000' of French drain piping which the air flows through. Thanks. Come see us!
It's really more about your roof's depth than angle. You would work with your latitude and figure the sun's angle at thee 2 equinoxes and 2 solstices. You would want to ensure that from spring equinox to fall equinox, you are starting to minimize sun penetration into the space as you get closer to summer solstice. Contact me on our website, and I'll send you a pic of our sketch up as too this point.
Jason, just depends on the week to week winter season. It is 26 outside now with temps in single digits tonight. I suspect it will be fine without the backup this early into the season. MT is typically cold with sunny skies. Those sunny skies will be all we need to radiate heat into the space. Keep ya posted!
ABC acres- interesting, thanks for the reply. One day I'd like to build something similar up here in Alaska. We have very short days in the winter. So maybe I'll just have to attach a sauna to it, and a rocket mass heater. I really like you guy's channel, it's great to see people doing permaculture in the north. Very inspiring thanks a lot.
Jay, Thanks for the comment and reaching out. We would gladly provide any details we can about our own structure to aid in your pursuits. We took a few design elements from 'Ott Kim Conservatory' (th-cam.com/video/xrNsn9-wN1s/w-d-xo.html), as well as the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute (crmpi.org/). Let me know how we might be able to help moving forward. All the best, Tim
I am hoping to create a grant application for a community greenhouse and they ask for a "business plan". Any research documents or costing or designs etc would be fantastic! TIA. Much appreciated
What is your guys main goal with improving the plot of land your on? Do you sell the food you grow? You forecast to grow? I ask since the greenhouse isnt growing much at least yet maybe?
Hillside, We have started to develop a profit center off of meat sales (pork and beef), egg sales, and seasonal delights (turkey as well as canned fruit / veg). The Greenhouse is sorely under-utilized. We will be inside this week as we ramp up seed starts for the annual beds. I am hoping to develop a zone 9 tropical plant list to plant it out for some unique edible options and much fuller appearance. All in due time, right?
You guys should do a yearly update video on the greenhouse. Would love to hear the good, bad, and future plans going forward!
Great idea, we'll put it on the books.
Do you mind sharing with us the approximate cost of this greenhouse? If you built it yourself, great, but how much did the materials cost and how much time would you say it took you to build it? Thanks.
Adam, we had a local GC construct our Greenhouse Building. Our build is unique, as it is a Greenhouse, Potting shed (on the north side) and below ground Cold Storage (under Potting Shed) in one... so three building spaces in one. The majority of our materials that went into the GH build was; concrete and rebar, 1000'+ of 4" french drain pipe, translucent panels, 2 x ceiling fans, 2 x framed side walls and framed ceiling, main ceiling fan, concrete pavers for flooring, clean 2" aggregate for climate battery fill, main ceiling mounted exhaust unit, one infrared heat on back concrete wall, two corner air fans in plastic 50 gallon drums (part of climate batters operation), misc electrical and plumbing, subsurface air in-take piping for non-mechanical cooling, and more I am certain. If you can create your space, and understand square & cubic footages, then that will get you on the path for creating a material list with costs. Does this give you some tools to work with moving forward? Thanks for the interest.
Yes it does, thank you. BTW, do you ever take visitors on your farm? My wife is currently interviewing for pharmacy residency programs throughout Idaho, Montana, and Eastern Washington. She has 2 interviews in Missoula and I know you guys are close to Missoula.
Yes we do, and you would be welcome. We are one hour south of Missoula, in Hamilton, MT. Check out our website at abcacres.com Perhaps you will take up a nights stay as part of our Farm Stay offerings, giving you ample time to tour the farm. All the best!
Good to hear...might have to swing by late summer when we tour Idaho.
Wish you could expand on your climate battery. Show a drawing of how it is designed. Show your fan system. What is that blue thing? The climate battery output. Talk is ok but would really benefit from ya all showing us what your talking about.
We'll try to put something together for you but there's not a lot to look at.
I just bought some property just east of Georgetown lake, this is exactly what I need, unless you just want to deliver ha!
Alpine,
I went ice-fishing on Georgetown Lake some years ago. Small tent, propane heater, Budweiser beer, and a few fish to boot. That's a beautiful spot over into the Big Hole. If you have time in your schedule, you should plan an overnight at the farm later this year. We can visit in the greenhouse and give you an up close look at the design / operation. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
Is the Black on the north wall part pushing heat into your underground battery? How deep is your battery? I'm in Northern Alberta.
No it isn't James. The black wall, 8" concrete, is there to absorb the daylight sun and radiate it back into the growing space. The battery below ground level is a separate aspect to the design. The battery is 7' thick / deep over the entire expanse of the floor with 3" round rock aggregate and 1000' of French drain piping which the air flows through. Thanks. Come see us!
just talk. Camera should have moved and shown. show something.
Thanks for the feedback, this was out 7th episode, we think we've learned a bit since then.
How do you calculate the angle of your roof to maximize the sun in the winter, but not too hot in the summer?
It's really more about your roof's depth than angle. You would work with your latitude and figure the sun's angle at thee 2 equinoxes and 2 solstices. You would want to ensure that from spring equinox to fall equinox, you are starting to minimize sun penetration into the space as you get closer to summer solstice. Contact me on our website, and I'll send you a pic of our sketch up as too this point.
Sweet greenhouse! How often did you need to run the backup heater? I'd love to see an update for this winter.
Jason, just depends on the week to week winter season. It is 26 outside now with temps in single digits tonight. I suspect it will be fine without the backup this early into the season. MT is typically cold with sunny skies. Those sunny skies will be all we need to radiate heat into the space. Keep ya posted!
ABC acres- interesting, thanks for the reply. One day I'd like to build something similar up here in Alaska. We have very short days in the winter. So maybe I'll just have to attach a sauna to it, and a rocket mass heater. I really like you guy's channel, it's great to see people doing permaculture in the north. Very inspiring thanks a lot.
Really inspiring! Do you have an open-source design available with costings? I'm exploring creating a community greenhouse here in the UK.
Jay, Thanks for the comment and reaching out. We would gladly provide any details we can about our own structure to aid in your pursuits. We took a few design elements from 'Ott Kim Conservatory' (th-cam.com/video/xrNsn9-wN1s/w-d-xo.html), as well as the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute (crmpi.org/). Let me know how we might be able to help moving forward. All the best, Tim
I am hoping to create a grant application for a community greenhouse and they ask for a "business plan". Any research documents or costing or designs etc would be fantastic! TIA. Much appreciated
It looks fantastic. How do you avoid condensation?
There's enough air exchange combined with an arid climate that it hasn't been an issue.
Probably condenses into the geothermal battery.
What is your guys main goal with improving the plot of land your on? Do you sell the food you grow? You forecast to grow? I ask since the greenhouse isnt growing much at least yet maybe?
Hillside,
We have started to develop a profit center off of meat sales (pork and beef), egg sales, and seasonal delights (turkey as well as canned fruit / veg). The Greenhouse is sorely under-utilized. We will be inside this week as we ramp up seed starts for the annual beds. I am hoping to develop a zone 9 tropical plant list to plant it out for some unique edible options and much fuller appearance. All in due time, right?
Did you guys design this or is there a permaculture architect that knows all this?
We incorporated design elements from multiple greenhouses that functioned the way we desired.
This is one of the best passive heating greenhouse design videos I have seen. Thank you.
I like your Greenhouse.
Thanks Laurie, we're pretty fond of it ourselves!