Has anybody built a solar gardening pod?

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Solar Gardening by Leandre Poisson. We're just finishing up the pod and look forward to some extended (winter) gardening. Has anybody had experience with their American Intensive Gardening System? Tx.

-- have q's? (answers@heresometimes.com), March 15, 1999

Answers

Please adcise the size and cost of your project.

Thanks,

-- Watchful (seethesea@msn.com), March 15, 1999.


Not cheap. The big expense is for the fiberglass: $500 shipped for a 5' X 50 roll. With that you can built two 4' X 8' pods and three solar cones. Check out the book. It all makes total sense.

-- have q's (answer@heresometimes.com), March 15, 1999.

Solar gardening ..... hmmm.... I'd have never thought of that title...

Mr. K

Got greenhouses for solar gardening?

-- Mr. K (laughing@irony.com), March 15, 1999.


Yes, I now see the irony ;). Sorta like organic produce and meat. Seriously, the theory behind solar gardening is the ability to start the garden much earlier (March) and continue gardening much later (Jan/Feb/March). You cannot nec. do that in a greenhouse bec. of the loss of heat, unless you use electricity to heat the greenhouse.

-- have q's (answer@here.com), March 15, 1999.

I don't know what your term "solar gardening" means. However, I bought some row covers out of spun polyester from Ken-Bar (800-336- 8882) - 50' x 15' for $26.25. It will give several degrees of frost protection which is what I'll need to extend my growing season for central Texas. It's pretty tough stuff & will last for several seasons if I'm careful with it. Also check out Gardener's Supply at www.gardeners.com for row covers and clips to make cloches (little row cover green houses) by using 3/4" PVC hoops for structure. Their spun polyester row cover is around $20.00 for 12'X50', but is lighter weight stuff .

-- mostly lurking (mostly lurking@podunk.texas), March 15, 1999.


Greenhouses can be heated by using woodstove heat sources, carefully planned of course. We have ours mounted outside of the structure with a directive heat flue that allows heat to enter the greenhouse with no threat of fire. Overheating is controlled by venting or opening doors. A commercial grower we know of has a greenhouse large enough for the woodstove unit to be inside the structure. Growing all year long.

Our structure is 18X24 and cost $800.00 using panels (not plastic sheeting). Wood frame. Mr. K

-- Mr. K (planting@will.com), March 15, 1999.


Solar Gardening is a decent book-but when I wrote away for prices on their plastic I was appalled. It's stout stuff no doubt but 500 bucks for that size piece? You'd get alot more for your money getting a piece of woven reinforced poly[Northern Greenhouse sales,Neche,ND handle it among others]. Expect to pay about a quarter/sq ft-the stuff is amazingly tough,hail proof will last at least five years- probably a good deal longer depending on the intensity of your sun. I really think that walk in unheated tunnel houses are where it's at, Eliot Coleman's 4 Season Gardening is quite inspiring and he just uses uv treated[but not woven]poly. Of course if normal shipping channels are disrupted for years,the heavier duty the better. But still I'd rather put $400 into two 20 by 50 pieces of the reinforced stuff and then buy 1000 running ft of thin 5 ft wide vent row cover[poly} for $100 or so{Peaceful Valley Gardening,Grass Valley,Ca has it} and be way ahead of the game for potential productivity. Alot of Poisson's techniques make sense,but IMHO that's just too much for fifty ft of row cover. Happy growing-howie

-- howie (dryfarmer@hotmail.com), March 15, 1999.

For a cheap, durable, insulating, transparent material try koroplast AKA Tenplast. It is like plastic cardboard and is easily cut and bent. Usually used for signs, or greenhouses.

. Brian

-- Brian (imager@ampsc.com), March 16, 1999.


Borrow or buy yourselves a book on Permaculture (Permanent, sustainable agriculture). The best reference work is probably Permaculture: A Designers Manual, by Bill Mollison (Tagari Publications, NSW, Australia). It contains heaps of information on solar glasshouses, and much more. I believe Permaculture is the only way to go; the authors have collected ideas that work from all over the world in every culture, and they show the cheapest and simplest way of accomplishing them all.

-- David Harvey (vk2dmh@hotmail.com), March 16, 1999.

DId yOu know tHAt dIETER CAmE to eaRTH IN A POD?????? diEtER WAS HAppY WHEn hIs ASsigNED huMaN FeLL ASLeeP At THE KeYboaRd!!!!!! IDIoT!!!!

GoT COffEE????

-- Dieter (questions@toask.com), March 16, 1999.



Brian,

"For a cheap, durable, insulating, transparent material try koroplast AKA Tenplast. It is like plastic cardboard and is easily cut and bent. Usually used for signs, or greenhouses. "

Where do you purchase or find koroplast and what is the approximate cost?

Thanks

-- Cary Mc from Tx (Caretha@compuserve.com), March 16, 1999.


One source for this corrogated plastic stuff is Farm Wholesale Greenhouses, a subsidiary(?) of Plas-Tech Inc. ( 1-800-825-1925). They can put you in touch with a dealer in your area if nothing else. The retail price is .70/sq.ft. for an uncut roll 8'X250'. I haven't bought any, I'm just looking at their info to maybe become a dealer for their greenhouses.

-- mostly lurking (mostly lurking@podunk.texas), March 16, 1999.

I just noticed that they also sell this corrogated plastic for greenhouses cut to any length for .77 per sq.ft. (1-800-825-1925, Farm Wholesale Greenhouses).

-- mostly lurking (mostly lurking@podunk.texas), March 16, 1999.

Hey, they gotta website! www.farmwholesale.com

-- mostly lurking (mostly lurking@podunk.texas), March 16, 1999.

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