Principles – What is special about our greenhouse ?
TOP is intended as a model garden, with ideas others can adopt. Within our 16’x10′ aluminium frame greenhouse, which we retrieved second hand for £100, we aim to explore and provide innovative examples of Organic, Low maintenance and Permaculture practice.
- Raised Beds for Tomatoes, Peppers & Winter salads
- Automatic and semi-automatic Irrigation
- Heat stores through water storage and paved flooring
- Ventilation – a mix of purchased vents and home grown
- Communal space for meetings, working towards wheelchair access
- Potting bench including irrigation
- Space for a Fig tree and a Grape Vine
Greenhouse full of tomatoes Sep 08
Diary of Progress
Apr 2002
- After considerable delay, the greenhouse is up !
- Water collected from greenhouse and feeding tanks – see water storage project page
- Raised bed constructed and first early salad crop eaten- greek cress, rocket, lettuce & radishes
- Potting bench in place, including the kitchen sink !
- Paving area including socket holes for seed rack
- Fig tree planted
June 2002
- Purchased and installed additional automatic vents
- Completed irrigation – Urinal cistern to automate flow
- Benches and pipework for 2 baths
- Organise overflow out of greenhouse
July 2002
- Planted a Vine – summer shading and autumn vintage
- Irrigation system working well, but header tank not big enough
High level cisterns for flushing pebble bed
2009 update
- The irrigation system has proved excellent, with tomatoes automatically watered approximately 3 times per 24 hour period.
- After a slow start, the grape vine now fills the greenhouse, and in 2008 we had a lot of small sweet grapes – too good for wine.
- a hydroponic system, constructed from refrigerator shelves and webbing suspends tomatoes and peppers above one of the baths. Again a great success in 2008.
- the greenhouse proves a popular meeting place for eating and socialising in the winter months
No Responses to “ Greenhouse ”