New Seed Starting House

With my south facing deck on the house attracting plenty of sunshine, I decided to gather up the a lot of reclaimed lumber, glass, and some store bought 2x4's and built a greenhouse under the deck to start seeds and for some passive solar gain on a 8 inch concrete wall.

The project started as usual with my good friend Tony and his wiliness to help me dig out a few dozen wheelbarrows of dirt. I then measured out my glass panels that various folks have giving me from other remodel jobs and planned out the pattern between the 10 foot span of deck post.

For the roof, I used left over pond liner on the above deck and covered it with outdoor carpet. It works really well. Down below, with the low angle of the winter sun, the concrete wall will serve as a thermal mass for heat gain.

Once all materials were in place I used a gravel floor and built steps and added a nice glass door that I had already on the property. Total cost was less than $75.

The largest expense was the grow lights, seed flats, vents, fan, heating mat, and thermostat which raised the total price to a whoping $200! I didn't have a single one of these items floating around the farm.

I plant 300 butterfly nectar and host plants tomorrow to add to the on farm experience.