The plans for our greenhouse came from the Missisippi State University Extension. On their web site were sketches of several different greenhouse designs. Then we wrote off for the complete plans for the one we liked -- there was no cost!. They sent us two huge drawings, quite professionally done. Click HERE to view the plans available.

The plans were for a 23' x 48' greenhouse. The greenhouse was built to cover most of the long side of our mobile home -- thus helping to keep it warm during the day in Winter and protect it from the wind and cold at night. Here is a rough sketch of the greenhouse, long side facing to the south of course:

Costs of Building the Greenhouse:

• Foundation: concrete work for footer and stem wall - $1200
• Walls and roof panels: 8 mm twin-skin polycarbonate sheets, trim,
  and shipping costs - $2500
• Wood for framing and roof, 2-6' patio doors, nails, and straps - $1950
• Paint (and primer) for all wood - $170
• Additional lumber and paint - $550
• Extra 8' sliding glass door for south facing wall - $330
• Labor: 60 hours @ $20/hr - $1200
• North Facing Roof Section (5/8" plywood sheets and rolled roofing) - $700
  
  Total: $8,600 ($7 per square foot)
  
  

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NECESSARY MODIFICATIONS TO THE PLANS: It was necessary to modify the plans we received to include a conventional concrete foundation (12" x 12" x 18" footer and stem wall consisting of two courses of concrete blocks). The plans called simply for wooden posts as a foundation, fine in Mississippi, I guess, but not in the Arizona desert where every square inch of ground is alive with termites ready to have your house for dinner. The north facing section of roof is solid (5/8" CDX plywood sheets) in order to shield some of the intense summer sun. The south facing roof section is clear polycarbonate sheets except for a small solid plywood section to support the solar hot water heating unit. In the winter, the sun is low enough to shine underneath the solid north facting roof section. Plywood panels were used at each of the corners of the greenhouse to give the structure added stability, particularly in high winds which occur during the Monsoon season here.

AND AFTER ALL THAT WORK,
WAS IT WORTH IT?

The greenhouse has produced cabbage, green peppers, tomatoes (lots),
New Zealand Spinach, and several varieties of herbs so far but much more is planned once we stop spending so much time building the house AND when we get all the construction materials cleared away which are stored there awaiting their place in the new house.

Here's all that STUFF which we have been collecting and storing in the greenhouse from
garage sales, dumpsters, and demolition companies to build our house with -- a bit of an
embarassing MESS, but it has been so nice to have all that storage space when we needed it!

The greenhouse also serves as the nerve center for our whole operation since it houses the batteries, inverter, and other electronics for the solar electric system as well as the cirulating manifold and all the pumps for our radiant hot-water heating system. The solar hot water collecting unit also resides on the roof of the greenhouse above the manifold.

Recently, we have built an entire storage room out of straw bales within the greenhouse itself to house the batteries and inverter and protect them from the summer heat and cold winter nights.