Greenhouse
In the fall of 2006 we built a small greenhouse. It measures 8 ft x 22ft. We made tables that sat on six 55 gal plastic drums that we painted black for heat storage. The first winter we monitored the temperature and noticed that the inside temperature never went lower that 10 degrees above the outside. We added a small electric heater that kept it 15 degrees above the outside at night. The only real problem was the electricity momentarily flickers at times when it storms or some drunk logger cuts a tree down and hits the powerline. (This happens more than you think.) So the electric heater resets and shuts off. This was a bad thing when a person that lives on the side of a mountain has to walk out to the greenhouse in the cold at 2:00 am. This year we added 3 more water drums and it now stays 15 degrees above the outside at night. We are now able to over winter potted herbs, flowers and other plants to sell next spring at the market and from the farm. We plan to build a much larger greenhouse this fall.
