Low-Cost Greenhouse Is Easy To Set Up

Low-Cost Greenhouse Is Easy To Set Up BUILDINGS Miscellaneous 32-1-35 Dale Brown of Clinton, Ark., recently sent FARM SHOW photos of a low-cost greenhouse he put together using materials available at most building supply centers. "It's easy to set up and take down, and has a flexible frame that can be adapted to whatever I want to use it for. It works great for starting plants in the spring but can also be used for other purposes. Best of all, it didn't cost much to build," says Brown. His greenhouse measures 15 ft. wide by 20 ft. long and has a low profile - 5 ft. 8 in. high at the center - that allows it to better withstand wind. The main components are 4 mil plastic sheeting that's sold in 20-ft. wide rolls, and 1-in. dia., schedule 40 pvc pipe sold in 20-ft. lengths. He sets up the pvc frame by using a steel tamping iron to poke two rows of holes in the ground spaced 15 ft. apart, with the holes in each row spaced 2 ft. apart. He sets 2-ft. high pipe stubs into the holes at an inward angle, then sets the 20-ft. lengths of pipe into the pipe stubs so they naturally bend into an arched form. He adds lateral strut pipes from front to back along the top and one side, using plastic ties to lash them to the frame. Then he covers the entire structure with plastic, using earth or buckets of rocks to weight the sides down. "I've used these greenhouses for several winters and really like them," says Brown. "I don't have any shelves inside and basically just use them as covered gardens. Here in northern Arkansas, I'm able to grow hardy greens such as turnips and lettuce right through the winter without any additional heat whatsoever. In the spring I take the structure down and grow vegetables outdoors in the same place. It takes only a few minutes to take the structure apart. It's so light that I can pick it up by myself." The greenhouses don't cost much to build, he says. "A 20 by 100-ft. long roll of plastic sells for $70, and the 1-in. dia. 20-ft. long pipes sell for $7.50 apiece. I used eleven 20-ft. pipes on my building. My total cost including pipe stubs and lateral struts was only about $200. A comparably sized commercial greenhouse would sell for at least ten times that much." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dale Brown, 1984 Kirkendoll Road, Clinton, Ark. 72031 (ph 501 745-5914; daybrown@ Hughes.net).

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