Now the fun begins: Framing!

Digging was done. The cement was mixed and poured. We were done with the ditch witch, done insulating the footer. It was finally time to move above ground. Framing the greenhouse loomed ahead of us like a walk in the park, or perhaps a walk in the garden.

We wanted part of the south facing glazing to be at 60 degrees, which is perpendicular to the sun on December 21^st, and the other part to be at 30 degrees, which is perpendicular to the sun on June 21^st. These angles are ideal for growing plants.

A beam was needed to run the length of the greenhouse at that point. This proved to be tricky to set in exactly the right place, while tying it into the garage roof. The garage roof proved to be at 20 degrees. We decided to continue that angle down to the point where the 60 degree portion connected to it.

A post was also needed halfway to support the two 11 foot 2x10 beams. This post would end up being in the front raised bed, so we made the bottom portion a cement column that would not rot over time.

The beam was finally set at the exact right distance from the garage, so that the angle of the garage roof tied perfectly to it, as darkness fell onto our project. It was a good feeling of a job well done.

The Sill Plate

The sill plate is the means to connect the wooden framing to the cement stem wall. Place J bolts about every two feet in the cement at the top of the stem wall while it is still wet. After the cement dries attach a redwood or a treated 2x8 or 2x6 to the stem wall, depending on the size of the studs on your walls, with appropriate nuts and washers. We used a 2x8 green board since we have 2x6 redwood walls.

The Stem Wall

We chose not to use foam forms for creating the stemwall, both because of price and because having foam on both sides of the concrete negated it's mass inside the greenhouse. Instead, we rented plywood forms to pour the cement into, which we removed after the cement hardened. We then placed 1 1/2 " rigid insulation around the exterior.
We also chose to have the stemwall extend six inches above the planned 2 1/2 ft planting beds. Since ground level in the greenhouse was even with the bottom of the 7" footer, the stemwall ended up being 29" high. It is 8" thick. We ran 2- half inch horizontal pieces of rebar inside the wall attached to the 1/2 " uprights that were embedded in the footer, this is according to code. Aferward, we found that we liked the feel of standing 2 ft. below ground level in the greenhouse with the substantial stemwall surrounding us.

Naming Our Business

We have been fervently attempting to come up the the perfect business name that conveys what we want it to, yet is somewhat original and resonates with both of us.
What do you think of "Two Dorks and a Shovel?"

Underneath it All

Traditional greenhouses can overheat when the sun is out and freeze in it's absence. Typically, electrical or gas heating and cooling systems are installed to counteract adverse conditions. Our goal is a passive solar greenhouse, meaning it is "off the grid".
Our subterranean heating and cooling system uses the ground of the greenhouse as mass and a solar operated fan to help moderate the temperatures by pushing air slowly through the 4" perforated pipes. This system has the added benefit of keeping the roots of the plants warm and moist because it runs under the planting beds.


This is the Plenum, home-made made from a used hard plastic drum. It is a separate space compartment for air circulation. (heating, ventilation, cooling). The fan goes inside here.

Compost to the Rescue!

Plants in aged compost (left) Newly started compost is cooking (right)

So this is what you might call a "duh" moment. A while back I ran out of room to plant the rest of the tomato and pepper plants that I had started from seed back in the day. Worse, they have been residing in undersized containers. So today as I was checking in on the status of my compost which has been cooking for two years now and is about done, it occured to me that since it is just....there, waiting for the greenhouse to finish, why don't I plant the plants in it. Eureka. I will report back in a couple of weeks as to their condition.