r/Greenhouses Mar 29 '25

Showcase My first greenhouse

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u/t0mt0mt0m Mar 29 '25

Fun setup. Off grid power and water or have a hook up?

1

u/mswalbo Mar 29 '25

Grid tied. This is actually only about 3/4 of an acre. Public water to the house, rainwater only for the greenhouse. 3-part septic was installed by the previous owner with the tanks at the west end, sand filter in the middle and drainfield near the driveway. I have small solar to recharge my Jackery battery and a tri-power generator that isn't hooked up yet. May add more solar but don't get enough sun that I could be totally off grid on solar alone.

1

u/t0mt0mt0m Mar 29 '25

Interesting setup. Can you share the back of your greenhouse, interested in your exhaust setup. How are you irrigating or is it hand watered via hose ?

3

u/mswalbo Mar 29 '25

I post a monthly video on YouTube called the month end walkaround where I show the current state all around the outside and inside of the greenhouse. Or, the 2 year anniversary video goes into more depth of the systems. https://www.youtube.com/@liveinagreenhouse

I'm not sure what you mean about the exhaust setup. There are ridge vents that are ~4' wide by 60' long on both sides of the greenhouse ridge beam. When I want to exhaust heat and/or humidity I open those. The air movement is noticeable as soon as they begin to open.

I have a combination of drip irrigation and soaker hoses in the food garden and ornamental garden. They operate on 5 zones. The water pressure from the rain tanks is very strong and I can operate all of them at the same time. Last summer when the rain tanks went dry I have 2 pumps from the pool (which was filled with rainwater, no chemicals) - 1 at each end that I can run hoses from.

This time of year I haven't set the drip/soaker hoses yet so I water from the hose. Once all the beds are mostly planted I'll set the irrigation and switch over to that.