DIY Greenhouses?

[LoudmouthMormon]

Does anyone have any experience building your own greenhouse? Do you have any experience doing it despite being not the most mechanically inclined or good at building things?

My wife and I are going to give it a try. She's pretty sold on this guy (http://www.lostcreek.net/home.html) - he sells a bender that work with standard chain link top rails you buy at Home Depot or Loes or whatnot.

We're thinking a 20' X 30-40' greenhouse. It would probably fit nicely between our front yard and riding arena.

How do you heat yours?

LM

[Soldierboy]

Does anyone have any experience building your own greenhouse? Do you have any experience doing it despite being not the most mechanically inclined or good at building things?
...How do you heat yours?
LM
Well, we have a couple of greenhouses. The first one was typical "stick-built" (framed walls like a house), and maybe 10x20. We then covered it top and sides with the translucent fiberglass roofing sheets you often see on patios or to let light into barns. We typically don't have a heating problem, as the greenhouse is built off the side of a heated shop building, and we use row cover material over the plants if it looks like it's going to be cold at night. Other folks we know use barrels of water painted black in the greenhouse, to soak up heat in the sun and stay warm at night. At our altitude (6500'), growing season is short, and the greenhouse helps us extend it on either end by maybe a month or so.

Our new greenhouse is a 24' geodesic dome, built of aluminum struts and covered with a tough translucent material I think they call "dragon hide" or something like that. It's made by "Turtle-Tuff" from Orem, identical to their tents of that name, except for the covering. We just put that one up, so look forward to working with it and figuring out the best ways to use it. Boy, it gets plenty warm inside if there is any sun at all. Probably our biggest problem will be to moderate the heat in there, with covering tarps or circulating fans.

We use raised beds in 12" high boxes in both greenhouses, following the "square-foot gardening" ideas. Got a great result from that approach the past couple of years.