Thursday, February 26, 2009

greenhouse: following the sun

It has been a quiet winter in the backyard. However, I've noticed that the winter sun shines primarily on the original plot and much less on the raised bed. That leads me to believe that as the sun changes position in the sky from winter to summer, the sunny part of the garden shifts from the original plot to the raised bed. To maximize the sunshine, I am now considering building a small greenhouse on the original plot. That way, I can grow seeds in a warmer environment where the sun is currently shining, and then as the sun shifts, I can transplant the starts into the raised bed. I mocked up a design for a hoop house using PVC piping.

Here are a few models I've been referencing:

http://westsidegardener.com/howto/hoophouse.html

http://www.laspilitas.com/garden/howto/greenhouse.html