Welcome Dan Chiras, Author of The Chinese Greenhouse!

Welcome Dan.  

RevPhil fig grower, pollinator, grafter

Hello

How would a solar storage greenhouse benefit me here in Central Oklahoma with a fairly long growing season already?

Thank you!  I live in a semi-urban cohousing community, (29 homes w 70 some people). Our garden team is (finally!!) considering building a greenhouse. I’m super inspired by what I’m learning here, building two hugel beds this month in community garden. Thank you Paul! and thank you Dan for joining us this week! I haven’t seen your book yet, looking forward.  We currently have a space that’s approximately 12x10 for a greenhouse. Excited! Thank you! - Dara

My dream is to have a greenhouse some day & I am not usually very lucky in contests so where can I buy the book?  Thanks for your enlightening information!

Christina Pearson wrote:I don't mean to cast a pall over the week with Dan Chiras, but I have a beef with him. I ordered the Chinese Greenhouse in October of 2019, my cc has been charged, and I have yet to receive it. His web footprint is an out-of-date dead-end and I've been unable to effectively contact him. I really WANT that book!!!  

My deepest apologies. I never received your order from PayPal. That happens from time to time and it’s always embarrassing.

Didn’t you file for a refund?

I will be more than happy to send you a copy once we get this issue resolved

Rik Shay wrote:Welcome Dan.  

Hi!

Rev. Phil Snow wrote:RevPhil fig grower, pollinator, grafter

Hello

Hello Phil

Teri Standiford wrote:My dream is to have a greenhouse some day & I am not usually very lucky in contests so where can I buy the book?  Thanks for your enlightening information!

The book can be purchased at Barnes and Noble online or thru my publisher (New Society Publisher)  via their website.

Or if you want send me a check for $35 and I’ll send you a signed copy. I’ll pay the postage. I’m at 3038 Pin Oak Road, Getsld, Mo 63037

William Grotts wrote:How would a solar storage greenhouse benefit me here in Central Oklahoma with a fairly long growing season already?

Hi William,

Good question. If you want to grow all winter long, say starting in late fall through the winter and early spring, the Chinese greenhouse is ideal for you. It will allow you to grow a wide assortment of cold-weather vegetables and numerous warm weather vegetables without supplemental heat.

If you want peppers and tomatoes in December January February and March, the Chinese greenhouse is the way to go.

You will have to be very careful when you design the structure so it doesn’t overheat in the summer. That’s a huge challenge that I’ve been wrestling with for four years.

Dan Chiras wrote:

Christina Pearson wrote:I don't mean to cast a pall over the week with Dan Chiras, but I have a beef with him. I ordered the Chinese Greenhouse in October of 2019, my cc has been charged, and I have yet to receive it. His web footprint is an out-of-date dead-end and I've been unable to effectively contact him. I really WANT that book!!!  

My deepest apologies. I never received your order from PayPal. That happens from time to time and it’s always embarrassing.

Didn’t you file for a refund?

I will be more than happy to send you a copy once we get this issue resolved

Please Text or call me at 636-303-9884

Dwight Perry wrote:We are not far from the Montana border in Alberta. I was very interested in the  China green house a long time ago, only a few thousand acres then, and was shocked by the growth of the concept in that country. I want to visit with you folks when it is possible again.
Sincerely
Dwight Perry

Dwight, we’d love to give you a tour when things are safe. You can text me at 636-303-9884 in the future you set up a time to come visit us.

dara knerr wrote:Thank you!  I live in a semi-urban cohousing community, (29 homes w 70 some people). Our garden team is (finally!!) considering building a greenhouse. I’m super inspired by what I’m learning here, building two hugel beds this month in community garden. Thank you Paul! and thank you Dan for joining us this week! I haven’t seen your book yet, looking forward.  We currently have a space that’s approximately 12x10 for a greenhouse. Excited! Thank you! - Dara

Hi Dara,

You’ll love having a greenhouse is part of your growing operations. I do have to say however that a 10 x 12’ space is pretty tiny.

Hi Dan,
Looks like an interesting book.  I am starting to design a passive solar greenhouse and was wondering if you have any experience using air tubes under the greenhouse to store the heat and remove moisture?  Or is it more efficient to use a water wall on the north side of the greenhouse?

G'day Dan, and welcome.

When we (and by "we" I *really* mean *I* ) learned my husband, and therefore our kids, had Chinese heritage through tracing his family tree, I started getting around for ready to consume, family friendly material to share with them, so they could learn - practically - about their heritage.

Of the resources we still refer to, is the YouTube channel "Miriam in China", a Swedish woman who moved to China for educational exchange, feel in love, was married, and now lives with her husband and his family (and their child/ren) in rural Qinghai. A series of videos they did recently was about their garden, which heavily featured a "Chinese greenhouse"!

I'll be looking forward to hearing more about the specific pros and cons, and whether the design (or in fact certain elements) would be suitable for use in Australia verses other designs!

I wonder how a Chinese greenhouse compares to a passive solar greenhouse or wofati greenhouse?  I'm in Alaska, zone 4, one of these kinds of greenhouses is in my future.

I'm at 8500 ft in the Rockies. After a mini tornado ate my new Amazon greenhouse this spring, the chipmunks ate everything else.  I'm really serious about a sturdy greenhouse that will help me grow with a longer than 2 month season.

I moved to SC from MN  when I retired.    This is my 2nd year gardening in SC.   I would greatly appreciate suggestions and opinions on the best simple, inexpensive way to cover 5' x 10'  raised beds?   Because of the size,  I need to be able to have access from the sides as well as the ends.     Any ideas?  

Welcome, Mr. Chiras! Perfect timing since I'm just making plans to build a greenhouse. Your book seems interesting.

Lisa Rokosky wrote:I have Dan Chiras' "High-Performance, Off-Grid Chinese Greenhouses" (2016, spiral-bound) book. How does this differ from this new book?

Hi Lisa,

Good question.

As you may recall, I published the Chinese Greenhouse on my own in 2017. I wanted to get the info out very quickly. As I learned more about it and gained more experience, I revised it two times so the book in 2019 was in its third edition.

When my Chinese greenhouse was completed and I had four years of growing experience, I decided to take the book to my publisher New Society publishers to create a real professional four color edition.

I ended up re-writing the entire book. I added tons of new information. I rewrote sections I thought were confusing. I updated statistics and included a lot of my experience both building and growing in the greenhouse. I re-organized chapters.  I added new drawings, improved almost all the drawings that were in the book. I also added a ton of new photographs. And I fixed some mistakes.

So it’s a new book.

Since you already purchased a copy of the spiral bound version why don’t you contact me via text at 6363039884 and I’ll get you a sizable discount on the book, assuming you want one?

Greg Salloum wrote:Hi Dan,
Looks like an interesting book.  I am starting to design a passive solar greenhouse and was wondering if you have any experience using air tubes under the greenhouse to store the heat and remove moisture?  Or is it more efficient to use a water wall on the north side of the greenhouse?

Hi Greg,

I installed heat pipes in the floor of my greenhouse which has a gravel floor. I installed a DC fan that I use to pump excess heat that builds up near the ceiling during the day on cold sunny days  in the  floor rather than venting the heat out of the greenhouse. This way I store heat underground and the heat then migrates end of the greenhouse at night keeping it much warmer throughout the late fall, winter snd spring.

I write about long-term and short-term heat banking strategies in my Chinese Greenhouse book which you may find interesting.

There are a lot of ways to store heat and even add additional heat for example from solar hot air collectors. It’s really a fascinating way to improve the performance of a Chinese greenhouse or any greenhouse for that matter.

Vashti Wood wrote:G'day Dan, and welcome.

When we (and by "we" I *really* mean *I* ) learned my husband, and therefore our kids, had Chinese heritage through tracing his family tree, I started getting around for ready to consume, family friendly material to share with them, so they could learn - practically - about their heritage.

Of the resources we still refer to, is the YouTube channel "Miriam in China", a Swedish woman who moved to China for educational exchange, feel in love, was married, and now lives with her husband and his family (and their child/ren) in rural Qinghai. A series of videos they did recently was about their garden, which heavily featured a "Chinese greenhouse"!

I'll be looking forward to hearing more about the specific pros and cons, and whether the design (or in fact certain elements) would be suitable for use in Australia verses other designs!

Hi Vashti,

I’ll look up the YouTube videos you mentioned. Thanks. They sound very interesting,

If you live in a cooler climate in Australia, the Chinese Greenhouse could be very helpful. What are your winters like?

Jason Bibee wrote:I wonder how a Chinese greenhouse compares to a passive solar greenhouse or wofati greenhouse?  I'm in Alaska, zone 4, one of these kinds of greenhouses is in my future.

Hi Jason,

The Chinese Greenhouse is one kind of passive solar Greenhouse. It is designed however to eliminate the need for back up heating which is commonly required in many of the so-called passive solar greenhouses. In my new book, I show ways that you can improve the performance of a Chinese greenhouse or any greenhouse even more using only solar energy and techniques of long-term and short-term heat storage.  

If you decide to build a passive solar Greenhouse of any kind, these techniques will be very helpful.

I hope this helps a little bit.

Oh, that sounds interesting !
I live in Greece and was sad to realize my land is too high (and gets too cold) to have agrumes... I guess I'll spend a lot of time on this part of the forul this week, can't wait to learn more Welcome !

Rebecca Gray wrote:I'm at 8500 ft in the Rockies. After a mini tornado ate my new Amazon greenhouse this spring, the chipmunks ate everything else.  I'm really serious about a sturdy greenhouse that will help me grow with a longer than 2 month season.

Hi Rebecca, so sorry to hear about your greenhouse. I grew in the foothills of the Rockies for many years though I didn’t install a Chinese greenhouse until I moved in Missouri. I think it would’ve worked very very well in Evergreen Colorado where I lived for so many years. It’s so dang sunny there
Because  a Chinese greenhouse is earth sheltered,  it might be more resistant to wind storms.

I can remember some little mini tornadoes sweeping down the face of my house in Evergreen, throwing rocks at the windows. My boys and I would duck down and let the damn thing pass. I don’t know what creates them.

Jeanne Sc wrote: I moved to SC from MN  when I retired.    This is my 2nd year gardening in SC.   I would greatly appreciate suggestions and opinions on the best simple, inexpensive way to cover 5' x 10'  raised beds?   Because of the size,  I need to be able to have access from the sides as well as the ends.     Any ideas?  

Hi Jeanne,

I place half inch PVC pipe over my grow beds and drape plastic over them. Best plastic I’ve use this poly reinforced polyethylene. It comes with a 10 year warranty and is quite resistant to ultraviolet light.

I secure the PVC pipes over the beds by slipping them over 18 inch long rebar hammered into the ground. This has worked very well for me in Colorado and Missouri allowing me to start earlier and continue gardening much longer.  In fact, we’re still harvesting strawberries from our strawberry patch which is in a raised bed garden covered by poly reinforce polyethylene.

M Wilcox wrote:Welcome, Mr. Chiras! Perfect timing since I'm just making plans to build a greenhouse. Your book seems interesting.

Thanks Mr. Wilcox. If there’s anything I can do to help you let me know.

Ilektra Kou wrote:Oh, that sounds interesting !
I live in Greece and was sad to realize my land is too high (and gets too cold) to have agrumes... I guess I'll spend a lot of time on this part of the forul this week, can't wait to learn more Welcome !

Thanks! So good to meet you.

If the area you live in is cold but sunny during the off-season, that is late fall, winter, and early spring, Chinese greenhouse  could be the perfect solution allowing  you to grow warm-weather and cold-weather vegetables year-round and especially during this colder times of the year.

Sena Kassim wrote:Welcome Dan. Your book sounds like a delightful read.
Thank yoy

Thanks Sena

John Devitt wrote:Welcome.
Is it better to go east-west or north-south with a greenhouse?

Hi John,

If you want to grow year round in a greenhouse I highly recommend an easy-west orientation.

danny doud wrote:Welcome, I am soon to build a greenhouse like this attached to my shop. I want to learn the best way to heat in mild zone 7 winters to support the current aquaponics system I will be building around. I am thinking of the buried pipe and black water filled barrels.

Thanks for putting out info to help us, Danny

Hi Danny,

I’d strongly consider incorporating thermal mass in the north-facing wall and floor and a short-term heat banking system (climate battery) under the floor to store excess heat generated on sunny winter days. Be sure to insulate the greenhouse at night. There’s a lot more to it but the idea is to build an air tight, highly insulated, highly massed structure.

I explain the various measures you can take to build an above ground Chinese greenhouse.

Hope this helps!

Dan

Lisa Rokosky wrote:I have Dan Chiras' "High-Performance, Off-Grid Chinese Greenhouses" (2016, spiral-bound) book. How does this differ from this new book?

Hi Lisa,

The book you purchased was self published. I published it so I could get the information out as quickly as possible. Since then I’ve built a Chinese greenhouse and have operated it through three winters. I’m just starting season 4.

This has given me a lot more experience and knowledge about the greenhouse.

With all this new information, I entirely rewrote my self-published book and updated figures, facts, and virtually all the information. I rearranged a lot of materials, cleared up some fuzzy sections, added mew photos and drawings. I basically did a complete rewrite on the book to make it more informative and to include all the new information I’ve gained.

Since you’ve purchased a previous edition I’d be happy to sell you one of the newest editions at a substantial discount. If you are interested, text me at 636-303-9884

Welcome Dan Chiras, Author of The Chinese Greenhouse! Can't wait to learn what exactly a Chinese Greenhouse is. I haven't heard of this before.

Welcome!

Welcome Dan...have worked in many production greenhouses and have been in some earth sheltered.  Could you explain banking of heat?  And give an example of blankets you would use in a below .32 degree temp?  

Thanks
J

Welcome Dan!  Thanks for joining us!  Look forward to the discussion.

Welcome. Looks like an informative book.

Welcome!  Your book sounds very interesting.  

We are looking to build a greenhouse on our farm/homestead in Oklahoma for at least season extension and early starts.  I would love to be able to grow all winter long, but I have not yet found a good, while still affordable, solution to heat the greenhouse threw the winter.  I am looking at options with Rocket Mass Heaters and ground tubes, and several other things, but I haven't yet decided "THIS is the solution that I want to build"

Thanks,

Jimmy

Welcome I look forward to learning something new about Chinese Greenhouses, and how to use them.