Trying Again… growing in the Great White North, eh?

I have had wonderful results in my tarp covered greenhouse… in the Spring and Summer.  😝

But I’ve gotten greedy.  I want more.  🤣

We have spent the last couple of days felling the trees which cast shade on the south facing hill I’d like to build into.  We are mostly swamp in and around the house (cored wood) so building up in behind seems like the best option in terms of keeping the greenhouse at a handy distance.  Currently we are thinking we are going to have a double panelled plexi or greenhouse plastic wall with a solid wood roof and the back side built into the hill.  I’m hoping that will give us some serious insulation.  Then it’s a matter of figuring out how to maintain a baseline growable temp year round.  Thinking about incorporating a bee house too (but I tend to have big ideas without the foundational knowledge to actually work out all the deets).  So I’m here, tell me what to do!  I’m in your hands, ready to be a sponge and soak up all the knowledge and lived experience you are willing to share.

Thank you!

I think you will want a Montana Masonry Heater  (aka) RMH.
Depending on how big your building is, you might want an 8"batchbox.
Do you have power available?  
Having supplemental lights would help keep your sprouts from getting too leggy.

Good advice from Thomas above.

Double walled polycarbonate is the go-to for greenhouses around here. It comes in many thicknesses -- much more than you'll see in the kit greenhouses. It's not cheap but it lasts.

If you stick with poly, it's possible to go double-wall or to have small greenhouses within a larger structure.

Situating your greenhouse will be critical (as you likely know). The online calculators for solar panels could be a useful design tool, since they will tell you the exact point of sunrise/sunset for your location, as well as the maximum sun angle, for every day of the year.

In all cases, the ability to roll down some sort of insulating cover at night will make a huge difference. It's pretty labour intensive though. I also recall a video from Paul and Uncle Mud where insulating the foundation well below grade made a big overall difference -- interrupting heat flow into the infinite heat sink of cold Earth.

thomas rubino wrote:I think you will want a Montana Masonry Heater  (aka) RMH.
Depending on how big your building is, you might want an 8"batchbox.
Do you have power available?  
Having supplemental lights would help keep your sprouts from getting too leggy.

Awesome!  That gives me some more things to dig into.  It’s hard to know where to start looking when you don’t have a baseline to start from.  😆

We are off grid, on solar.  I’d rather not run solar to the greenhouse if it can be avoided, but I’m aware it may be something I need to look at.

It's also worth considering what you can grow in the reduced winter light. It won't be tomatoes and peppers, no matter how warm your greenhouse is.

Offhand, I think a lot of leafy greens would produce. You could probably coax peas to grow (let them establish and then harvest new growth for greens; don't expect pea pods). Carrots might come too, if you can get them to germinate. All of these will be slow growing compared to summer.

I suppose you could also grow edible "weeds" like dandelion and chickweed to add to your greens.

Hey Td;
Give your greenhouse its own solar panels and a lithium battery.
You really will want supplemental lighting.