Heather,
I wish I had had some ambition when I was your age, I have seen some of the earth bag construction and
it look labor intensive. But when your young you have lots of time and the muscles.
.
I like to point
underground or bermed green house builders toward this great example, although you want
much smaller. And i know cost is an issue, but notice they mention building this with patio door windows
they bought for $10 each. The builder also uses a cold frame in front of the patio windows of his greenhouse,
maybe it works good for insulation area. That site has other
solar designs also.
Bermed Green House
Dale Hodgins is a big contributor here at permies, he also into tearing down old houses. If you do a search
of his name, or frugal living, there will be a ton of posts by him and others.
.
I was thinking you
should contact a few/all of the
local subcontractors that do home improvements in your area.
Anybody that replaces windows, if you have a Lowes or Home Depot in your area, they probably could recommend
someone that does this type of work. These window replacement types will probably be glad to give some young
person all the free windows they want, it saves them hauling to landfill.
.
When I was delivering a load of household items to Goodwill, I noticed several contractors dropping off loads of
windows. I can't imagine Goodwill selling this stuff, but they might, it is more likely the contractor was dropping
off items they could get a tax savings on. You may check with thrift stores in your area for similar items.
I am a big fan of "oneyardrevolution" on YouTube, he grows his fruit and veggies in a small area, he has
videos on how he composts perfect growing soil for free. Strictly organic, his growing area is probably similar
to yours, he's in Chicago. The greenhoop house he has, has cold frames inside it to keep winter's frost and freezing
temperatures at bay.