Stevensville MT Greenhouse HELP

Hi all looking at building a year round greenhouse on my 5 acers here in the bitterroot Valley. Looking to build a 30x12. Would love to see one up and running and get some ideas on builds for a large greenhouse. Thanks all

Hi Adam; I have a 12 x 20 year round greenhouse/ studio, in trout creek mt. apx 3 hrs n.w. of  stevensville .  Built probably 6 years ago.  First two years we burned over 10 cord easy (really closer to 15 ) last 4 years we have a RMH and we burn less than 5 cord now !  In the winter we have a fire all day till 9-10 at night then no fire all night till 6-7 am, it can be -10 outside and will be +40 inside in a plastic greenhouse with 15' roof.! This green house is more of an artist studio than greenhouse ... we grow and keep succulents not vegetables all winter. If you have a reason to travel up this way past, Thompson falls we will be happy to show off ours.

I would love to come see it this winter some time i will let you know for shure when i get some free time. I have so many questions are you also useing 55 gal water drums or just the RMH? What did you use for the roof with the snow we get here. What would you change if you had to do it over? Iam looking at puting the north wall undergrund and use earth bags or tires to hold the dirt back and for insulation. The south side would be open to the sun year around. Thinking about buying a lodosol m8 sawmill so i can just make the lumber i need for the framework. Let me know what you or anyone thinks my budget is about $12,000 for this project.


Thank you for the info so far.

No water barrels , just the RMH and lots of rock and brick.  Roof and east wall are (sollex) Awesome stuff  and it even has a R value ! Also roof is a 12x12 pitch so snow doesn't stand a chance of building up. Under ground works well for your north wall.  Buying a sawmill to make your own lumber is a great idea , but a very labor intensive way to go ... large learning curve involved also... if it were me, I  would find another source of lumber... a hardware store comes to mind ...  or a small privet sawmill run by somebody else. Your going to be busy, designing and building this cool greenhouse, no time to learn how to run / fix  a sawmill as well as how to properly cut boards out of a tree. Great you have a budget to work with... most Montanans build till the money runs shy then work work work till they have more. Look forward to seeing you this winter !

Adam, I'm so glad you've had some excelling replies (with pics even!) from Thomas!

In the Bitterroot are some permaculture farm friends you might contact as well - both in Hamilton.

ABC Acres has a greenhouse - see their permies.com threads on:
ABC Acres Permaculture Farmstead Videos
Land-Use Opportunity

SweetRoot Farm has a hoop house (or two now?) - see their thread:
Permaculture-Based Wwoofing Opportunity in Hamilton