Nina Jay

Thank you so much, Leila and Ed!

I really appreciate your thoughtful suggestions.

I think I'm kinda done with panels... I've struggled so much with them. They seem to fly about in every storm, no matter what I try to use to secure them. And they are quite brittle, at least the ones I have. Maybe there are better quality versions available that I do not know about.

I already have some left-over greenhouse film so I think I'm going to go with that and possibly buy some more, if necessary. Attaching it to the structure is my next worry...  

As Ed mentioned, the vertical wall is okay and it is not that critical in terms of light intensity. The barn wall (not shown) blocks the sun on this side anyway.

But how to attach the plastic to the frame....?

I am not that worried about heat escaping this structure.
As I use composting manure for heating, I am more concerned with proper ventilation: the water vapour and the initial volatile nitrous compounds before I get the C:N ratio correct and the composting really takes off.
And for really cold nights, I sometimes use fleece to cover the seedlings if they are already planted. If not, I just carry them to the barn for the night.

Hello Miles! Thank you for the questions.
I guess first and foremost I'm trying to figure what would be the sensible plan here.


This greenhouse is reasonably good shape otherwise. The part (half) of the roof that one sees in the picture is the one in need of urgent repairs. One panel is beyond repair (missing = I threw it out already).
The other roof panels visible in the picture are not in good shape either and I want to replace them with something.


[P.S. I was always the one who grew the veggies. My ex helped with potatoes and grains but the vegetable garden was mostly my job and the greenhouses too. We had two but the other greenhouse is "long gone" :-) ]

A more personal piece of info.
My ex-husband built this greenhouse, using a shop-bought structure as a basis. It had to be reinforced after the first winter. He did that too.
Now he is busy enjoying his new city life and is no longer interested in farm stuff.
We are on okay terms. But I still feel I don't want to ask for help from our mutual friends. It might not feel nice to him. The break up was last year. Time has a way of healing these things, but it is still early days in some respect.

My measurements are always rough estimates But here they are. Outer measurements of the whole greenhouse, that is.

Height (peak): 2.3 m (7.5 ft)
Length: 5.5 m ( 18 ft)
Width: 2.4 m (7.9 ft)

Okay so maybe I answer my own question or at least the first one
How to get started?
A friend of a friend dropped by and gave one helpful suggestion: attach the polyethylene greenhouse plastic to a plank first. On the ground Then try and see if you can lift it up and attach it to the structure somehow.
Tools I have & know how to use:
- screwdriver
- hammer
- the thing that shots staples and that construction workers use.
- drill (if I can change the right drill bit onto it,  that is  Always a challenge, but my kids sometimes help )
- saw (well, in theory at least and if absolutely necessary)

I am afraid to climb up and lean onto the structure (the greenhouse framework, wood, homemade)
It seems sturdy and my friend agreed that it is sturdy and should last.
However, he did NOT recommend that I lean onto it, whilst trying to staple things to it.

I am grateful for ANY and ALL suggestions, helpful hints or just words of encouragement

Please help

I am not what anyone would call "a handy-woman" and that is putting it mildly

What is broken is the part of the roof that you are looking at The other side is good, it was repaired two years ago. The original panels were replaced with greenhouse plastic film and it works alright.
I don't heat this greenhouse. There is a rocket mass heater inside but it was not that well done and it leaks. But it's okay. I just use composting manure to heat the greenhouse and occasionally some electric heating cable right under the sensitive plants.

I don't know what the best method would be. Which tools to use?  I don't think I can keep the roof vents. They are too difficult for me to repair. And they are not absolutely necessary either, as there are roof vents on the other side and they are in good condition.
This is not a very sunny spot, it is in the spring time, but once the leaves come to the tree on the south side of this greenhouse (a big oak) it sort of takes care of the over-heating problem.

r ranson wrote:One thing I want to say to people when they say "run the site my way..." is there's a reason why you like it here.  Maybe that reason is the way this site is run?

I've never found the polite way to phrase it, so I never get to say it to their face.  

One suggestion comes to my mind as a possible phrase to use... I don't know if it would help in the situations you face (probably not), but this is what I have learned after some hard lessons in the school of life so to speak and it works with so-called "normal" people:

I understand how you feel, but I don't agree

That is what I say to my teenagers.

I understand how you feel, this site really can be XYZ at times. However, this is the way we run things here. Sorry I can't do more for you, Sir/ Madam.

- could work in SOME cases?
- I must stress that (as I've also spent quite some time on other social media platforms, too!)
that there definitely are "cases" where nothing will work and there is no polite way to answer.


From what I've seen in Facebook:
Sometimes a poster can be in a personal situation (high stress, eg.) that they are not fully able to communicate to others. Their answers reflect their own state in those cases. These situations may be temporary and as the life situation eases up, the person IS once again able to communicate without any problems.
This is also my personal experience.
I too can go over-the-line and become irrational, when I'm stressed out.

I understand how you feel, but there is nothing I can do about it at this point in time.
- This is what I say to my goats, when they are "in heat" and I'm not going to take them to the buck It seems to calm them down It feels better to me, when I can say something And when I feel better, the goat senses that and she relaxes, too I think that is the secret recipe in this case

Now to the very, very over-the-line cases... when a person is clearly not normal in that moment (is going through some really serious challenges)  and is writing stuff that is basically incomprehensible ( = does not make any sense whatsoever) AND very hurtful ... "Ok" and "Thank you for understanding" are the two phrases that I have come up with that make the other one just, well, basically shut up, which is the only desirable scenario anyway, if he or she is BOTH verbally abusing others AND not making any sense.

I think there are generally two types of people (very, very broadly speaking and generalizing):
"tough-minded" and "friendly"

"Tough-minded" people can be (and often are)  friendly.
"Friendly"  people can be (and often are) tough-minded

It's a matter of how different types of people speak.

What matters to me most is what the intention behind the words is.

If the intention behind the words is good, then good things generally result, even if the writer e.g. uses the full beauty of the English language (Or Finnish, for that matter ;-D)

The difficulty of course is, that none of us are experts at guessing the intentions behind the writer's words.
We only see the words here.
No facial expressions, no voice.

The possibilities for misundestandings are: well, I think, endless really.

I have a lot of respect for the moderators and editors in this world.
Not just permies. com but of course especially here

I really like permies.com and everyone who posted on this thread.
Keep up the good conversations!
I'm here to learn from all of you guys & gals
and I  have  learned  so  much  over  the   years  from  each  and  every one  of  you

THANK YOU.

I've watched Perkins' videos on YouTube and they are excellent, too. He talks very honestly about everything, including the personal sacrifices and battles that come with trying to balance something this big with family life etc. I give all my thumbs up for Richard Perkins and Yohanna Amselem (co-owner), and the interns and the vast amount of people that a business of this size needs to thrive. I'm so glad he was able to make it thrive and I have no doubt that it has been an extremely taxing road at times too. Respect.