March 7, 2018 The first planting is done.

The greenhouse is finished and we have begun planting.  All and all, the thing went up almost exactly as I had thought it would. The only real change was adapting the thing to compensate for the slope of the land.

It was cool today, about forty nine degrees, but inside it was a steady sixty-five for nearly the whole day. When the sun did break through the inside temperature jumped to eighty degrees. Yesterday, prior to this morning's purchase of a thermometer, I assumed it to be over eighty inside the greenhouse for most of the day.

The temperature of the air inside the structure is not so important as is the consistency of the level of heat in the soil underneath. The higher high temperatures during the day store heat in the soil, convincing plants that it is growing season. The heat hangs around for quit a bit longer into the evening, keeping the interior of the greenhouse warm, and then never goes as low as the soil outside. So the plant grows better at the beginning of the growing season. For those plants which bear fruit late into the Fall fruiting continues a longer than do plants grown outside.  December tomatoes?

This is the north side of the greenhouse.
For the time being it will be used for storage.

The east side has a larger opening for cooling and moving things.

A view from the East side.
The tables are the work area.

I spent the day planting the first flight of plants. These were mostly tomatoes and peppers, but also nasturtiums, marigolds, and chives. There is a complete replanting of the cold frame every two weeks or so and the planting will continue all through the year once we get going.

This is my invention. A sprouting table with a heating system.

Even on a cold day, this frame stays a comfy seventy-seven degrees.
The babies are safe and warm, even on the coldest days.
Under the trays is a coil of tube which circulates
warm water and keep the ambient temperature constant.