Ken builds a greenhouse

Building a greenhouse for my son was a one month task (alongside a few others projects and endeavors during our month in BC).  I don't recall green-housing construction being in the fine print when I started out on the parenting journey! 

So how did this come about?

Well, Paul is a farmer, raising vegetables to feed many people.  

He does this as his ministry with A Rocha, a Christian organization that cares about environmental issues, including food sustainability.  

He needed another greenhouse, so he enlisted his dad's help.  He knows that mom and dad come for a visit every spring and always get involved.  

A package of supplies was delivered the same day that we arrived in BC on March 18th. 

My first night I studied the 25-page instruction manual to figure out how "Johnny 's Selected Seeds" had designed a Moveable Caterpillar greenhouse.     

The next day I launched into bending 46 pipes into arches.

But, each pipe first needed to be modified by drilling holes for wheels, for J bolts and for attaching them to each other.

I used the hay wagon as my anchor for the pipe bender.

Suddenly I found that not all pipes were matching.  After a friendly phone call, a new bundle was  delivered. 

Once a pipe was bent I added the components.  The bent pipes were then assembled into hoops and set aside until the greenhouse could be put together.

 

The barn was my headquarters!

 

The garden site also needed preparation. 

 

Paul and I happened to hit a rainy day for spreading the composted manure.  I was soaked to the skin!

 

Rain or shine, I enjoyed working with my son.  He could not be around all the time because he had a lot of other things to attend to.

The greenhouse was to be on tracks so that it could move from one end of the garden to the other.  First we mounded the earth.  That was a good workout for Carolee!  Then Paul and I laid out the ground fabric.  On top of that would come a foundation of 2x4's for pipes to rest on.   

The greenhouse was designed to be 88 feet long, but the track is double that. In late fall the greenhouse gets rolled along the track to a new position.  A winter crop, (which needs to be seeded in September, before the tomatoes are finished) then gets a layer of protection to see it through the wind and frosts of a BC winter.   

The tracks themselves consist of 180 feet of 2x4s that I attached end to end.  On top of that was a  continuing track of pipes. Laying all this was a team effort.

Dave, the site director, recruited whoever was around. There are lots of people here who are very  willing and cheerful to lend a hand. 

Then we carried the first pre-assembled section of hoops onto it.

It works!!  It's beginning to look like a greenhouse!

 For Paul and me this felt like a lot of progress!

Gradually all the hoops were added and clamped into place.

Most of the pictures were taken when people were helping.  Realistically, much of the time I was working alone.  Paul helped as much as he could, taking time from his many other duties to be around to consult and help.
There was a lot of problem-solving and strategizing to do as we adapted the plan to deal with various challenges. 

Right about this time I damaged my knee while kneeling on the cement floor of the barn.   That meant walking everywhere on crutches.  Very inconvenient on a farm!  Very inconvenient in construction!  But I was determined to get the job finished.  Carolee pitched in and did a lot of work so that the greenhouse project could go on.  Many people prayed that my knee would heal.  In one week I was off the crutches!  PTL!

One day Carolee and Paul picked up Simon and Kate after school.  She and the kids collected dandelion heads and Paul dipped them in batter and deep-fried them.  That was a tasty (and healthy) treat just when I was famished. 

Finally the hoops were in place and the structure squared and anchored.  We now prepare for the greenhouse plastic to be stretched over.

The plan did not include an end wall and door.  So I came up with a plan for a scissor doorway,  using 2 -1x4s.  It worked really well. 

My sister, Connie came to help on this exciting day.  She and her husband pastor a church about an hour away from Brooksdale.  

 What a treat to spend time working, visiting and laughing together.

Refreshments are a very important part of the work!

It was time to put on the plastic, but the large roll of "poly" had gone missing!!  Somehow it got moved, but no seemed to know anything about it.  So I get up early to go and buy another roll.

Carolee missed getting a photo of the big team that stretched the plastic over the hoops.   We attached it to the ends with "wiggle wire!" 

Did it ever feel good to stand in this space!

And now for the finishing touches !  Here I am cutting off the excess length on one of the scissor doors.

It sounds like Paul might be needing another greenhouse next spring.  He and I are already planning a few modifications.   

The last step was to snug down the plastic shell by lacing nylon rope from side to side, going over the top.  

To Paul and me this looks like 88 feet of beauty! If only I could come back in July and pick some fresh tomatoes in there. 

The scissor doorway is working well! 

 

On Saturday night, April 14th the job was done - .4 weeks after getting started.  Right on schedule!  After the initial exhilaration of seeing it complete, I felt a wave of exhaustion.  I slept soundly that night and dreamt about next spring.