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The Earth Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book by Mike Oehler, 2007. The author writes, "my secret is that on the south wall of the greenhouse I dig a pit down eight feet and build a walkway up four or five feet where I can walk and bend over the growing beds to work on the plants. The pit allows cold winter air to flow downward to be heated by the earth rather than lying on the plants. On flat land I'd sink my north wall and all the grow areas about four foot deep and pile the earth up on the north side leaving at least a foot of north wall exposed for ventilation "windows" that can be opened as needed. I'd put some rigid foam insulation over that mound of earth on the north and a layer of polyethylene to keep it dry and some inches of earth to protect the poly from the sun. That north mound will serve as a heat sink then, to radiate heat back into the greenhouse at night." Mike is the author of the classic book The Fifty Dollar and Up Underground House Book so he has a lot of experience with underground and earth-sheltered construction. |
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Home Solar Gardening by John H. Pierce, 1992. In his clear and easy-to-follow text, author John Pierce shows how, by using the heat and light of the sun, you can grow beautiful flowers, high-quality produce, fresh herbs, and plants for use in homemade beauty care products. Learn how to build and maintain an attached or freestanding solar greenhouse, how to adapt a pre-fabricated conventional greenhouse or toolshed for solar growing, and how to construct a solar sun pit. Interesting alternatives for gardeners who don't have room for a solar greenhouse include solar frames, boxes, cloches, and crop shelters; balcony and rooftop solar gardens; and window gardens.
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The Passive Solar Energy Book: A Complete Guide to Passive Solar Home, Greenhouse and Building Design by Edward Mazria, 1979. Even though this book would seem to be dated by its publication date, I still consider it to be one of the best all-round guides to passive solar design, whether for home or greenhouse or both. I often refer to my tattered copy of this book when I want to know what the experts think.
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The Random House Book of Indoor and Greenhouse Plants by Roger Phillips, 1997. Random House has compiled a unique photographic guide to subtropical plants that can grow indoors, in greenhouses, or even outdoors in frost-free climes. There are excellent color photos of 1,100 plants, complete with the necessary details of history, characteristics, and cultivation. Covering magnolias, passion flowers, hibiscus, and figs, citrus plants, peas, bougainvilleas, and more, this gardening reference is beautifully executed and exceedingly well done. With details on the history, characteristics and cultivation of each plant, Indoor and Greenhouse Plants is an essential addition to the popular Random House garden series by Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix.
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The Indoor Plant Bible : The Essential Guide to Choosing and Caring for Indoor, Greenhouse, and Patio Plants by Dorte Nissen, 2005. Indoor gardeners who open this comprehensive guide will discover imaginative ways to transform any home's interior into a bountiful Eden. The author shares her foolproof indoor gardening secrets and offers tips on providing optimum growing conditions for a wide variety of plants. She opens with advice on what to look for when choosing and buying indoor plants. Readers are then instructed on how to determine the best location for each plant within the house, with attention to such factors as light and temperature. They will find extensive information on pots and potting, pruning, fertilizing, plant propagation, and feeding and watering requirements for each variety. Profiled in these pages is a wide range of house plants, including colorful geraniums and cineraria, ambient ferns and palms, and the more exotic orchids and cacti. The Indoor Plant Bible is beautifully illustrated with more than 400 color photos.
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Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening by Maria Rodale, Pauline Pears, 2005.
Whether an experienced gardener is looking to go organic or a beginner wants to create a healthy, eco-friendly garden, the Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening contains the tips and techniques needed to produce beautiful flowers, top-quality herbs, and appetizing, wholesome fruits and vegetables. Explore the latest methods for cultivation without chemicals, discover the benefits of composting, and learn how to maintain an organic garden year-round.
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Indoor Gardening the Organic Way: How to Create a Natural and Sustaining Environment for Your Houseplants by Julie Bawden Davis, 2007.
Gardening organically outdoors is prevalent in most horticultural circles today, but what about gardening indoors? Indoor Gardening the Organic Way is a definitive guide to growing houseplants organically. From the dirt on mulch to eco-friendly ways to handle plant pests, Davis has provided this essential resource for novice and experienced gardeners alike.
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Greenhouse Gardener's Companion: Growing Food and Flowers in Your Greenhouse or Sunspace by Shane Smith, 1998. Through lively writing that balances wit with commonsense advice, Smith draws on his more than 20 years' experience to cover everything you need to know to establish a charming and productive greenhouse. This edition includes detailed information on greenhouse construction, heating options, interior design, pest and disease control, the latest greenhouse gadgets, from glazing materials, to fans and vents, to misters and watering devices. There are many illustrations, photos, charts, and appendixes listing garden associations; suppliers (with website addresses); climate information; helpful references, and more.
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Natural Enemies Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Biological Pest Control by Mary Louise Flint, et al, 1999. This book is the best-ever practical guide to the identification and biology of beneficial organisms that control pests. Growers, pest control advisers, landscape professionals, home gardeners, pest management teachers and students, and anyone fascinated by natural enemies and their prey will want this book to find, identify, and use natural enemies to control pests in almost any agricultural crop, garden, or landscape. The Natural Enemies Handbook is superbly illustrated with 180 high-quality color photographs and 140 expertly rendered drawings, showing hundreds of predators, parasites, and pathogens that attack pest insects, mites, nematodes, plant pathogens, and weeds. The handy Quick Guide allows readers to locate natural enemies that they are likely to find on almost any crop or in the garden and landscape. They can then go to the main text for clear, detailed information.
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Black & Decker Complete Guide to Porches & Patio Rooms: Sunrooms, Patio Enclosures, Breezeways & Screened Porches by Phil Schmidt, 2009. This book offers design advice and easy-to-follow, concise instructions for adding living spaces that bring the indoors and outdoors together in delightful ways. In addition to offering hundreds of inspirational ideas, the book provides thorough plans and photo directions for six versatile, flexible architectural projects. For the 500,000 homeowners now building sunrooms each year, this book explores the most popular functions and then offers step-by-step instructions to design and build those specific spaces. A sunroom can serve as a full room addition to a home, complete with protective walls, ceilings, and electrical service; can serve as an indoor garden space for green living plants; or could be put into service as a music conservatory for an elegant grand piano.
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Gardening in Your Greenhouse by Mark Freeman, 1998. Freeman gives tips on gardening year-round in greenhouses, with information on selecting equipment, preparing the soil, watering, regulating heat and light, starting seeds, fighting pests, transplanting, and hardening off--all presented in a lively, down-to-earth manner. Helpful hints on growing vegetables and herbs, flowering and nonflowering houseplants, and flowers that can be harvested in quantity. Mark Freeman, author of Building Your Own Greenhouse and The Solar Home lives in East Greenwich, New York, in a solar home he designed and built. He gardens in an attached greenhouse, which he also designed and built.
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From Seed To Bloom
by Eileen Powell, 1995
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Greenhouses
by Fiona Gilsenan, 2001
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PLANS
Sunworks Greenhouse Paul Shippee, Designer
 This attached solar greenhouse is designed for the Rocky Mountain (8,000 Degree Day) climate. It provides about 100,000 BTUs per day to help heat the house, as well as the 300 sq. ft. of floor space for growing plants. It is a 2X6 wood frame structure with a large glass facade (210 sq. ft.) aimed at the winter sun. The glass is insulated at night by a Beadwall system to help maintain minimum air temperatures of 55F degrees.
A small fan moves hot air out of the greenhouse and into the main house delivering heat and humidity on clear winter days. The fan is necessary to prevent temperatures in the greenhouse from climbing over 90F at mid-day. Barrels of water stacked two high along the north wall for thermal storage rise about 15F degrees on a sunny day. They store heat for night time use, preventing daytime overheating.
 Glass is tilted 58 degrees to the horizontal to gain maximum solar aperture at this site. It has to be shaded by exterior curtains is the summer. The 350 cfm fan brings heat in winter to the house, dropping 15F before it returns to the greenhouse through an existing door. Summer ventilation is by roof ventilator and by cross-breeze through doors.
For more information about this plan, and many others, visit our sister site www.dreamgreenhomes.com, where you will find a wide range of plans for sustainable homes, greenhouses, small buildings, garages, and food storage space for sale. Dream Green Homes is a consortium of outstanding architects and designers, who have pooled their talent and expertise for your benefit. |
