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To: nw_arizona_granny
Even if your main light comes from the east, you will still grow a lot of food in it....The west is too hot and they always say to use the southern facing greenhouse walls, and that gets hot too.

I will have to see what works. We have several microclimates around the house. The east backs up to a hill and receives almost no sun due to the hill, a couple of big California white oaks, and the house-length porch on the east side. There is moss growing on the wall between the hill and the driveway, even though the temperatures here get to 110 degrees!

The south side of the house is indeed sunny all day long and very hot. We have a cooler attached to the house there, too. I'd like to see what I can get to grow through the winter, and in the summer open the walls and have a roof that I can put shade cloth over. With 110 degrees we don't need more heat over there, LOL!

The north side of the house is a possibility too, since there is some flat land over there. If I can get some plants established in planters of a size that lets them grow but still can be moved, then I can wheel them around to different locations and see what works best. Or start the same plant and try it in simultaneous locations and see which one survives.

It will be interesting and I assume we'll learn a lot. I'd like to try melons and cucumbers, and some squash. And onions and garlic, and maybe some potatoes. And tomatoes, too. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas!

I have the second half of the thread saved into a big file now, and am going through it as we speak. It's hard slogging through all of the stuff that's posted because it's about 10,000 pages total. An encyclopedia!!

7,613 posted on 12/03/2008 5:39:57 PM PST by TenthAmendmentChampion (Join us on the best FR thread, 7000+ posts: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990507/posts)
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To: TenthAmendmentChampion

The south side of the house is indeed sunny all day long and very hot. We have a cooler attached to the house there, too. I’d like to see what I can get to grow through the winter, and in the summer open the walls and have a roof that I can put shade cloth over. With 110 degrees we don’t need more heat over there, LOL!<<<

I wouldn’t worry about flat ground, make ledges to hold your plants if it is steep enough.

I have seen photos of large hillside greenhouses, going downhill, as long as you keep it as high as possible, 8’ at least.

Don’t bother with the cute little 6x9 foot greenhouses, as they are instantly hot or cold.

Keep in mind the bigger the better.

You will figure it out, sometimes a little shelter, not sealed will work.

In the summer, a couple of old sheets, will block the heat nicely and even stay wet, for a few minutes on the hot wall and ceiling.

What fun you will have figuring and testing your setup.


7,620 posted on 12/03/2008 7:01:17 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990507/posts?page=7451 [Survival,food,garden,crafts,and more)
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