I have wondered about tomatoes in the greenhouse and am anxious to try that. I could really be ecstatic with a greenhouse to walk into from the house. I would probably be found there anytime I wasn’t in the kitchen or sleeping. And don’t think I haven’t thought of sleeping in my lawn chair in the greenhouse already!!!<<<
Here there have been several greenhouses built for tomatoes and one was growing enough to sell to the local stores, it was about 20 x 40 foot.
When you get your land, will you build on it?
If so, have them grade out your greenhouse, so that it is about 3 or 4 foot under ground and then build over the hole, it worked well for Don, we were building ours at the same time and it seemed his was under better temp control than mine, without any heaters or coolers, other that water barrels and going out with the water hose to wet down the walk ways.
If you have lots of rocks, make rock walls and you will have your passive heat storage built in.
When my Grandmother was about 75, I took her to her first rock shop, we had been out to lunch and I needed supplies for lapidary work, so stopped.
Granny picked up every rock in the shop and looked at it, and kept saying over and over “all those years of taking the rocks out of the fields and I never knew they looked like this inside.
I fell in loved with a slab of dyed lace agate, that had crystal pockets in it and bought it to make jewelry with.
When we got in the car, Granny handed me $10. to pay for it, a rare gift, from a woman who thought that I had too many harebrained ideas and had fussed about my wasting time looking for rocks and Granny had very little money to pass out.
The broach and earrings went to my daughter, when she got old enough to be a grandmother, but I have a small piece still and would buy it again today.
I will have lots of rocks. Probably not any as pretty as you and your grandmother found. But, I will be learning to build rock structures for my garden. :-)
We aren't looking to build. Just trying to find an old farmhouse someplace that we can afford. The mortgage people are limiting us to 5 acres unless we come up with a huge down payment so we're trying to keep it about there. Grading of the greenhouse space is a possibility though. The guy around here likes to do that sort of "guy things" to help me out. He'd like the idea of making it less dependant on a heater.
I am also hoping that I can get a large rainwater storage system set up. You know, what we used to call a cistern. LOL... now they're rainwater storage tanks. When I switched from tap water to rain water the change in my plants was phenomenal. I'd always let the tap water set for a few days to "get the chlorine out." But, that doesn't hold a candle to rainwater!