DOG KENNEL GREENHOUSE
This is a new idea that I've been working on in my head ever since we stopped using this old chain link dog kennel. The problem was that the dog that we was trying to contain would tear her way through the chain link, making an opening to get free. After a while I decided that the dog kennel wasn't cutting it as far as containing this asshole was concerned. Now the question was what was I going to do with this dog kennel? I couldn't really sell it as it was partially damaged and I wasn't about to just give this thing away for pennies on the dollar. I figured I could use the kennel as the basis of a structure, a shed or mini workshop maybe? Well after setting up the camper trailer storage shed, there was no longer any need to build a storage shed and as far as a work shop is concerned I would need something a little bigger than a 10x10 structure. The only other thing I could think of that I could use this structure for a greenhouse.
I figured that I could build a roof framework that would go over the top of the kennel, then clad the sides and roof with clear corrugated plastic panels. Inside I would utilize hydroponic gardening along with shelves for starting seedlings. I may put a small raised bed in there as well for more "traditional" gardening. To help make the structure more versatile I planned on putting temperature controlled dampers and/or fans to move air out when it gets too hot and maybe putting grow lights in there for the winter when the sunlight may not be enough. Grow lights could even help grow the more sun hungry plants in the winter when they run all night while they get the limited daylight of the winter. As far as temperature in the winter, I could even install a small thermostatically controlled heater, nothing too serious in wattage, maybe something similar to what I used in the heated dog house I set up recently, just to take the chill out of the area.
I figured that I could build a roof framework that would go over the top of the kennel, then clad the sides and roof with clear corrugated plastic panels. Inside I would utilize hydroponic gardening along with shelves for starting seedlings. I may put a small raised bed in there as well for more "traditional" gardening. To help make the structure more versatile I planned on putting temperature controlled dampers and/or fans to move air out when it gets too hot and maybe putting grow lights in there for the winter when the sunlight may not be enough. Grow lights could even help grow the more sun hungry plants in the winter when they run all night while they get the limited daylight of the winter. As far as temperature in the winter, I could even install a small thermostatically controlled heater, nothing too serious in wattage, maybe something similar to what I used in the heated dog house I set up recently, just to take the chill out of the area.
In this first installment we set up the original cage kennel in a new spot in our yard that makes up a section of the garden. After taking a while to clear all the brush and weeds, the kennel was set up with lines matching up to those of the main house, with the intent to later on run fences that would follow the same lines as the house. We didn't want the Kennel Greenhouse at an odd angle that would make the layout look bad later on. With the kennel set up the first order of business was cladding the sides with the bulk scrap corrugated sheet metal that we had laying around. Since the purpose of a greenhouse is to allow the sun above to shine in and light up the plants, there's no need to put clear walls on the structure, so plain sheet metal would work in this instance.
With the frame established and the walls installed, the next move is to install the roof frame. The roof frame is made up from tubular pieces salvaged from an old Harbor Freight portable garage that had the skin rot away a long time ago. I had to use different fasteners to couple the ends of the tubes to the tubes of the kennel in a solid enough manner that they won't fall apart under the weight of the corrugated plastic panels we will install later on. After the roof frame was installed, I took a moment to lay down some old tarp and cover it with clay gravel in order to prevent weeds and grass from growing up through the dirt and turning the inside of the greenhouse into a bed of crappy turf.
In this phase of the greenhouse project is building the framework for the raised beds and hydroponics garden apparatus that will be set up within the greenhouse. Using scrap wood we had laying around, I was able to fabricate tables of sorts that go around the four walls, leaving a bit of a gap in front of the door so we can have free movement coming and going. The plan is to have a series of litter buckers for individual planters, along with a couple of large drums cut in half to make bulk planters. The hydroponics side will consist of a pair of large PVC pipes with holes to accommodate planter cups for small plants like spinach or lettuce while the other portion will be made up of some old PVC pipe assemblies that accommodate inverted 2 L soda bottles that contain a plant medium. A central tank consisting of a drum with a pump will pump water up to the hydroponics system and have return lines to recycle the water to the drum.
In part 4 and the video below I go into detail about the installation of the hydroponic plumbing system and what I call the double barrel hydroponic garden, due to the side by side PVC tubes. The real intent for the greenhouse hydroponic garden system is to be able to grow lettuce and other salad greens during the cooler months. Other plants like tomatoes or peppers would be more difficult to grow due to their potential to grow rather large, even in the small space of the 2L inverted bottles. Trimming large plants as these could work but yields would be small.
Since we ran out of sheet metal for the walls in the very beginning, we had to source some more surplus material in order to finish up the last wall. Once that was done, I was able to clad the chain link gate/door with metal as well in order to be able to close in the structure all the way around, save for the roof. With that, the last thing is the roof. That will consist of corrugated clear plastic panels.
The roof panels were laid out and secured with self tapping screws with washers, ensuring proper attachment. The panels had to be overlapped from the bottom up, with the upper panel overlapping the lower panel, similar to roof shingles so water runoff would run down without running into the greenhouse. The side panels were cut to fit as best as possible, being secured with self tapping screws to the framework. The joints where the panels butted together were further sealed with silicone caulk and expanding foam was used along the edges of the side panels where they met the roof to further seal the gaps between the roof and the sides. I also took a moment to add a drain pipe from the roof going down into the hydroponic drum so rain water can be caught to aid in filling up the drum. A water line was routed from the garden sprinkler system to the greenhouse, so along with the micro irrigation for the raised beds, water is routed to the greenhouse to feed the raised beds within as well as supply water to fill the drum when the irrigation system is activated. To further top things off, LED grow lights were added to the greenhouse to give the plants within extra light during the fall/winter/spring when sunlight is less due to the sun's position lower in the sky.
With the greenhouse ready for action, we will be able to extend our growing season a little further by being able to start seedlings in the early months and be able to grow cooler weather plants well into the winter, provided we do not have any hard frosts. Extras on the menu for the Dog Kennel Greenhouse will more than likely include some form of space heater to keep the internal temperatures above freezing so plants can survive even the hardest frosts we get down here, which can sometimes go into the low teens at night. Other changes may be in store based on how things function as well as my mood when it comes to improvements I feel can be made in the structure. As such, this page will be updated as changes are made for the greenhouse, which will include new videos on the channel to showcase those changes, so stay tuned.
The roof panels were laid out and secured with self tapping screws with washers, ensuring proper attachment. The panels had to be overlapped from the bottom up, with the upper panel overlapping the lower panel, similar to roof shingles so water runoff would run down without running into the greenhouse. The side panels were cut to fit as best as possible, being secured with self tapping screws to the framework. The joints where the panels butted together were further sealed with silicone caulk and expanding foam was used along the edges of the side panels where they met the roof to further seal the gaps between the roof and the sides. I also took a moment to add a drain pipe from the roof going down into the hydroponic drum so rain water can be caught to aid in filling up the drum. A water line was routed from the garden sprinkler system to the greenhouse, so along with the micro irrigation for the raised beds, water is routed to the greenhouse to feed the raised beds within as well as supply water to fill the drum when the irrigation system is activated. To further top things off, LED grow lights were added to the greenhouse to give the plants within extra light during the fall/winter/spring when sunlight is less due to the sun's position lower in the sky.
With the greenhouse ready for action, we will be able to extend our growing season a little further by being able to start seedlings in the early months and be able to grow cooler weather plants well into the winter, provided we do not have any hard frosts. Extras on the menu for the Dog Kennel Greenhouse will more than likely include some form of space heater to keep the internal temperatures above freezing so plants can survive even the hardest frosts we get down here, which can sometimes go into the low teens at night. Other changes may be in store based on how things function as well as my mood when it comes to improvements I feel can be made in the structure. As such, this page will be updated as changes are made for the greenhouse, which will include new videos on the channel to showcase those changes, so stay tuned.
