A Passive Solar Greenhouse - In the Alaska Garden with Heidi Rader

In this video, Emily Garrity, owner of Twitter Creek Gardens in Homer, Alaska gives us a tour of her passive solar greenhouse and describes what she uses it for.
For more information:
www.twittercreekgardens.com
Additional resources:
Solar Design Manual
cespubs.uaf.edu/index.php/down...
Passive Solar Heating: An Energy Factsheet
cespubs.uaf.edu/index.php/down...
Greenhouses for Homeowners and Gardeners
cespubs.uaf.edu/order-publicat...
Greenhouses for Home Gardeners in Alaska
cespubs.uaf.edu/index.php/down...
Controlling the Greenhouse Environment
cespubs.uaf.edu/index.php/down...

[@noyoureahooker]

Please consider using black paint to coat surfaces that the sun shines on within your greenhouse. The color black absorbs and retains far more energy from the sun in the form of heat than any other color. Black stones and black water containers are particularly good at holding heat. Love the greenhouse, excellent work!

[@ceciliapreziose3783]

and our roads should be a cream cement in color

[@yepnope2195]

This is tough in the summer time when solar gain excessive. Have contemplated the same myself. You need a magical material that gets darker as ambient air cools and turns dead white when it is hot.

[@noyoureahooker]

@@yepnope2195 One method my friend used in his partially-sub-terrain greenhouse to counter the issue of excessive radiant heat capture in summertime is a secondary water tank. One tank is painted matte black, the other gloss white. They are emptied and their positions switched twice per year to help maintain favorable temperatures. The gloss white tank is actually difficult to look at in full sun it's so effective at reflecting the light back at the plants, while the three-coating-thick matte black painted water tank is excellent at capturing and retaining heat. They are using high intensity discharge lamps as supplemental lighting which effectively heat the tank even on fully overcast winter days, which helps retain a lot of heat through the evening. With about ten inches of air insulating the greenhouse between the external and internal vapor barriers, we've been able to grow year round here in Western Canada.

[@noyoureahooker]

@@yepnope2195 I suppose using 'panda poly' white / black mylar would be a method to attempt if you were in a situation that did not allow for a second reservoir, but I don't think the heat transfer would be anywhere as efficient without direct contact to the plastic. Could you paint one side black and one side white and rotate it 180%? Maybe it could even sit on a wheeled dolly so it could be rotated when full?

[@yepnope2195]

@@noyoureahooker Hah duh, paint your 55 gal barrels two colors. They're not too bad to spin with a little practice. Dollies, while expensive make this a no-brainer, esp if you are stacking. The couple of barrels in my micro-greenhouse are actually stainless atm. I've left them nude atm in the name of conductivity, but yeah I donno. Kinda making it up as I go.

[@heatherkarow8399]

That’s an awesome greenhouse! Kudos to you!

[@oby-1607]

A very well thought out greenhouse. Good job.

[@OnCall24Seven]

Thank you so much for a video which gets straight to the point without "fluff chatter" and "annoying background music" that drowns out the speaker!!!!! Well done video! And I learned a thing or two!!!

[@greglewis2398]

Thank you for making this video!

[@Growyourheirlooms]

Smart planning in designing this greenhouse. Very nice

[@NSAJ33]

Thanks greetings from TX!

[@abundantYOUniverse]

Very good thanks!

[@gardeningwithnanay]

What an awesome investment to have such a greenhouse here in cold climate!

[@supersneakusa4492]

Just some food for thought lol ... we're trying to incorporate everything into one, as in we grow crops, raise quail & have a worm bin going. between the quail & worms, they are processing most of our organic waste, the quail manure goes into the worms, we get beautiful castings & tea. Just getting ready to put the plastic back on our green house, gonna bring all that in around the aquaponics table, hopefully the plan is the system will also produce heat for me .... planning on getting some chickens going to. I think that is why farmers of the past had their house about their livestock .... free heat ! I could see rabbits working well as their manure can be used immediately for fertilizer.

[@mimib6253]

Love it

[@Mulberrysmile]

Doorways need a “cold trap”. Think of when you open a fridge or freezer...the cold air is denser...it spills out like a waterfall. It is known that depressions and hills create “microclimates” outside. The greenhouse in this video is certainly doing the same thing! The door and stairs are creating excellent cold air spillage down to the floor level of the greenhouse. The air is pooling there and reducing the warmth of the grow beds and their soil. A “cold trap” would be an enclosed foyer at a level LOWER than the entry into the greenhouse. The coldest air is thus “trapped” in the foyer instead of being allowed to spill right down the inner greenhouse stairs. It thus modifies the “microclimate” in the greenhouse by reducing loss of heat. The concrete walls, I noticed, do not have insulation, which is another heat sink for the greenhouse. That will help cooling a bit in the summer, but it does not aid warming in the winter. All the concrete should have closed cell insulation with black bags or drums to hold water. They are not using the space effectively, either. Rotating tower gardens would make MUCH better use of the vertical space available. For a place that gets as cold as Alaska does, I would certainly build a rocket mass heater. The gas chamber can go over 1000 degrees F, and the bench holds temperature overnight. The extreme heat of the gasification chamber could be used to passively drive a radiator system to heat water stored in drums. The greenhouse is really nice...I hope they take some measure to improve it!

[@brucea550]

Excellent points. They may have an umbrella system and are using surrounding earth as a heat sink. Otherwise it might make sense to insulate the concrete, but what a waste of mass. Probably insulated on the outside.

[@brucea550]

The real problem here is not heating the greenhouse as much as lack of sunlight in the winter. Nothing grows without light.

[@jayecurry1369]

Seems very well designed. That it works in Alaska is impressive.

[@anthonysinclair5721]

Now THAT'S a greenhouse! ; )

[@mapofthesoultagme7143]

I live in Calgary, Canada and we have a greenhouse attached to our house on two sides. It is not heated and my parents think I can't grow enough stuff to make adjustments like these worth it, sadly

[@darthvader5300]

Two layers of pre-measured and pre-cut and pre-chemically strenghtened glass that are flexible when very thin and can be folded like a ribbon (mid-1960s technology that all greenhouse owners should know, they are also used to make flexible glass springs!) but this time it will be thick (or glass ceramic panes). 2 layers of pre-measured and pre-cut and pre-chemically strenghtened glass (or glass ceramic panes) were used with a pre-measured and pre-cut silicone rubber interlayer in between them and bonded together with a dissolved silicone resin plastic. Neither extreme heat or extreme cold will past through the silicone rubber. This will be your outer layer greenhouse glass which will be bolted and glued air-tight and water-tight with the same dissolved silicone resin plastic. The second inner layer with be a single layer of pre-measured and pre-cut and pre-chemically strenghtened glass (or glass ceramic) that will be bolted and sealed with the same dissolved silicone resin plastic. Them the high-strenght military grade metal frame of the greenhouse on the outside and inside will be ELECTROSTATICALLY SPRAYED with a mixture of pre-dissolved silicone rubber-resin plastic coating to prevent heat and cold transmission from the outside to the inside. Then the space between the two greenhouse structures will be filled with pure carbon dioxide that will absorb and store the Sun's heat which will be gradually transmitted through the inner pre-measured and pre-cut and pre-chemically strenghtened glass panes to provide warmth for the greenhouse. In Siberia we use the 2 layers of pre-measured and pre-cut and pre-chemically strenghtened glass were used with a pre-measured and pre-cut silicone rubber interlayer in between them and bonded together with a dissolved silicone resin plastic and the high-strenght military grade metal frame of the greenhouse on the outside and inside will be ELECTROSTATICALLY SPRAYED with a mixture of pre-dissolved silicone rubber-resin plastic coating to prevent heat and cold transmission from the outside to the inside. And inside are tanks made out out pre-measured and pre-cut and pre-chemically strenghtened pyrex glass tanks (or glass ceramic tanks) or yrttia-stabilized zirconia glass fiber reinforced KAPTON plastic tanks, sealed and contains BRINE that absorbs the Sun's heat until it reaches near boiling point. The huge tanks will be able to capture store enough heat to be dissipated to keep the greenhouse safely warm for both plants and humans and animals. Other greenhouses uses the 2 layers of pre-measured and pre-cut and pre-chemically strenghtened glass (or glass ceramic panes) were used with a pre-measured and pre-cut silicone rubber interlayer in between them and bonded together with a dissolved silicone resin plastic. Neither extreme heat or extreme cold will past through the silicone rubber. But to grow also fast growing coppiced and/or pollarded willow trees or calliandra calothyrus trees for the Jean Pain Compost Method to simultaneously produce heat for heating through the winter through the compost fermentation process and produce carbon dioxide to help feed the plants (plants inhales carbon dioxide and exhales oxygen) and provide fertilizer once the compost has transformed itself into humus to be used as fertilizer. journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/methane_pain. html www.google.com/search?biw=1600&bih=757&sxsrf=ACYBGNRGXUQSzIjmaC1_yT1p-zZ8Sq3LYA%3A1572129885581&ei=Xcy0XdqMI5at0PEPyJSZ-Ao&q=jean+pain+king+of+green+gold&oq=Jea&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.35i39j0l7j0i131j0.1286847.1289501..1291798...1.2..2.78.483.7......0....1..gws-wiz.....10..0i71j35i362i39.xZv9k56UZBQ In the Siberian Arctic circle however, the greenhouses are vastly different. They use 2 layers of yrttia-stabilized zirconia glass fiber reinforced silicone rubber-silicone resin plastic panels with an interlayer of high-military grade strength stainless steel welded and interwoven silicone rubber over a greenhouse walls and roofs made out of Riveted bridge deck for flooringohiogratings.com/Content/pdfs/product/bridge_brochure.pdf .

[@brucea550]

Heat is not as big a problem as lack of sun.

[@jean-michelgauthier4804]

Whouiiiiii. Je suis le 45 000ieme visiteur. Vos videos sont toujours intéressantes. J'aime beaucoup la ferme d'Emily

[@TheYerjan1978]

Мощно!!!

[@mmincer1]

Emily Great job simple and functional, so many comments if you do this and put in a fan blah blah blah , it works thanks for sharing. I do have a few questions you said all in about 20,000, did you pour the walls your self and did you have a truck deliver the concrete or did you mix bags. I am asking because i am planning to build one of these. I would like to know also average day/ night temp without stove assistance. Thank you for the video and sharing your story wishing you the very best

[@doktormorris]

I'm not the builder of this, but they most likely had the concrete delivered. Mixing concrete is tough and stressful, and if you're gonna use a large amount of concrete (couple of cubic meters & upwards) you better make sure to have everything close at hand, multiple blenders and plenty of manpower. The added cost of having it delivered is almost always worth it. You dont have to age prematurely and you know it's of good quality

[@emilygarrity8617]

We poured the walls ourselves and had the concrete delivered. We used the long extended tube to pour the concrete from the truck and not the standard chute out of the back of the truck. We built the forms old school with plywood, J Bolts and Snap Ties instead of the modern standard of ICFs. This way I could insulate the outside of the wall and not the inside. Good question on average temps. I don’t have a clear answer for you on that one yet, but I’ll work on it! We only need the wood stove in March and occasionally in April to keep temp up for growing starts. We never use the wood stove in the summer months. The fans and louvers are on a thermostat so temp control (if too hot) is automatic. I hope that helps!

[@SkylinersYeti]

That is a well though out operation. One of the challenges I have here in Central Oregon Cascades is 2 to 4 feet of snow pack can cover much of lower part of greenhouse during winter.

[@douglascunningham6319]

You've mentioned a interesting problem. Would a slope in front of your greenhouse have eliminated your snow pack difficulty? My plans are all in my head now. But a well thought out plan will help me later. I've considered covering and using a natural slope.

[@SkylinersYeti]

@@douglascunningham6319 There are only two ways that I know how to get the snow away from the side of the greenhouse. 1. use snow blower to remove it (that is a lot of work even with a snow blower, snow sets up and gets very hard). 2. would be to set the side of the greenhouse on the edge of a retaining wall so snow would fall below ground level of the greenhouse but then you would loose the benefit of having a pit greenhouse. I have elected to not have the pit greenhouse and live with the snow. During winter months the sun is out so few hours even at 44 degrees North plants just do not grow even in heated greenhouse with out extra hours of light. No perfect greenhouse just the best compromise. I love my greenhouse even during winter months. On a sunny day it can be 80 degrees F inside and - 5 degrees F out of doors. One winter I planted a roll of grass on the floor and could have lunch and have my toes on green grass. :)

[@tomlampros7122]

Do you use any insulation on the glazing, inside the greenhouse, to retain heat overnight?

[@SkylinersYeti]

@@tomlampros7122 I use a double layer of poly with a fan to inflate the space. On lower portions of the walls I do put in semi ridged Styrofoam to reduce heat loss below snow levels. Some day I plan on new greenhouse and using ploy carbonate panels. I need to formalize the design and make the time to build it.

[@desertcathunter]

Nice set up, I would place some hardibacker or cement board between your wood boxes and the wood stove for added fire safety.

[@QuantumFengShui]

The Chinese farmers living in northeast China has been using this similar techniques for two decades

[@FyL43]

did you have any videos to share ?

[@QuantumFengShui]

@@FyL43He's using the same setup www.youtube.com/@DongCaicai

[@annielariviere5393]

The glazing angle is for glass due to the reflection aspect of glass with polycarbonate its an issue

[@0626love]

Sry, did you wanna say "with polycarbonate it is NOT an issue?

[@greglewis2398]

Wow I love to come live up there !

[@pnwgardenergal1325]

Do you get flooding inside ?

[@victoriaman117]

Emily you are a certified badass!

[@tomkelly8827]

It looks like a really nice greenhouse! Do you ever put an extra layer of plastic over the outside in winter to add a little bit of insulation there at night?

[@michaelglenning5107]

I've invented light reflecting insulating shutters for green houses. They definitely delay or prevent the need for nightime supplemental heat. Also if the sides, back roof, and back were made with aircrete it would add in the heat retention. Day time high temperatures can be sucked off the ceiling and blown through irrigation drainage tubes in the floor. Additional solar hot air heaters can feed into the floor tubes.

[@arthurnashjr1978]

If you add another layer of plastic (say 6 mil clear polyethylene) on top with some slack and put in a small sealed squirrel fan that will create a circulating air barrier. This will give you approximately 1R which may be enough to keep freezing of the stems and leaves in temperate climates. .

[@timmeier8863]

This works for them, theirs never ending if you do this or if you do that , this works for them

[@Weirdomanification]

@@timmeier8863 Well of course, but I like hearing these ideas. They have provided some value to me.

[@greglewis2398]

Hey one quick question, no problems with 🐻 s breaking in?🤔

[@emilygarrity8617]

Greg Lewis Not yet!

[@yergman]

Could you increase the temperature by adding composting materials to the floor during winter?

[@emilygarrity8617]

bronze fennel I suppose you could if you had a real active compost pile. We store compost through the winter in the greenhouse so it is ready to use for seeding long before the spring thaw. The greenhouse rarely dips below freezing year round.

[@yergman]

Do you maintain a certain level of moisture in the air?

[@arthurnashjr1978]

One way to control moisture is by installing a humidistat that will allow you to set, with controls, what percentage of moisture in the ambient air you are willing to accept. Beyond that point, your controls might be hooked up to turn on bathroom scale whisperlight fan(s) moving the air along outward until the humidity drops below your threshhold.

[@raybon7939]

thats pretty important getti g production all four seasons.

[@carlyleighb]

Is there permafrost in Homer? Just curious about how the partially below grade design works in areas of permafrost...

[@arthurnashjr1978]

Discontinuous permafrost doesn't generally reach to the end of the Kenai Peninsula. If you were going to utilize an insulated northern side of a three season greenhouse where there is discontinuous permafrost, you would most likely not place a back pony wall into a bank cut (providing there is permafrost at your site). You want to avoid a heat transfer from a foundational thermal mass into frosty soils (especially with the woodstove adding to the passive solar space heating). So you could still utilize the north facing (pony or insulated) wall but have it above grade with on a modified pad/post foundation system.

[@emilygarrity8617]

Not here, luckily!

[@francoispienaar1256]

T5

[@daleval2182]

Tell me about the buds please 😉

[@user-gu1yf4vd3j]

Пассивная теплица? А печка не в счёт?

[@falrus]

Она сказала же, что печка для подстраховки что бы не потерять урожай если солнца нет несколько дней подряд

[@andreewert1142]

Have you considered

[@swilhelm3180]

Got any links talking about this? I would this be related to WiFi in the area? If not that, what else?

[@andreewert1142]

@@swilhelm3180 grounding is tapping into the low voltage direct current in the earth crust..not related to wifi..see the video called Earthing..occurred in Alaska..a Hotel even grounds the Beds..it counters Inflammation and many other ills...free radicals cause damage..grounding provides an electron that they can combine to

[@swilhelm3180]

@@andreewert1142 I tried grounding myself in bed each night for a few nights....didn't feel different in the slightest. Use our piping system which definitely was grounded. How well I don't know. Apparently it can be measured.

[@andreewert1142]

@@swilhelm3180 Yes, take a Multimeter reading..maybe the Connection between the pipe and the Wire needs improvement ..because Grounding has been proven over time to prevent snoring...when the guy dies electrocuted on his Mat..I dunno..tweak it....if not, go lie on the Grass...lol

[@TheMountainbobcat]

are you able to keep the bears out???

[@iron-farmer]

So its a greenhouse?

[@iron-farmer]

With a woodstove. Groundbreaking news

[@chockey4288]

Would love to know more about how they keep the health of the soil in their beds. Do they till ?

[@brucea550]

This is a basic greenhouse. Would be far better with a passive heat storage system (NOT the same as passive solar) using the earth around it. Homer is a tough situation because there aren’t many sunny days, winter OR summer.

[@webguyz1]

Cost?

[@emilygarrity8617]

about 20K

[@webguyz1]

Dimensions?

[@emilygarrity8617]

18’x48’

[@josephbowles4995]

I can’t afford that setup

[@mba2ceo]

does NOT looks maxed to me

[@knuckledraggingneanderthal720]

If you use more fossil fuel and increase the level of CO2 in the atmosphere the growing season can be extended everywhere not just Alaska.

[@BigBirdy100]

There's a Facebook page with a post where they are talking about a root cellar for storing meat and me being the vegetarian, I said get a greenhouse and grow vegetables. You should have seen the laughing emojis and barking comments about it couldn't be done because it's so cold...AND how eating meat is a tradition. I said so is cannabalism. :-D I even posted an example a greenhouse in Alaska and still the naysayers. You have culture war problem there against eating vegetables. Ridiculous, a shame and ignorant people. There needs to be a statewide educational campaign. As far as Alaska is from fresh produce, Alaskans need to grow their own vegetables. It would be way easier than hunting for a meal with 4 legs....and no animal cruelty involved.