Deep Winter Greenhouse Tour - Cold Climate Passive Solar Design - Saskatchewan, Canada - 1st Tour

Arkopia's Super Insulated Deep Winter Greenhouse Tour.
We hope that you enjoy our video and that it helps you with your project. Dean (The Owner of Arkopia) is a builder by trade, and an expert on passive solar construction and highly efficient building techniques. If you would like to learn more about us, visit www.arkopia.ca. We are the inventors of the Arkopia Freeze Dried Smoothie, the best selling smoothie on amazon. As well as our outsourced products, we also will be soon offering local food and flowers to our immediate local community: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
We have received NO government grants or funding of ANY kind: This is completely funded by us. We have decided to share our project as our way of giving back, as we are very grateful to content that others have shared that helped us design our own project.
- Saskatchewan, Canada
- Zone 3 Gardening Outside, Zone 9 inside
- Latitude 53
- Last Frost: June 1-10
- First Frost: September 11-20
- Winter Solstice sun angle 14 degrees
- Summer Solstice sun angle 60 degrees
- Video was -25C outside and +28C inside at 11:00 AM, January 2022
Our greenhouse on ‪@CanadianPrepper‬ : • Grow Food in -30°| Apo...
#Greenhouse #passivesolar #deepwinter #deepwintergreenhouse #passivesolargreenhouse #saskatchewan #sask #canada #prepper #homesteading #coldclimategreenhouse #arkopia #sustainable #localfood #foodinnovation #gardening #yearroundgreenhouse

[@stevenschmidt733]

Love it! The part about health at the end is key. I wish Saskatchewan had conservatories in every city to help with mental health in the winter.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

That would be awesome.

[@diversitylove5460]

@@ArkopiaKZbin Question: I understand the water heat sinks. I understand the concrete wall heat sinks. But I was think a cheaper way to go is woodchip compost heater. This guy automated it with times water and air pumps. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWrVfImmi9dkhJI You could also extreme the Hugol culture and raise the garden bids and place wood chip compost right under the plants 🪴

[@diversitylove5460]

@@ArkopiaKZbin Also another lady put the chicken and quail coops over the compost bed. She just put new bedding down occasionally and slide them down the row

[@diversitylove5460]

@@ArkopiaKZbin so compost batteries by the concrete walll?

[@diversitylove5460]

@@ArkopiaKZbin pollination. I was thinking of keeping solitary bees and monarch butterflies to pollinate the fruit trees during winter 🥶 What do you think? Pleas post an update 💕

[@canadiangemstones7636]

The thought of a banana tree growing happily in SK makes me happy. Thanks for sharing your amazing work!!!

[@rickysens597]

Canada is now an official banana republic....

[@njneer7511]

Windows from an old school bus. Ingenious!

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

All the same size, and price was definitely right. 👍🏻

[@anchorageprepper9008]

Slick idea on repurposing the bus windows. It sounds like you have a really tight envelope 👍👍 Great use of your black water barrels for a thermal battery. Look forward to your updates. I wish you all the best with your project!

[@overlordsshadow]

I'm at 52.5 degrees new Greenwater, been looking at these things for a couple weeks intensively and couple years on and off. I think your model is excellent and will likely be mimicing it!

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Awesome. So glad to help.

[@scottallin3619]

Great video! As a market gardener and building contractor in Ontario (that also grows during the winter) I and have thought many times about a larger winter greenhouse. As you mention, Chinese style greenhouses have a large amount of glazing on the roof and are not necessarily designed for snow load or heat retention unless you utilize a blanket system in the evening. Your thought process for maximizing the sun's angle during set times of the year at your latitude is wonderful. You have provided many of us some different ideas to think about....45 degree glazing vs Chinese GH roof, different colour floor paint, pros /cons of subterranean heat sink etc...I really like the depth and open concept of your greenhouse as I find many of the Chinese style restrictive, based on design. Also the repurposing of the bus windows is a great idea.👌 I will definitely revisit your video before I build another greenhouse. Thank you for your willingness to share.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Thanks very much for that. :) I'll try to keep sharing more.

[@kylehines3185]

It would be an interesting test to spray paint the front side of one of the black barrels with non-glossy flat black to see if the sun heats the water any better than the glossy black paint that is on them.

[@virgilkirschner5717]

As you probably know by now, the sweet potatoes will thrive in your greenhouse. Thank you so much.

[@wheeltwavel]

So many positives and no negatives. Incredible man, just goes to show what hard work and ingenuity can accomplish.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

🙏✌️

[@highvibehomestead1722]

Insanely inspiring! Thank you for sharing this incredible space with us🙏🏽

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

You’re very welcome

[@d.e303-anewlowcosthomebuil7]

@@ArkopiaKZbin maybe a roll up curtain of bubble foil...i have some in my office and they work well

[@d.e303-anewlowcosthomebuil7]

inside it is

[@d.e303-anewlowcosthomebuil7]

@@ArkopiaKZbin of course, manure gives off heat

[@d.e303-anewlowcosthomebuil7]

@@ArkopiaKZbin think youll get nanas?

[@Northstar7733]

Awesome job, and greenhouse! One problem, you are going to have to supplement with lights. You can have all the heat you need, but if not enough light things will not grow good. Things will still grow, and stay alive, but the growth will be very slow, and most things wont even flower, or bulb until they get enough light. I told a Michigan hoop house grower this because he was heating his hoop house all winter, and when spring came he decided that it does not work without extra lighting. I started from seed in my heated hoop house in the beginning of march (northwest Wisconsin), and everything comes up good, and grows very, very slow, and around late April-early May is when things really start to take off. I will be supplementing light from now on. Sounds like most plants need from 10 to 14 hours of light a day. Spinach I guess needs 10 hours, and onions need at least 14 hours before they will start to bulb. Anyways AWESOME GREENHOUSE!!

[@philandhannahslittlefarm1464]

We have a passive solar on our to-do list for 2022 or 2023 so this will be a good case study for us. We are in BC Zone 4ish so if it works out for you it will definitely work here!

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Oooo BC. You got it easy then. 😂 It’ll work super good for you. 👍🏻

[@62Cristoforo]

So many builders and farmers should be beating a path to your door for tours and information of what you’ve designed/created here. This is the future

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Thanks Cris. I think it’s the future as well. ✌️

[@robertzinke7370]

What an amazing setup and hats off for building everything yourself!

[@seanleith5312]

What happened to global warming?

[@Bullfrog0302]

Great setup it's amazing

[@CIUITIS]

You are genius! I paid half a million for my 600 square foot condo in Toronto. I want to live and grow in this! 💛💥

[@BowenOrg]

THANK-YOU... MOST APPRECIATED!!! My wife and I are planning on buying property in NW Montana... and we're working on an A-Frame Cold-Climate Greenhouse with PolyCarb like you have... with our home actually INSIDE our A-Frame Greenhouse! (many examples on KZbin). We want to "test" the Compost Piles with the plastic tubing inside the pile and then circulating the hot water through the concrete floor for radiant heat... and then having a couple wood stoves as backup (for hot water in the plastic pipes in the concrete floor & heat radiated from the iron stove). We're not doing commercial.... just growing plenty of vegetables, fruit, spices, flowers etc.... and freeze-drying everything with a machine that we'll be buying! Watching all of your videos right now (thanks Canadian Prepper!!!!) and "absorbing" everything you've done! PS: wife and I drink the healthy smoothies EVERY DAY!!! : ) Amen Retired, Veteran

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Consider building a passive solar house attached to the greenhouse, not inside it. It is high humidity in a greenhouse. And compost piles the smell in a closed environment is pretty much a no-go. Had rabbits and chickens in and cleaning 2x a day the smell was still there. Watch a video I did on design, the one with me drawing. Don’t build a house inside a greenhouse, build it attached with a good vapour barrier between. ✌️

[@BowenOrg]

​@@ArkopiaKZbin CORRECTION: I shouldn't have used the word "greenhouse" when I communicated with you. "Greenhouse" implies lots and lots of plants and humidity and more of a commercial operation and that's not what we're planning. We're building an A-Frame home with polycarb windows on all sides (some clear & some frosted) and growing "some" plants for our own use. Therefore, we'll not get the high "humidity" that you're referring to, but it will be nice and warm in the winter and well ventilated in the summer. As mentioned in the last post, there is a HUGE trend of building this way in Europe (Sweden etc) and the results are incredible (lots of examples on KZbin). It's a "passive" home like you're mentioning along with some "active" designs incorporated (solar etc). If you're interested in seeing some images of the home in Sweden that we're using for a "template", please go to this website: Live Off Grid Surrounded by Sweden's Nature in the A-Frame Villa mymodernmet.com/naturvillan-off-grid-home/ Regarding the "compost piles": * They are "outside" the home and quite a few feet away from the home and "downwind" and the plastic piping is inside the compost pile (where temperatures are up to 160F) and water is pumped through the pipes underground and then through the concrete foundation for radiant heat. * The "piles" last anywhere from 12 months to 18 months and that's one heck of a lot of "free heat" to ignore, especially since we're buying and building in NW Montana where the temps get pretty cold. * There are a lot of videos on KZbin showing the setup and operation.... and as you probably know, commercial greenhouses use them also. Thanks! Mr & Mrs Bowen Retired, Veteran [e-mail]

[@mikerobertson6663]

You have me thinking now! Build a black solar collection radiator on the back wall with some truck radiators. Completely Encase the truck radiators with more bus windows to drive up the temperatures Use a radiant heater pump to circulate the water through the barrels. Plumb the barrels in series pumping the warm water into the first barrel and removing cold water from the last barrel. Then reverse the flow for heating at night. You will need a separate radiator with a fan to do the nighttime heating.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Interesting. Or even those solar water vacuum tubes, or lots of black poly pipe like a homemade pool heater; but inside the building. My thinking is making the whole greenhouse kindof like it’s own encased radiator. 👍🏻

[@0Stella]

Hello! I saw you featured on Nate's channel. I'm in Edmonton. I'm so glad you're doing this, I've been fiddling around with gardening and permaculture for a few years with varying success!

[@GSDhouse]

Canadian Prepper sent me your way. Your set up is amazing! I look forward to following your adventures

[@danielcupples3827]

Great build and can you add a biochar setup in there with those drums and create more warmth, and lots of biochar and ash for the garden. Some people cap the top of the chimney to trap gas for storing.

[@brendenmcbrier]

Really appreciate the indepth video and sharing the project with us. I'm in Vermont and this is wonderful information. Thank you!

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

So glad it was helpful. 🙏

[@clearasmud1945]

Awesome job! I would love to have something like this. I understand the cold long winter days. North Dakota experiences the wind as well as you guys. Short growing seasons forces us to think outside the box. I would definitely be adding a hot tub in there. Keep us updated on both the good and the bad as you move forward.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Will do. 🙏

[@mickraybam6012]

I’d like to combine this greenhouse with massive geothermal. Perfect greenhouse…when I win the lotto…🤓 Like this gentleman. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHXCZJKdqMympM0

[@MistyMeadowsPermacultureFarm]

Incredible! It's so nice to see a DIY Passive Solar Greenhouse in action in Zone 3 Canada. This is almost identical to my design. We're not installing an underground climate battery, either. Also, funding the project ourselves. We're fans of Arkopia, too! Cheers from Northwestern Ontario. Thanks for posting vids. Looking forward to more. :-)

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Awesome to hear. 🙏

[@MistyMeadowsPermacultureFarm]

@@ArkopiaKZbin Would you mind if I showed some clips of this video during our virtual Permaculture and Homesteading Convergence on March 5? Full credit and link, of course. If you'd have 20 mins. to participate in a Q&A that would be awesome, too. No worries, tho. I understand you're super busy.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

@@MistyMeadowsPermacultureFarm Absolutely. Share it wherever you like. For participation, it’s a maybe for the moment. ☺️ Get me more deets. ✌️

[@richardcox3713]

Good to see more people adopting passive solar greenhouses. We built several over 40 years ago at the Ark project in Prince Edward Island but included the foam insulated wet earth storage feature with heat collection at the peak of the building. We fabricated the glazing panels with steel frames and heat shrunk Tedlar film inside and out. The only electric input was two 1/3 hp fans blowing into the wet earth mass. No backup. Our other projects in greenhouses were gas fired biomass systems with Dunlop heat tubes. These were commercial facilities. Btw, we used black concrete floors in other residential projects and the floors were called Tombstones. Other projects were passive solar controls for commercial buildingsusing solar staircases. The largest was in Summerside PEI. Cheers from the original Ark Project.

[@phillipbingham1363]

Nice impressive setup. I have experience growing bananas. Most bananas plants will pretty much stop growing below 9C. As you know, the warmer it is, the faster they will grow if the soil fertility and the humidity are high enough. Slow growth is fine, but they will only flower and fruit after they have grown between 44 and 46 leaves.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Thank you for that knowledge. 🙏 🍌

[@warreng1200]

Really interesting build. I find it interesting to see your take on this concept versus Dong Jianyi in Olds, AB. Both are unique and attempting to combat our extreme northern climates.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

All great research. I really like the roll up night time blanket idea. 👍🏻

[@543BeeBop]

Thank you for a great tour. You've done an amazing project there! I enjoyed every minute. Also in zone 3, and yet to build mine (also in windy old Sask.) I don't need as large, but admire the efficiency so I'm drinking in your great ideas. I agree about the anti-depressant qualities of soil!

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Let build these things in Sask. 👊

[@alexpolidoro4126]

That is a dream Greenhouse! I garden a lot but am located in a core urban area. The way prices are going through the roof for our vegetables, this is a perfect set up to grow our own crop on a yearly basis. Wonderful to see that this can still happen in very cold climates like Canada. Well done & this is surely an inspiration to those who garden the organic way. Thanks for sharing!!!

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

🙏 thank you.

[@lwolfer5170]

I really appreciate your videos about the green house. In Alberta I've always been wary about building a greenhouse due to the hail storms. Not sure how it is in your part of Saskatchewan, but the robustness of your design is inspiring. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

[@patament4520]

Wonderful My ideal greenhouse would have my house attached, a hot tub, some evacuated tube solar thermal auxiliary heat and my favorite... a wood fired sauna with a large thermal storage mass. I look forward to hearing more about your other systems and progress

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

That all sounds so amazing. 👍🏻

[@hopechannelcat5462]

i have seen many sunken green houses, insulated green houses, but the way you have yours set up is the best, in my opinion i have ever seen. really love the depth and length and height. i would even like the dirt floor to run barefoot. great job. looking forward to more.

[@RodgerDodger196]

ABSOLUTLY INCREDIBLE MONUMENTAL UNDERTAKING THAT YOU DID THIS ALL BY YOURSELF (&Bob the Tractor) I love the Hummingbird found his way to your garden of Eden ! FANTASTIC JOB!!!!!!

[@toddratson7526]

I live in southern BC and I want to build something very similar to live and grow my own food in. Love it! Thanks for sharing.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Get it done. 👊

[@ruyan247]

Instead of the water barrels as thermal mass, I'd make or buy soft clay bricks, two or four rows stacked at the back. Black clay paint on it and you'd not only have mass, but also very good humidity control. Soft clay bricks are really easy to do yourself.

[@paulbrouyere1735]

So glad I discovered your channel, second video I watched today and again 10/10. Keep up the good work. Good idea of having your windows double polycarbonate outside and polyethylene foil inside to keep moisture out of the structure whilst insulating better at lowest cost imaginable. Would like to keep seeing updates, great ideas!

[@tanealb1429]

This is such a dream! I am in Sask as well. Thanks for posting with so much detail!

[@Acts837-49]

It's well thought out, definitely an intelligent design and well constructed!

[@Elena-mx5bs]

Impressive to say the least! You are an inspiration. I can't wait to see the completion.

[@kotori741]

I wish I could like this video more than once!

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Your too kind. 🙏

[@jennsteeves295]

Canadian Prepper sent me. Great videos ! Thanks for sharing! I’m in Ontario Canada. Can’t wait to get a greenhouse and some land ….

[@62Cristoforo]

Im in Toronto and I’m looking forward to building this sort of structure outside of the city this summer, possibly a bit north of Prince Edward County.

[@JesusSaves86AB]

Awesome greenhouse and in the zone 3 prairies of all places.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

It’s doable. 👊

[@thecanoehead]

Wow! This is my dream, growing food all winter in Canada.

[@gee3883]

I've nothing but admiration for ya dude, you deserve a medal for insulating that roof alone. Brilliant build some vertical gardening in there would be an idea. And what a massive amount of added health benefits you mention at the end, I had never considered that good luck.

[@SquirpCo]

Your craigslist game is on fleek, my man.

[@denise761]

Thanks you so much, I am going to show the video to my husband as he has plans to make a mini version. I will send you pictures

[@johanneshoogenboom]

Really good info. We live in Eastern Sask and are planning to build our own all season greenhouse. Thanks a lot.

[@overlordsshadow]

Lot's of questions left, I'll keep sifting through your videos.

[@tarawiddowson7547]

Thank you very much for this video. I have been dreaming for years about doing what you have done and it's wonderful to see a fellow Saskatchewan resident putting these concepts into practice.

[@russellwood8750]

Really nice construction really truly beautiful greenhouse. You talk about painting your concrete where the section is white you should just put in regular concrete. In the area that you want black instead of painting the concrete you could add a die to the concrete turning it whatever colour you wish but you won’t have to repaint it again and again as the paint chips off. I realize what you said about geothermal energy but I think it’s something I would’ve put in. The one thing I would’ve done different in the growing set up would’ve been to have a vertical garden tower set up this would increase massively the amount of garden area you would have within that greenhouse giving you much more options and greater yield potential.

[@vincentschuler2408]

Beauty man, loved the bit at the end, and this is exactly what I think Canada needs, massive greenhouses... Not necessarily to grow food but even just to have spaces that you can be in during the wintertime, to that end even if you can passively heat it to 5-10 degrees Celsius it would suffice to give people an indoor space to get sun and spend time without having to go a mall, if you could have some plants in it that would be great, don't think it has to be anything crazy though.

[@pammcnary2770]

In the summer you may find the water barrels don’t cool down much, keeping things hot. If you have the ability to circulate the water underground below the slab in pex loops you can perhaps cool it down. Something to think about before you pour the slab.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Hoping because it’ll all be shaded it’ll have a cooling effect. Good idea circulating underground. I’ll run a bunch of extra waterlines before I pour. 👍🏻

[@SimpleTek]

fantastic construction

[@kimwilliams722]

I don't know how helpful but I really enjoyed it

[@prlywhip]

I love your project. Working with plants and attempting to grow my own food has definitely had a positive impact on my mental and physical health.

[@earthspirit8]

I live in Maine, USA and definitely want to build one! Looking at new properties to build a passive solar house and greenhouse, want chickens too. Thank you, your videos are perfect. I have alot of research to do to make this happen!

[@patriciachippendale2022]

I have a little hot house just made it a little bit bigger it's winter here in Australia and it is working a treat love your hot house the best I have ever seen you did a great job making it

[@scottadams3544]

If your still working on the greenhouse adding things, consider a warm air ground loop (sorta geo-heating) there is an excellent KZbin video of a Nebraska retired gentleman's year around greenhouse called (greenhouse in the snow). He uses 4" corigated pipe in 100' sections $30. Buried in a trench away from the greenhouse then uses the fans he would blow on the plants to also circulate the air. It can offer cooling in the summer and a secondary (heat sink.) There are a couple good videos youll get the idea quickly and see its low cost comfort better than wood heats effort. Good luck

[@scottysscandinavia5793]

Excellent. What a guy. I always wanted to do something like this up here in the frozen wastes. Lots of people build pools in their gardens that they can use for about 5 minutes each year. I preferred the idea of building summer in my garden for the whole year. Really just to sit inside surrounded by plants. Maybe have butterflies inside too. I used to spend a lot of time in a large botanical garden greenhouse just outside Stockholm that has various climate zones. It also has a cafe, and you can sit inside amongst the plants and work. The smells are incredible. When sitting inside and breathing in the aromas you could feel the health benefits. It seemed almost that if you stayed in there you might live forever.

[@RichardAuber]

I have cleared the land for my own greenhouse build and to this moment I was planning a climate battery with tubes in the ground. I am in zone 6b in NE USA. We also have a lot of sun in winter. Now, after watching your video, I am reconsidering my design to save the cost and trouble. I have an unused wood stove I can use, and making the shop deeper with concrete pad would provide useful workspace. Thank you for all the detailed description you shared of your project--information can also be pure gold.

[@jeffaspden9416]

I came from Canadian Prepper - impressive my friend. You have done your family right.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

🙏

[@BrianProsser]

Thanks so much for the detailed tour. Looking forward to seeing the progress!

[@FloridaGirl-]

This is really brilliant! So interesting and remarkable in such a FROZEN climate!

[@paulatteberry3165]

Great job! I would love to see some earth tubes incorporated into this system.

[@Carollori]

Fantastic and inspirational. I’m in central Saskatchewan and trying to decide on the best greenhouse for me. You are closest to me of all the videos I’ve watched so most relevant. I wish I was a few decades younger to tackle it hands on. The idea of mid winter having a place to be warm and around growing plants is brilliant. Well done 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼. I returned to Sk after a couple decades in On. So glad to be back but the winter 🥶 must have been at least 6 weeks of -30’s. And so much snow!

[@ramonaklasen4486]

what a lucky family to have this great intelligence. So glad you are sharing. may your karma be reflected and your love rewarded. Today I live vicariously through you. :)

[@stephhay3691]

Absolutely amazing Jess and Dean! So impressed. It's like a tropical oasis in the ugly winter!!

[@David-pk9be]

Nic vid and well described/presented. Looking forward to the next vid once you have the concrete and water storage in

[@notarealfarm207]

Your the next province over from me and I have a greenhouse dome! Right on great greenhouse 🤓🤓💕 lots of wonderful intelligent ideas! 👍

[@firegirl441fromga6]

What a massive construction project you undertook! Congrats on your success…a great plan to secure reasonable food costs for your families needs!

[@lyndaereshan5119]

Beautiful building…and so smart! Thank you for the great inspiration!

[@chrisb4961]

Very nice greenhouse, I'm in Ontario and struggle with winter heating my greenhouse and we certainly don't get as cold as your area. I know you mentioned your not a fan of hydroponics but I have been developing a system for a couple years now that will soon be on the market. It is the most simple system to assemble and run/maintain, its classified as a low pressure aeroponics system, and will grow 2-4 times faster then soil. It would work great with your fish water:) If your ever interested in chatting let me know, I can show you the system and maybe you might want to demo it...no obligation:)

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Sounds good. Thanks for that. ✌️

[@stevencacka1799]

Dean love the greenhouse! Great design and well thought out for our Canadian climate!

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Thank you sir 🙏

[@matthouse6921]

Consider using solar thermal evacuated tubes on your back wall. Circulate water and store it in a tank inside the building. Tank size is your battery size for night time/winter. You could probably eliminate your furnace.

[@corykeeler2655]

Probably if you could use that to heat sand under the building would be more effective like polar night energy does! Great idea though.

[@happyhobbit8450]

Thank you!!! That's absolutely true about the hands in the soil & growing your own food. I want to build a greenhouse like yours!!!

[@samgreasley251]

That looks awesome! The school bus windows are a great idea.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

They work perfect. And the price was definitely right. 👍🏻

[@geomcd1979]

Thank you for the tour. You've done a great job and have put a lot of thought into this. I'm inspired to do something similar to this. Excellent!

[@cryptidcreek]

I saw your video for your new tour but I came back here first, thank you for sharing these! I am learning so much

[@firefoxkitty3]

Thank you so much for sharing. Wonderful job you guys are doing!

[@Tsuchimursu]

I'm rolling around ideas for something similar in Finland. Going to salvage windows from a modern school that's getting torn down because of mold damage.

[@harrietmartens742]

I have been researching winter greenhouses for a couple of years, that’s how I found your video. You have done a wonderful job of building yours, looking forward to seeing more video updates on additions and improvements. We are also in zone 3 in Manitoba. My husband and I are seniors and every year we grow 3 large gardens, about 3/4 acre. We are able to grow enough produce to last us all winter plus supply several community food programs with the excess, about 6,000 lbs last year. Unfortunately the cost of the geodesic dome we were originally considering and your beautiful greenhouse, even with scrounging as many of the supplies as possible, are out of our price range. Best wishes for your future success with winter growing in your wonderful greenhouse.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

That’s amazing Harriet. Thanks for all of your hard work contributing to your community.✌️

[@byronnelson7967]

We have built a lot of different still greenhouses. This is the best design I have ever seen. Way to go!!!

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Thanks for that 🙏. I put a lot of thought into this one. Glad I’m helpful. 👍🏻

[@mishkybishky]

I just learned so much from you. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@hubertwebb9869]

Awesome job dude, you've been gittener done.👍👍👍👍👍

[@gregjones8882]

Genius and diligent. Rare combo.

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

🙏

[@nathannychyporuk1189]

Love this! Thank you so much for sharing. My small family and I are planning to move from BC to south AB in the next few years and I've been searching for different passive setups. I really appreciate your comments contrasting the climate battery with insulation and especially touching on where you focused your dollars on.

[@joyaku1826]

Great job u done by yourself well done 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 your research paid off

[@nikokorhonen1339]

This was really helpfull! Ive been dreaming to make a greenhouse that could keep my avocados (and other tropical plants I would like to grow) alive, with as minimal energy use as possible. So this greenhouse of yours is really an inspiration for my upcoming project 💫 Thank you so much for sharing this information :)

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Really glad it was helpful. 🙏

[@mydogma7116]

Trapped air space is about r1.3 per inch so you are very correct in the fact that your trapped air space is better than any windows on the market...well done sir

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Thanks for that. It is totally worth the second layer. 👍🏻

[@mydogma7116]

@@ArkopiaKZbin absolutely, cheapest insulation you can get, even better if we could figure how to make it under vacuum lol...one day

[@thewitchyprepper8396]

Great, gorgeous work Dean! 😍TY for sharing and inspiring! I will definitely be incorporating some of these ideas when it's time to build my own here in QC. For that outside door that drafts the plants, an idea could be to switch it's side so that the door shields the bed when it opens instead of opening on the wall side? The air would bounce off the wall instead of drafting directly onto the garden. Please keep us posted through this glorious journey

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

That’s a great idea. 🙏 Trying to save money always on the build, including that door which was used. I want to find a screen door for that man door as well at some point (helps keep that cold away too) ✌️

[@davidrollins4962]

Love the project breakdown. Quite the build. I'm planning on green house build this year. Live near Kirkland lake Ontario . Not uncommon to hit -40F (same in C). The banana tree and tropicals is very interesting as my wife is from Thailand originally. She's very excited about it.

[@annmorgana2848]

okay you just answered most of my questions from the build video! love the tests!

[@lesk7427]

Looks like a great way to build a winter greenhouse!

[@MyHappySimpleLife]

What an entrepreneur and an inspiration. I especially like your final thoughts. Health comes in what mother earth offers rather than what possessions we have. Bravo to you 🎉- a hero to your family you are!

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

Thank you for that. 🙏

[@triciasklodowske5653]

LOVE IT !! We just build a small 12x20 sunken greenhouse. But I think we're going to change the roofing and try to find some old bus windows. WOW the space inside is great. We still have to get the woodstove inside as here in northern MI we have to heat it during the winter. Thanks for sharing it's great. God bless.

[@me-he4pu]

It is more like a warehouse than a greenhouse ! Come to Iran to teach you what a greenhouse is 👍

[@EtudianteAviendah]

Amazing! Prior Planning! Thanks for the tour and explanation. Hope you will share a an update in a few months or a year. Very inspiring! Love, Joy and Blessings to all.

[@sierrabrandi2003]

Love this!!! Thank you for the cold canadian representation. Makes me so happy that you are growing citrus

[@xDOOM95]

You’re a genius dude. If i ever get rich i’m going to pay big money for those schematics 👍

[@ArkopiaYouTube]

It cost me less than you’d think. Just lots of my time and energy. 👍✌️

[@luciedutra756]

AMAZING !! work you have accomplished . Please keep us posted with the progression of your greenhouse. Thank you for sharing. God bless.

[@megg8419]

Referred by Canadian Prepper, watched his video tour of your greenhouse ... Awesome! Plan to watch your site to learn more before laying plans for building my greenhouse this year. This is the first on your site I'm viewing. Thank you so So SO Much for sharing your knowledge and experience. Sincerely, Meg