gazebo frame into Greenhouse

[livinzoo]

I have the frame for a gazebo that looks like this http://www.cndcscanopycompany.com/10x10SteelGazebo.aspx

Mine is 11 x 11, It has the vented top like the one pictured.

I'm in zone 7b. It usually doesn't snow here.

I was planning on using some straw bales around the inside to help insulate. Stacking them 3 feet high. And then cover the entire thing with 4mil 4 year poly.

I plan on using raised beds. I am also thinking about keeping some chickens inside at night to help add some heat and manure to compost with straw that is placed on the floor.

A few questions I have:
Would I be better off to attach the plastic to wood frames or directly to the metal frame?

Is there a way to use the vent to help vent some heat out when it gets too hot?

Do you see any flaws in my plans?

Thanks

[Paquebot]

Vent looks OK. Doesn't need much of an opening on top as long as there is also an opening near the bottom. Then there would be a constant flow of upward hot air.

Straw bales inside mean that your 10x10 becomes 7x7. Normal bale is 1½' wide so you're losing 3'. In a Zone 7 location, you shouldn't need any added insulation unless you are growing something sensitive to the 40s for temperatures.

If you put chickens in there, there's not much you can grow without them eating it. If they are caged, and in the remaining 7x7 area, not much room for anything else.

So, 4 mil poly and present design sounds good. Wood furring strips for stapling that poly to also sounds good.

Martin

[PrettyPaisley]

Please post pictures. I have one that is similar and I am at a total loss how to make it into a greenhouse. As it sits, it's just a frame I can't stand to part with.

[Paquebot]

Originally Posted by PrettyPaisley

Please post pictures. I have one that is similar and I am at a total loss how to make it into a greenhouse. As it sits, it's just a frame I can't stand to part with.

The picture is on the link supplied by the OP.

Any gazebo or similar thing can be made into a greenhouse provided that there is a top vent and a frame to attach translucent impervious material to such as plastic or glass, and an entry which will deny any cold air from entering. Since that it almost impossible, that usually becomes the source of the bottom part of the air flow system.

Martin

[mare]

i wouldnt put to much into a greenhouse with that frame, i have had two of them and they both were destroyed by the wind ect.

[jacqueg]

Our gazebo went sailing without us a couple times, until we filled some buckets with sand and anchored the frame to them!

I have an old dog kennel that I am going to line with plastic for a make-shift greenhouse. I thought about using bales for insulation, but we are already overrun with squirrels and other small rodents. So I'm going to use foam insulation board instead.

If you do use the bales, you can put them outside for insulation, or if you use them inside, they could be benches for potted plants. Personally, I wouldn't try to put chickens in there - or I would use the structure just for chickens. Even if you have the chickens in cages, there will be a lot of chicken dust landing on your food plants.

Chickens in the greenhouse used to sound like a good idea to me too, until I actually had the experience. After a while, I got so I didn't want to eat the lettuce even after it was washed!