An Earth Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Can Be Your Best Friend
If you’re looking for a greenhouse that epitomizes green living, look into building yourself an earth-sheltered solar greenhouse. These houses have been proven to provide the ultimate in organic, green shelters for all manner of plant life and could be the perfect option to suit your needs.
Before you begin to think that this house is too advanced for your skill level, let’s take a look at what exactly the earth-sheltered greenhouse really is. Reaching back to the early century farmers, these types of houses were at one point simply three foot ditches dug into the earth, basically just a glorified cold frame greenhouse. In the first foot, the farmers would place fresh horse manure; in the second layer was top-soil, and the third was reserved for the plants --giving them plenty of room to grow and thrive. The covering was a simple storm door or wood-framed glass panel. As time passed on, these cold-frames became better suited for the changing seasons. Instead of laying a glass panel directly on top of the plants, for example, gardeners found that if the glass were built at an angle, the amount of sun getting through to the plants increased exponentially.
Though stationary, these solar powered greenhouses are perfect for year-round plant growth (I routinely grow tomatoes during the month of December in mine!). Because the glass covering is angled, as the seasons change and the sun’s position shifts, the angle provides the perfect refraction of sunlight to allow your plants as much sunlight as they need. However, there’s more to these solar greenhouses than just their ability to give perfect sun exposure.
These houses are also the most energy efficient on the market for another reason. Namely, they utilize the natural heat energy of the earth it’s self. Below the ‘frost line’ the temperature of the soil remains at a steady 50 degrees or so, allowing these submerged greenhouses to enjoy a constant supply of free warmth. And it gets even better, because the genius part this greenhouse design is the addition of a ‘cold sink hole’ inside the structure. Essentially, this is a 4’ to 5’ deep trench dug out inside the greenhouse (usually on the south-east side), that allows any cold air on the ground to spill in, keeping everything warm above.
Your plants will remain happy, and given a healthy amount of space in which to flourish, you should start seeing some great dividends before you know it. You won’t have to expend a great deal of energy keeping the temperature perfect for your greenhouse. The ground can get to be pretty cold in cooler weather; with the right trench dug around the wooden frame the roots will stay nice and insulated.
So, should you make an earth-sheltered greenhouse? Well, if you want a constant source of fresh organic veggies throughout the year, then I highly recommend it. It’s also a great way to keep scavengers out of your garden. With a little bit of sweat equity and a can do attitude, you’ll have the earth sheltered solar greenhouse of your dreams in no time!
About the Author
Dave Pierson has been a professional nurseryman and master gardener for over 15 years. He is also editor in chief at gardengreenhouseinfo.com, an information rich site dealing with all things "greenhouses".
For detailed information on how to set up an earth sheltered solar greenhouse of your own, visit us at our website by clicking the highlighted text, and you will be taken to the greenhouse plans area of the site.
Official "Earth Sheltered Solar Greenhouse" - pit construction
