Living with Nature

Building the Greenhouse

 Here, I'll show you a few videos of greenhouse construction, with my commentary.  The are good points to be made from each, and even though two of these are rather large, those principles still apply in smaller versions.  The first video is the smallest, simplest, and closest to what is needed for personal consumption. (You may want to mute the sound on the first one.  All the info is typed and the muzak was killing me.)  Despite the fact that I sound critical of all three, each has put a good deal of thought into it, and built good structures.  In other words, I looking at the hybrid of the three.

 

Overall, I like the simplicity of this one, and particularly how it maximizes the exposure to the Southern sun.  It really demonstrates how easy it can be to build, and that you can do it in the city, unless you're in an authoritarian HOA or municipality which demands both green measures and prohibits their construction.

You can use the same principles from "Framing the Little Home-2" to build it, so don't fear the complications of framing.  The difference is that you don't need 16" centers for this.  Four foot centers will probably be the most you want to stretch it, but the only weight your dealing with is any snow that accumulates, and in all honesty, we want to get rid of that by internal heat anyway, which leaves only the weight of the materials, and that's pretty light.  In fact, this would be easily built on the South wall of the Little Home.

The first thing I would change on this one is the foundation.  Wood does not last long when it is in contact with dirt.  It seems to pull the moisture out of the dirt and rapidly rot.  I would recommend that concrete block be used to an area above the dirt line.  Conversely, the foundation blocks are a great way of avoiding having to dig deep holes and pour concrete footings.

Free Meat & Eggs and food preservation

After you have your own shelter up, whether the camper or the Little Home, and your water sources identified, you're going to want to establish your food supplies.  We've previously discussed foraging the food already available as well as planting vegetables and fruit, but man cannot live on vegetables alone.  (Sure there are some people that avoid meat, but it's not natural.)  Still, you're going to want to store your food, since your preferred diet doesn't produce food all year round.  Don't forget to add salt to your plan. 

Until you have long term storage for meats, you'll probably want to stick to meal sized animals.  Small game such as squirrel, rabbit, raccoon, and fowl not only allow you to eat well, but also to eat all the meat you've put over the fire.

When I was a kid, home canning vegetables, along with jams and jellies was common.  Today, I only know a few that do it, but this is a great way to save money and have better tasting vegetables, all year long.  One of the benefits to canning, instead of freezing, is that food preservation does not rely on a steady electric supply.  The food will last for years, and you'll know if it has gone bad, visually.  While taste may be the biggest benefit, saving money is huge, and knowing that you have food for months or years is comforting.  These are the supplies you need: a pressure canner, Mason jars (reusable for decades), lids, screw rings (reusable), a jar lifter.  You can even can meat.