Geodetic greenhouse (low cost)

Step 4 Finish and cover.

Once all of the struts had been assembled  I had my dome. It was quickly evident that there was far too much spring in the elastic connections for the struts and my thin struts didn't allow me to drill thorough the plastic ring and put screws in so I decided to cut a number of connector plates from ply wood and screw and glue these over every joint to reinforce the elasticated and plastic connections. The elastic and plastic rings held everything together just nicely so I could fit the plywood connector plates.

If I were to make the dome from garden cane I would use some plastic tube to connect the canes joining the tubes in the middle with a nut and bolt. as in the diagram.

We transported it to site by the simple process of picking it up and carrying it down the road. the structure is surprisingly strong.

I made a decision to cover the dome using Saren wrap (cling film) and bought a couple of catering sized rolls from the local cheap store.  This wrapped the structure nicely and I covered it with at least 3 layers all over. The access door would be cut later.

No need for glue or tape as the cling film is not called cling film for nothing.

Comments

[Dr Qui]

Impressive. I wish my back would improve enough to do something like this. I thing ill start with cold frames on a low wall as I have not yet discovered if I'm a fan of gardening.

How well does the cling film stand up to the elements and the UV sunlight? Ah well at least it will be easy to replace if it does tear.

Its a nice idea to use cling film as you can remove it at the end of the season before the rough weather hits and carries the dome of to Oz, and in spring time you can re wrap and not need to clean a load of glass or perspex panes which is a total pain to do.

Does the cling film have any UV protection, the reason i ask is a friend used that hollow perspex stuff for a green house and it was not as good a success as would be expected, I noticed that my reactions lens did not darken as much as normal and a few areas of expanding foam did not turn brown as they normally do in direct sunlight, I think that the perspex was blocking out to much UV light.

[tjlavelle]

cling film will work for a month before it falls apart

[rickharris]

Off topic bit i read that Yoga has been shown to help patents with back issues that normal medical processes can't help - tha's assuming

a) your able - ask your Doc

B) a yoga teacher will take you on with a bad back. - should with doc permission.

It's not all about putting your feet behind your head!!! Mostly they help by getting your posture and "core" muscles in the right place and condition.

[Dr Qui]

It a long term problem, I think its coming from injuries I got over 20 years ago, the bill arrived for these about 7 years ago and it took a number of years of tests and various meds that did noting or made it worse to get the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.  by this time i had been working in a hardware store that was in fact making it condition worse as it was cold , drafty was chock full of chemicals that seemed to aggravate things and involved way to much heavy lifting.  By this time I destroyed myself a was just to far gone to recover and handed in my notice when the store changed owners, I was at the stage of the doctor giving me 4 weeks off to recover going back for 4 weeks and again needing 4 weeks off.

I have been watching my posture since seeing a physio a few months ago who pointed out narrowing of the disk at the point where the nerve goes out to the arms and I have been very careful not to aggravate things, I have cut out all heavy lifting in favor of trolleys, I also had to cut out a few people who had the ability to aggravate the condition too.

I recently had to help a friend move house in a hurry and did it knowing I would suffer, but I managed to lock up so bad that the doctor finally gave me a muscle relaxant and with a bit of help from a Homemedics deep muscle massager I have got the thing to a manageable level, I even am starting to see some of the muscle mass I lost in my left arm starting to build again and the cold just don't seem to hit me as hard as before.

So at the moment with ice on the ground I'm actually in a reasonable good order with a little gleam of hope some recovery come the better weather, the secret is not to over do things but its hard to do when you have a s**t load of work that needs doing and has stacked up because I'm not fit to do them.

I even have hope that once we have the winter over us that I may actually start to become much more active and maybe even reach the goal of trying to find some kind of part time work.

[rickharris]

You have my sympathy! N Ireland isn't the driest and warmest part of the world mind! :-)

[Dr Qui]

lol , tell be about it.!

The new meds are going good at the moment and I have managed to get out in the shed i weather i would have not ventured beyond the front door in so that is a moral booster, I'm looking forward to the oncoming spring as I will get out more

[rickharris]

The cling film seems to work fine. At least for a season. I dismantled the dome at the end of the year to erect a poly tunnel.

As for the growing no problem tomatoes & cucumbers grew well in there.

I may make another to go over the raised beds I have in the garden. If for no other reason then it attracted a lot of interest when I was building it.

If you have a bad back raised beds and no dig gardening is for you.

Deep composting to avoid digging - talk to your local council parks division they generate more compost than they know what to do with and may be willing to share a lorry load for the asking.

No replacement for a) the cost of home grown and the taste of really fresh produce.

[Dr Qui]

I have a nice little wall that is about as wide as a grow bag and just about the right height to work at while standing. I plan to make a surrounds out of treated fence boards and square tree stakes that will hold a grow bag yet can be made bird and kitty proof.

I will also experiment to see if I can make them snail and slug proof I have a sound theory that I'm going to give a go to see if it works.

I have never been a gardener but I've heard it can become an addiction once started but can be very therapeutic so for that alone I'll give it a shot.

[rickharris]

Good place to start and not a lot of bending. I suggest getting a potato bag (actually anything that will contain compost will do even stacked old car tires,) and planting 4 or 5 potatoes water well and you will be surprised how many you get in the lat summer.

grow things that are quick - Salad stuff if you like that, Tomatoes give a good return for little more than watering, You will be surprised how many things can be grown in tubs and grow bags. Remember that the grow bag has little nutrient in it after the first 4 or 5 weeks and will need some help with fertilizer, natural or chemical.

[Dr Qui]

My dad is no longer fit to get out into the 2 green houses so I may have a go at growing tomatoes under his instructions, I'm going to try a few salad things and maybe some peas and beans.

We have never grown potatoes before, I guess that after seeing a farmer rent my land and grow 9 acres of spuds that a few little drill looks kind of on the lame side of things.  The land was used for turnips for a number of years (that would have made you tired watching the people working the fields then) but it has been grazed for the last number of years.