Things are continuing along nicely! The lower section is now assembled. Next I'm going to install the upper vent doors and install all of the plastic on the top section.
Here are a few pictures of where things stand today:
In this one we're leveling the ground and assembling the base, which is constructed from 15 sections of 2x6.
Next we assembled most of the lower section. This all went together surprisingly easily.
So I'm thinking next Saturday, 3/28 will be a good time to have a Saturday afternoon get-together so that I can finish this thing. We can grill Spam-carved effigies of Buckminster Fuller and sing the traditional dome melodies of the days of old. Who's in? RSVP via email.
Sweet! You really work fast. I am still working on my small model. I stopped working on it cause of other work I have to do. Just a few questions on your dome? Where is the door? Are you going to cut and insert it later?
Then if and when I build a green house dome I think I would put it on a stone foundation. For 2 reasons. Wood tends to rote here because it rains all of the time. Then rodents are going to get inside your green house and eat your tomatoes and other goodies. Stone walls slow them down. Even if your wood is right on the ground the little animals will dig underneath. Chipmunks like, Chip and Dale, only need to dig 1/2 of an inch to get in. Half an inch is small and you wouldn't be able to see where they are getting in.
Looks like your dome is close to the road. You might have your neighbors in there too. Hungery out of work neighbors.
Posted by: Melanie | March 22, 2009 at 10:17 AM
I'm going to frame in a door after the dome is all put together. Also, I'll put in a bit of fence behind it to fence out the hungry neighbors. I don't think it'll be too much of a problem.
Posted by: Non-Prophet | March 24, 2009 at 07:02 PM
I'm gonna steal all your peppers and tomatoes. Mmmm cilantro too. Zen likes his homemade salsas. Especially when its made with pilfered produce.
Posted by: Zen | March 26, 2009 at 01:00 AM
Wow, nice job!
Is your stain food grade (i.e. garden safe)? If so what did you use and how do you know it is safe?
Posted by: Gonzalo | May 04, 2009 at 08:55 AM
What are you going to use for thermal barriors around the base? frost travels horozontally as well as verticle Like if you have a three foot frost line (depth) every winter the horizontal cold will creep in. If you dig it in (Insulation) and insulate after construction hardware cloth will also provide a critter barrior. I will be curious to see how the urethane works out My tendency would have been toward a wood stain that would let the wood absorb and dry with the climate changes but urethane is a pretty awsome product so I would like to know how it works as hindsight is best.
Posted by: Harold Brown | July 04, 2011 at 10:09 PM
Hey Harold,
I'm growing my 3rd season now and things are going great. Polycarb on most of the dome now, and I have a thermostat kerosene heater to supplement the greenhouse effect. I'm still not 365 though, because even if you can keep the plants from freezing things like tomatoes don't grow very fast if it gets cold at night. Spinach and such no sweat. Beds should really be built off of the ground and the ground insulated.
The next thing I really need to make is a misting system, because even with all of the fans running like crazy it is still too hot in there at times. evaportive cooling is key, and keeps the humidity up as well. I'm in Colorado.
Posted by: Non-Prophet | July 04, 2011 at 11:21 PM
Fantastic X 2 love to hear a success story. Actually fresh greens in winter are a real joy I grew up in Maine and in early spring some of the previous years swiss chard would pop up through the snow and was a welcome feast of fresh green stuff. So you have some real success to brag about or eat
Have you used a heat sink like water to help temper the thermal enviroment? If you did use water how close were my estimates that I posted to your first blog? Would a larger heat sink be benificial?
What kind of Poly carb did you use? In hindsight would you have gone for a higher thermal insulation factor or more light difussion or what conclusions did you arrive at for your poly carb
Would the evaporative heaters introduce more moisture and invite fungal infestation or is it a non factor? I am in north Florida now so I have a different set of factors to deal with and I am looking for land at the present time. It seems like the solexx would be a pretty good glazing material for this area. I am thinking about the aluminum shade cloth for the heat problem especially since it is restricted to a one time cost and no additional power consumption. North Florida is past warm and a bit closer to hot.
Thanks for the reply and If I have to go through Colorado some time I would beg for a peek into you grow dome. When I was in California for a short while they had some old fashion swamp coolers (the local name for an evaporative cooler) on some older buildings, they could possibly be a power free method to provide the necessary cooling for your dome. With power/energy costs escalating constantly your grow dome will become a good defensive weapon against high costs and escalating food prices.
Well thanks again for such an interesting blog
Posted by: Harold Brown | July 05, 2011 at 06:51 AM
By the way Aluminet is the name of the shade cloth I referred to and it also has valuable thermal charastics. It comes with a choice of shade provision such as 30% 40% 50% 60% etc to customise it to your specific need
Posted by: Harold Brown | July 29, 2011 at 06:23 PM