Here's what the formwork looked like on the previous trip, ready for the concrete grade beam to be poured. We've come such a long way since then!
Our intrepid construction crew has been battling the elements to undertake some winter construction recently. We are building the new greenhouse for Troy Gardens in Madison Wisconsin. Check out their website here. Troy Gardens is a great organization that has a number of elements: there are community gardens where local people can raise a small plot of their own flowers and vegetables, a small urban farm which grows produce for a farm stand and for a CSA box program and a non profit which operates the urban green space with mission “to nurture a meaningful relationship between people and the land.”
What a great mission! We’re really glad to be working with them and have designed a small Whole Tree greenhouse with polycarbonate paneling which will let in lots of sunlight and keep out most of the cold to allow Troy to extend their growing season and start their little seedlings earlier. Since they want it to be up and running for the next spring season (just a few short months from now) we are working through the winter to get it up and running.
The end walls are up! But the first step in the construction process on this trip was to shovel off the all the snow from the site. That keeps the guys warm for a while ... so does a trusty Carhardt coverall!
In our last construction trip just before Christmas our crew raised the end walls which we pre-fabricated here in our workshop at Driftless Farm and assembled and installed the round wood columns and beam which will support the apex of the
The north walls are up! They don't need poly carbonate because they are going to be covered in sheet metal (and well insulalated).
greenhouse. Before getting started though they had to shovel the snow off the concrete pad! Working in winter can have its disadvantages but the guys came through with flying colors and it is starting to look like a structure at last.
Here it is ... all ready for us to come back and install the south joists. Look at that lovely Whole Tree beam!
Our next trip down is scheduled for the first week in January. We’ll be battling fierce cold to install the joists and rafters for the south wall of the greenhouse which is tilted to an optimal sun-catching angle. Stay tuned for more pictures and updates to come!