Farmers have been trying to extend the growing season of their crops for hundreds of years. So far, the greenhouse has been the dominant technology, since it doesn’t usually require electricity to operate.
The problem with setting up an off-the-grid greenhouse is that the typical, “glazed glass” structure can be prohibitively expensive to construct. That’s where the in-ground greenhouse comes into play.
A much more affordable and effective alternative to glass greenhouses is the walipini (anAymara native意思是“温暖的地方”)。本质上是一个地下的“坑”温室,这个地球庇护的温室利用地球的热质量,所以加热它内部所需的能量比同等大小的玻璃温室要少得多。Obviously, you need to take drainage and ventilation into consideration while building a walipini, butthe Benson Institute at BYU has a few pointers on how to handle that, as well:
The Walipini utilizes nature’s resources to provide a warm, stable, well-lit environment for year-round vegetable production. Locating the growing area 6’- 8’ underground and capturing and storing daytime solar radiation are the most important principles in building a successful Walipini.
The Walipini, in simplest terms, is a rectangular hole in the ground 6-8′ deep that’s covered by plastic sheeting. The longest area of the rectangle faces the winter sun — to the north in the Southern Hemisphere and to the south in the Northern Hemisphere. A thick wall of rammed earth at the back of the building and a much lower wall at the front provide the needed angle for the plastic sheet roof. This roof seals the hole, provides an insulating airspace between the two layers of plastic (a sheet on the top and another on the bottom of the roof/poles) and allows the sun’s rays to penetrate creating a warm, stable environment for plant growth.
If your browser supports PDF viewing, you can check out the full Benson Institute manual to build your own in-ground greenhouse, below, ordownload the full walipini manual here.
Keep in mind, also, that an in-ground greenhouse like the walipini could also serve as warm out-door storage for your animal hutches andsmall-scale hydroponic systems, making it a perfect “go-to” solution for a number of off-grid logistical issues … but the best part is the price: BYU pegs the materials cost at just $300 USD!
Sources | Photos:Treehugger,Neo-farms, and Brigham Young University.
Anthony Amoresays
Nicely done.
Just like a mechanic though, they never quote you for labor, just parts.
Seriously though, this does look to be very labor intensive, but maybe its not quite as much as it seems.
Jo Borrássays
Labor rates on all DIY projects are calculated at $0.025 per hour, or $0.20 per day.
frydazesays
“The longest area of the rectangle faces the winter sun…”
very cool idea, well thought out and described. I’m sure it would work great. As a high school math teacher though, I simply could not let the above statement stand. Area has no width or length, nor would the area change with orientation.
“the longest SIDE of the rectangle faces the winter Sun…”
Jo Borrássays
HA! Awesome catch.
Cecily Elizabeth Couturesays
Check here!http://www.agroklub.com/upload/dokumenti/walipini.pdf
If that doesn’t work , I have it downloaded. Let me know and I can email it to you!
Rosa Risksays
我把地下游泳池的水抽干,一直在寻找其他用途。这看起来是个有趣的选择。不过,我还是要演示一下游泳池,至少要部分排水,对吧?还有其他注意事项吗?
joshbrueggensays
如果您只想检查可能性,而不想把所有东西都取出来,那么似乎可以在一开始就只使用容器增长。
Nemanjasays
in 99,9% of globe soil bellow 2-3ft (60-90cm) is totally useless unless you want to make bricks out of it!
in this type of greenhouse you need to have at least 8inch / 20cm of good soil brought back in. so for a basic small size 15 x 25 for example x 8 inches of soil.. its a 120-150 wheel barrows (depending of size of yours..) hell yeah, labor intensive indeed.. if you have a tractor with a backhoe then its just a few hours of work at best, otherwise forget it..
Christine Erslandsays
Could you email me the full walipini manual. Unable to get. Thank you!!