Greenhouses 101: Knowing the Basics Before you Buy

Knowing the basics when you are starting the process of purchasing a shelter includes having a firm handle on what you are trying to accomplish and what you are dealing with. This applies for both greenhouses or storage structures. By efficiently choosing from all of our structure choices in combination with your goals and the restrictions or challenges in the best possible way, you will be creating a structure package that is going to serve you well for years to come.

Structure choices include not only size and profile but many choices of coverings. Anchoring choices will be determined by soil conditions and the possibility of relocating the building. Ventilation requirements will impact which structure package you choose. Size, spacing and shape of the hoops will allow you to effectively deal with the weather in your location.

Your goals will need to be specifically spelled out and will likely be modified once the realities of some of the obstacles have been determined. Goals should always include both short and long term plans since some structures and layouts are easier to expand then others.

Restrictions or challenges are not just limited to wind, snow load and other climatic issues. Accessibility of water, power, roadways and market opportunities will impact where and what you can or should build. As each of these parts are researched and developed, they will be impacted by the reality of your budget. By knowing your options, you will be able to get best value for your investment

Check out the presentation video and the rest of the series Norm spoke on Greenhouses 101 here. Stay tuned for the end of  January 2016 when he presents Greenhouses 202!
Download our STEPS TO YOUR SHELTER CUSTOMIZATION for your Project for reminders of items to consider before you purchase.

Grow Better, Not Bigger Workshops in Nova Scotia with Jean-Martin Fortier

In late July we had an opportunity of participating in two workshops in Nova Scotia where Jean-Martin Fortier was the featured speaker sharing in his philosophy and practices behind his book “The Market Gardener” (click here to purchase your own copy). Abundant Acres was the host farm on July 27 and Bethany Acres on July 28. Both farms have Multi Shelter greenhouses and tunnels. With 50 people in attendance at both locations, it was a wonderful opportunity of interacting with existing and potential customers. We thank everyone that was able to come out, or expressed interest in what went on.

The very unique approach to very intensive food production which Jean-Martin has documented in his book, has made it very popular. He has gotten amazing production and results from his 1-1/2 acres plot of land. Between his CSAs and two farmers markets, Jean-Martin, his wife and a couple seasonal employees are supplying approximately 220 families with weekly fresh vegetables. He does not own or use traditional tractor or rotor tiller. The center point of his land is the greenhouses and processing station with everything efficiently laid out around that.

A cornerstone to his philosophy and practices has to do with proper care and stewardship of the land. A lot of importance is placed on feeding the soil properly and giving the existing organisms in the soil proper chance to do the work they were created for. Everything is grown on 30” wide raised beds that are 100’ long with 18” wide aisles. Compost is added to the top of the bed and then very lightly worked in. Clear and black plastic are used in succession to trigger and kill weeds ahead of planting time.

Another point which Jean-Martin stresses over and over is efficiency. Everything is analyzed very carefully so that all the processes can be done at maximum efficiency. Crops that require the most attention are the closest and crops that require minimal attention are to the outer edges. Heavy feeding crops are always followed by a light feeding crop. During the down time in the winter, the results are further analyzed and everything is planned for including location and timing. No detail is too small not to be documented during the growing season so that it can be analyzed for better efficiency.

The workshops were a wonderful opportunity of learning things that are important to our customers to further guide them in finding their proper greenhouse solution during the purchase process and also learning the value and benefit of efficiency and prioritizing. We urge you to check out Jean-Martin’s book, and call us to help work out all your custom greenhouse solutions!

east coast greenhouses

Greenhouses 101: Greenhouse Choices

GREENHOUSES 101: How do you match the available options with your circumstances and requirements?

You might be wondering……What is a greenhouse? Why is it necessary? What are some of my choices and the consequences of my choices? Greenhouse choices are determined by purpose, size, shape, covering, orientation and location. How do you prioritize? 

Making a wish list of the things you are dealing with and the things you would like the greenhouse to do can be a good start. What can you change or not change? We can help you with how to make your wish list and then prioritizing the things that are most important or the things that really can’t be changed.

Check out the presentation video and the rest of the series Norm spoke on Greenhouses 101 here. Stay tuned for the end of  January 2016 when he presents Greenhouses 202! Download our STEPS TO YOUR SHELTER CUSTOMIZATION for your Project for reminders of items to consider before you purchase.

Putting up Structures after the Snowfall

There always seems to be so much pressure and panic at this time to get a building before winter. The only thing that is important to get done sooner then later is the foundation work. There will be lots of decent weather days between now and Christmas to get the job done.

If you think that it is too late to get it done and you will simply wait until next spring, please remember that you said the same thing last spring (or even a few months ago) and as usual the busyness of life got in the way. Give us a call today to see how you can get that foundation taken care of before freeze up.

For those of you who want to get the structure up now and cover it in the spring, I urge you to cover the building sooner then later for a couple of reasons. First is that there will be lots of other things vying for your time in the spring and secondly, the more snow you have on that spot which has to melt, the more moisture you will have in the building. The more moisture you have in the building the more condensation issues you will have. You want to give that ground the most time possible to dry up before you need to start using the building.

In my humble opinion, even though putting the cover on in late fall or early winter is more difficult and not pleasant, the benefits of having more time for the ground to dry, far outweigh the time spent to adjust the cover  in the spring

Shelter Solutions & TGEOntario

Just a quick reminder, if you’re looking for sheltersolutions.ca or tgeontario.ca and you landed here, you are in the right place! This is Multi Shelter Solutions (and Trillium’s) new home on the web. There’s quite a bit more info/videos/etc that gets added to all the time as customers ask questions. We hope you find the information you are looking for, and are happy to help you with anything else you require. We look forward to helping you with your shelter solution!

1-866-838-6729          multisheltersolutions@gmail.com