Craig Baird - The Complete Guide to Building Your Own Greenhouse

The Complete Guide to Building Your Own Greenhouse: Everything You Need to Know Explained SimplY

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Baird, Craig W., 1980-

The complete guide to building your own greenhouse : everything you need to know explained simply / by: Craig Baird.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-368-6 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 1-60138-368-1 (alk. paper)

1. Greenhouses--Design and construction. I. Title.

SB416.B35 2011

690.8924--dc22

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Introduction

Who loves a garden loves a greenhouse too.

William Cowper, English Poet

L e gend has it that as a child, Americas first president, George Washington, chopped down a cherry tree. Honest to a fault, he confessed. I cant tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet.

Regardless of this tales veracity, Washington more than made up for it later. It is well known that he was a dedicated and proud gardener. In fact, on November 23, 1794, he wrote to William Pearce, and said, I have no objection to any sober or orderly persons gratifying their curiosity in viewing the buildings, Gardens, & ca. about Mount Vernon.

He devoted large areas of his Mount Vernon home to planting, and when he was able to be at home, he and his gardeners tested their skills by growing plants that were exotic to Virginia in a greenhouse, which provided a winter refuge for tropical and semi-tropical plants, such as oranges, lemons, limes, coffee and aloe. A fire was maintained to keep the greenhouse warm.

In June of 1787, around the time Washington was inaugurated as Americas first president, the British ship, HMS Bounty, was purchased by the Royal Navy to sail to Tahiti and acquire breadfruit plants. The plants were to be transported to the West Indies where they would be grown as an inexpensive food source.

The tale of Mutiny On The Bounty , is the story of the mutiny that occurred on the HMS Bounty on April 28, 1789 against Captain William Bligh. What many do not know is that the Bounty contained a greenhouse. Before her voyage, she was refitted to accommodate the breadfruit she would transport. The renowned British botanist and naturalist Sir Joseph Banks designed many of the changes to accommodate these live plants. In fact, he supervised the modifications to the great cabin, essentially turning it into a floating greenhouse that contained racks for potted plants and a floor that was covered in lead. The scuppers (drains) at the forward corners of the cabin were used to divert excess fresh water from the pots into barrels that were kept below deck to collect the water runoff for reuse.