Geodesic Dome Greenhouse

[GilpinGuy]

Anyone ever build or own one? I'm toying with the idea of building one up here in the spring. I'd probably use wood, but there are some slick PVC pipe builds out there.

[Great-Kazoo]

We had one back east, 50 yrs ago, 1x2 wood strips with what ever heaviest gauge vesqueen was available. . With the availability of pvc now the choice is up to you. Wood fairs better during the colder seasons, unlike pvc which could crack in colder weather. The up side it's easier to take down if you decided to relocate.

Grew peanuts, squash, tomato's and carrots.

Slightly OT.
My sister and i were talking about the current movement of farm - table co-op's that have become trendy today. When we were doing it 50 years back.

Back in NY mid 60's we had co-op farms lots within Eisenhower park ( https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/2797/Eisenhower-Park) before it became the sprawling monstrosity the area has become today. There were probably 15-20, 1/4 ac plots one was able to "farm" for free. Got involved through my parents friends who relocated from of all places, Kansas to teach.

[izzy]

I've helped built one out of a metal frame, it was a pre designed thing that a friend had. At its peak it was probably 10-15' tall. It worked out well but was a major pain in the ass to put together. In the end I felt like a hoop house was the better idea.

[GilpinGuy]

Great One: Apparently, that sort of thing is kinda taking off in some areas now as well. You old guys may have been smarter that we thought when we were youngsters.

Izzy: With the wicked wind up here, especially in winter, it seems like a geo might be the way to go, but I'm open to ideas for sure.

Here's the deal. I'm tired of planting and growing stuff for weeks/months only to have one hail storm wreck it all in 10 minutes. Happens almost every year.

Plus, our growing season up here is so short as it is, even a few extra weeks on either end would be huge. If this build happens, we'll probably do some augmented heat system also. (wood stove, rocket mass heater, solar water deal, etc.).

[izzy]

I don't know anything about dealing with wind in this situation. I just know the dome was a bit of a pain to set up compared to a hoop house. I can see your point that the dome might stand up to the wind better.

[StagLefty]

The guy in the "you tuber" thread I posted did a vid on making one but no body seemed interested

[GilpinGuy]

The guy in the "you tuber" thread I posted did a vid on making one but no body seemed interested

I saw the hoop house he built. Those are simple and cheap. As always, chose two.... But I don't think they'd make it through the wind. Might be worth a try though.

[TFOGGER]

[TFOGGER]

I built mine out of 1 inch square steel tubing and 8mm double wall polycarbonate, more of a conventional greenhouse rather than a geodesic structure. I has to date survived 20 inches of snow at one shot, a couple of significant hailstorms, and 80 mph wind gusts with no apparent effect.

The drawbacks: requires welding, design and assembly were somewhat trial and error, heavy, and moderately expensive.

I'll try to reupload the photos, as Photobucket appears to have gone apeshit.

https://www.ar-15.co/threads/151720-...pent-my-summer

[GilpinGuy]

Well done!