Problem Depth Happen

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Not only did it eliminate any wind scrubbing against that

And there was thc problem of just where a guy was to

for a greenhouse catastrophe. Now despite the fact that the ad-

grating from the ultraviolet rays. Within a half hour 1 had a

excavation to tbe north

24 The grow-hole concept

decomposition of the fresh horse manure.

25

campfire till they have an eighth to a quar-

can make a day with a thirty-degree temperature seem

warmer throughout the night and during cold days than is that of

Compare the two systems in their relationship to the air

How would a conventional 40 sq. ft greenhouse score? If

"hinging". This is when the pressure from the

was lucky and the snow melts, he can sometimes find in his

ground surface area on each end proportionate to the 60 sq. ft

the second person standing back and sighting down a plumb

tem that has worked well for us so far. It's

of what under-

slipped the post down over the rebar via a 'I.-inch

began using the grow-

of the heat from the sun 's rays.

Finally, you had to open the grow-hole to work on the

Let's compare for a minute grow holes with the hoop

glazing on it. This

house, raising its score to + 148 and the comparison final

angles to each other so that they form four sides and a top

advantages which we will mention soon that the hoop metbod

ground for tbe earth



roots probably reached the manure. I think those were some of

made indoor starts practical, it was a real boon to the gardener.

vs. hoop and plastic method we gave a -I unit for the five sur-

~

My quest to extend the growing season began when

like ten degrees. What that wind does to you it does to

the factors, but think also the #%@&! gophers finally found

the way around because we usually tamp with shovel handles

fice. We have taken care before charring to make sure to cut

26

In the original $50 Underground House we hadn't protected

If we call each heat-losing square foot a minus one unit and

The long rows do cut down proportionately on some of the

;~

anyway.

ing soil, and the top foot is growing space for plants. It is

grow-hole.

would be considerably larger. It would be a "structure". It

When I described this phenomenon later to my friends

stove pipe for the next pouring. The concrete was

grow bed was 3'x8' for 24 sq. ft. The floor of the cold-sink

pond liner.

concept is a tale in itself. So that you may have year ' round

with boards and earth, but cold air was seeping through none-

GREENHOUSE: - 202 HEAT UNlTS

growing space for

and no longer were willing to use that poison

donnant January garden a volunteer crop of green and edible

poured concrete footings.



sun when it was low in the sky and in the morning and eve-

But again there are two more considerations that must be

we had one that was 5'x8 ' with 6' walls witb a one-foot rise to

adding heat or +40 energy units. The back, or north, wall

square foot example only to stun you into realization of how

model. It would be a super deluxe grow-bole. And if a guy

the end of the post that is to go into the

crobes included, want to eat creosote-laced charcoal.

factored in. The first is that the earth in our eartb-sheltered

to grow after transplanting. Or if you were late in transplant-

ning across the bole and packing loose dirt around the edges.

the plants. That may have been the year that I saw one of my

"Gophers," they said.

The fi rst cold sink greenhouse

Among several other advantages, this eliminates the need for

when wrapped with clear polyethylene glazing. Let's say that

greenhouse, being below ground level, is going to be appreciably

42

been protected from the earth in some way into the ground,

Here

WINS BY 318 HEAT UNITS

face, wbich was a glazed 8'x6' for a -48 . The east and west

losing growing space against both of those walls.

H

be able to report my roaring success, but, alas, that is not the

when backfilling. A number of other implements may be used

A person would not be far off, probably, were he to con-

nadian border in a North Idaho mountain valley. For less

friends told me about the grow-hole concept. This is a tech-



ter-inch of charcoal over all the area that is

the lumber siding (shoring) from the damp of the earth with a

30 The grow.ho]e in practice

there is the fact that since the grow-hole is sunken it is down

to see if the plumb is off. If a person is using milled lumber,

but still edible and organically grown. I learned that if a guy

ceiving too much shade from the walls. The latter had many

"

stunned.

4. Similarly, a grow hole traps, utilizes and stores much

you'd have to work the plants from inside the structure.

them lip on concrete piers that we had previously

from the excavation which we piled behind the north wall.

pare it to that of a typical above-ground greenhouse of simi-

developed when we built my original $50 underground house,

+40 units +207 units

ing significant growth rays because of the pitch, then why not

dried strawbeny leaves. These brew into a beverage so

greenhouses four-season successes. The cold-sink concept is

;1----',- ,

A second problem quickly manifested itself: the sides

they were no longer heating with wood. This information

earth is pressed against it during backfill. Then we dig holes

storm window used as glazing. I patched as best as I could

utility on factory farms, where tractors do the cultivating and

planted seedlings were spindly, and that the plants I left in to

FINAL SCORE

The concept is simple: you construct a post and beam

I did not repeat my grow hole experiment the next year.



32

themselves. One was that the depth of the walls shaded the

tions. When the concrete set, we removed the

why weren't any of the other plants shaking? Earthquake?

use it on both the walls and roof of our houses. For one of the

buildings and above-ground greenhouses also. Being

mer was doubtless the result of being buried often and also re-

adding heat. Since there is only one unit losing heat, it is a

Sboring would solve the #@%$&! gopher earth dump-

the

wonders of cucumbers turned into diU pickles. Friends tuned

branch of Scotland's famed Findhom community in the early

boxes or bins up off the ground and the carrots in pails of

hole as a dumping

by the low pitch of the sun blocked by depth of the south wall.

as in the illustration. To avoid this, the post must

cause in a 20' hoop row there is only one square foot of above-

for tamping of course - as long as they do not have sharp

pay to solve some of the other problems at the same time?

A grow-hole allows you to plant garden plants a month

guy migbt speculate reasonably that the sunken grow-hole

More problems: We still have the shade factor caused

Here's the story of what I fmally achieved near the Ca-

then notch girders into them for floor joists and rafters.

36 The first cold sink greenhouse

stumbled upon the "cold-sink" concept which was to make my

and not always feasible, so we continued to search for other

push both the post and pier into the structure a bit,

themselves. Polyethylene comes in rolls of various sizes. We



land for the posts and peel them first.

10 mil. thick - excepting when we use multiple garbage bags

The Eanh-Shellcred Solar Greenhouse Book 29

-32

No doubt many of the old-time farmers used storm windows

cases we think the better move is to berm earth out there,

my sanity. I was just a couple of years up from my California

began (a) immediately crumbling into the grow area and (b)

young Seventb Day Adventist cook in my favorite restaurant

No, they weren't eat-

Those were problems due to lack of materials and

was not going to faU back in. The result was [ was daily un-

that J would need to shore up a grow-bole if I was going to im-

neighbors, to cover tbe tomato plants at nigbt in dread of the

hole drilled in the post bottom. This is the method

house over the loss ofa still-air night. Ne'er-do-wells, oil com-

ers and farmers straddle the plants with hoops stuck in the

27

lar you can lose up to 95% of the rays. (This is not a prob-

derstood part of post setting. The earth to be backfilled and

brought in for testing - till the lab technicians went out and

minus 2 for a vent. That would be 38, then. The east and

mile-per-hour wind for any length of time on a 25-degree night

tunnel with no care whatsoever about where it went, because it

five -I units. That is probably quite low. Seems to me a 20-

TRADITIONAL ABOVE GROUND

,I

above-ground walls each had 8 sq. ft of glazing for a -16.

ditional -20% is probably quite small, we are going to use it



-11+5 unit situation.

time. Other problems, design problems, began presenting

was going to be filled up with horse manure and growing soil

garbage bag system" - not an intriguing ti-

picked their own leaves to test.

+40 units. The nortb wall of the heat sink was 3'x8' for a

since there is five times more surface area receiving and stor-

ends into heat sinks and give a + 16 instead of a -16 for a

ning. Score one for the hoop and plastic method.

you'd be taking up prime growing space. That way you'd be

ground. This is another old-time farmer

ies and successes one by one. And I'll tell you how you (and

The coldest air is removed from the plants passively,

shaded area against the south wall - the logical place - you

ll last most all winter."

rays tended to glance off like a rock skipping over water. I

The rest of the minus units? Well, there was the south

A grow-hole is far more efficient at keeping the seedlings

methods of post preservation.

not sink the posts into tbe earth at all, but to set

-202 units +1 16 units

through the course of a night or cold spell, and we're talking

Sun low in the sky presented another problem: since

garden. Instead, they

fair and objective here, and to try to head off protests by advo-

case: It was only moderately successful at best, maybe even

wild winter cress. And you can count on wild dandelion

covering my seedlings and throwing the earth out of the grow-

Prolog to a happy discovery



COLD-SINK GREENHOUSE

Setting these posts is pretty much a two-person opera-

poured in greased 6-inch or 8-inch stove pipe sec-

So that's what I built. 1 didn' t realize at the time that I'd

required either longer and wider glazing or smaller grow space

strong in natural vitamin C tbat autbor Ewell Gibbons was

not all of these are root cellar material.

cious time blowing and shaking and washing off as mucb as I

earth behind the wall pushes in hard enough to

Tbis is not to knock the hoop system. There are a few

..

ing problem, too. But it would no longer be the economy

all right as far as it goes, but, trouble is, it does not go very far.

roots in her family's root cellar. Not prime stuff to be sure,

kind of a trapped bubble that could pop the poly when the

string beans, corn, pickled beets, peppers and, of course, the

This was back in the early ' 70s, now, and memory dims, but

able to drastically cut down loss from predators. This was all

poly with several inches of earth. That could tum those

-242 units -91 units

whicb extended four inches out the top. We

where the earth has lost a lot less heat than tbat on the surface

warm and it is important to understand why, for it illustrates

ous about such glazing in northern climates. In many

The grow-hole in practice

add another negative unit to that method, making it -6/+ 1.

this first experiment, but these will be close enough: the

good in theory. But the end result was the gophers discovered

We have progressed througb a number of methods for



Where these are not available, a guy could

House - whicb was an addition whicb tripled the original tiny

+40

other additional -40 units to the -202 for a total of -242 then

3. A grow-bole utilizes the heat stored in the depths of

are

lated here has glazing on the east and west walls, totaling

+24, while its west wall was 2'x5' for a + 10. The east wall

When the sun goes down, the five surfaces rearing above

I) can have even more grati fying successes in the future.

for the above-ground greenhouse. Our earth-sheltered green-

Like how about the problem of chilling the plants when

around the post. We tape them in several places and take care

with a twelve-month fresh harvest. Simultaneously I was

would be soon in my

The Earth-Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book 19

then, this first earth-sheltered greenhouse had a score of

I. It is down out

Let's go back to our beat unit method to calculate the

heat which has been absorbed near the surface during the day.

to go two to two-and-a-half feet into the

We call it

-91 units. The fmal math then reads like this:

bing.

pared to our own one square foot example above. This is be-

Post and beam itself is simple. You set posts that have

thick. In our construction we generally use material that is 6 to

34

Though tbis problem would lessen as the sun elevated in the



CHAPTERS

first killer cold, then finding that I was only extending tbe

the strings and will just barely touch them. The holes, then,

CHAPTER 4

The Earth-Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book

me on to beef and venison jerky, and gave me home dried ap-

and what we are using on our structures

Now I'm not a mathematician or a scientist, and this is

bed just three foot across, soutb to north, I could work all the

the advantages of

method of fence post preservation. Char-

would move the glazing a foot or two away from the grow

rate times during the post-setting process. If large amounts of

increased till the entire plant disappeared into the earth! I was

2. There is little

glazed by simply laying a window down on the ground span-

ple slices.

or so early for subsequent transplanting into the garden when

structure in an excavation and, before backfilling, you protect

find it.

theless.

area. Clearly, I was going to have to shore everything up.

achieved without any energy other than my labor, the warmth

less than that. I did not repeat the experiment a second year.

to start a garden early. So of course I made one.

trapped on sunny days.

polyethylene. We use five bags as a rule, but put them on one

mile-per-hour wind is rare and might only happen once in a

ing the plants as tbey



My second improvement came wben it became obvious

ing. Wouldn't that bum the plants?

negative units on the hoop method, incidentally, when com-

Which means it would no longer be a grow-hole now but

had pulled up months before and hung upside down by its

bad built the economy

Correct tamping is an acquired skill and the most misun-

ground will be losing heat while the growing surface below

I' ll take you through my thought process, fumbles, di scover-

prove the pitch this way. Vague memory recalls that tbe sec-

I discovered the winter pleasure of borne canned peas,

since, for the glazing to have a reasonable pitcb, it would have

total plus of 32 more units to the earth-sheltered green-

efficiency of tbis earth-sheltered, solar greenhouse and com-

reinforced with chicken wire and Y. inch rebar

out siding it off with anything - figuring that the lower portion

raI se your young.

That means that this simple, earth-sheltered greenhouse

Gophers and my poor results aside, there were a couple of

moderates somewhat the effect of excessive heat

thought to be salting with ascorbic acid the samples be

about five surfaces - add another two plus units. And, finally,

hold it with one hand while scraping in the earth with a shovel

gone through the looking glass with Alice? What was going

a two-step process. The first step is to char

tamped around the post must go in small increments, of per-

headache and requested another assignment.) And there is

One supposed old-time method we were told about in-

plants. This shocked the seedlings on cold days. No way to



the glass was horizontal to the ground, much of the sun's

down. Poorly-set fence posts

cover long rows of plants, for the sake of illustration let's cre-

tle perhaps, but a descriptive one for a sys-

of the sun and the warmth of the earth. How I pondered and

greens fresh from the garden nine or ten or even twelve

plants by just reaching. I would never have to get up in the

(l0'x I2 ') $50 Underground House - we soaked the posts in a

penta and diesel oil solution. When we came to our senses

should be as simple as

'L_--;,:

And there was a -2 for that vent we mentioned. All together,

But wouldn't it be nice to have home-grown, organic

plants. That way I would have headroom. And with a grow

pany executives and other rascals may protest that a lengthy 20-

the north and slanted on the east and west sides and that, since

/.:r--

the roots of the plants reached the fresh horse manure below

sun was shining and the air reeked of the polyethylene disinte-

say 6x6s, he might be able to tape two levels to the post and

"

pitcb tbe roof, we would get 202' of exposed surface for a -202.

the two. The soutb wall, the cold- sink wall, was 5' x8' for a

The pier method bas a built-in flaw whicb

sbould add a final two plusses, bringing the score to -1 /+ I0 vs.

faces combined, or an additional minus 20% for each of the

us of the outside boundary. That is, our posts will be set inside

to the otherwise lowest spot, the growing bed, now spills into

holes must be large enough to accommodate shovel handles all



layer of polyethylene.

the roots and the trapped air in the space above.A grow

nique that had been used by farmers in cold country for more

minus 16 units. We'll see in Chapter 16 that we are dubi-

things about the concept that looked like they could be im-

edges which may rip the polyethylene. We have previously

those early years (all right, I didn't have a place at all - I was

the months when it would be most beneficial.

the grow-hole so we can add another plus unit there. Then

effect of wind scrubbing on the hoop unit so we can probably

phenomenon till I saw that the plant was beginning to sink into

stumbled into the earth-sheltered greenhouse and cold-sink

south wall in the shaded area to stand in while working on the

house gets an additional -15 wind scrubbing units for a total of

I didn't have either electricity or a place with central heat

COLD-SINK GREENHOUSE: +116 HEAT UNlTS

tion. One holds the post while the other sees ifit is plumb and

moist sand. Radishes, too, I discovered, would keep in moist

deep in which the bottom six to twelve inches has been back-


was 2'x8' or an additional 16 sq. ft for a total of 40 horizon-

bedded longer, perhaps for the season. So that was my first

clude that a grow-hole is up to eight times more effective than

version - had just dug

bob string visually aligned with the edge of the post. We do

21

The grow-hole concept

18

The grow-hole was not a success for me that year. I



None of the others were quaking . I stood and pondered this

after the charring. We char them over a

Note: The earth-sheltered, cold-sink greenhouse calcu-

ate a situation in which a grower might want to put a single

piling tbe dirt from the

the trench where it is warmed by the earth behind the walls.

EPDM, the artificial rubber swimming pool and containment

of the cold-sink was a door and was a -10.

sand. Apples, if they are "keeper apples", will over-winter

ground builders

position himself to work on the plants. If you utilized the

the ground. I stood there, mouth agape. I began to question

plant, say a tomato start, under protection. Let's say he inserts

.,'

this has you confused, skip over it. We're merely trying to be

filled with fresh horse manure, the middle is a layer of grow-

a three-foot hole with-

dles.

mature did not produce and, in fact, did not survive. The for-

camping at first), and a grow-hole made a lot of sense as a way

call "wind scrub-


to keep squeezing the air out of the bags so not to have any

season a month or more. Before electricity and central heat

This greenhouse had the additional benefit of the earth

Almost immediately I had gopher problems. This was to

The first cold-sink greenhouse

organic greens for pennies, and need not reinvent the wheel,

...,.", .



made of, only garbage bags are usually just 1.2 millimeter

at a time, pulling the surplus to the sides, then wrapping it

CHAPTER 3

Above ground Earth-sheltered

with either posthole diggers or shovels and set the posts. The

our disappointment we were never able to

sides then resting the

bage bags, usually the full-sized black ones, though for green-

The Ean h-Shcltercd Solnr Greenhouse Book 45

hole traps, utilizes and stores the heat generated by the

have to work lying down or sitting bent forward. But if you

(x2)

plants which were

improve upon it? That

miserably folks have failed to appreciate earth sheltering .

33

situation.

The seedlings were taking a beating each time this hap-

this, and it is this simple: The coldest air, which would sink

the protected growing surface beneath is also one square foot.

Then we wrap the cooled, charred ends in plastic gar-

score to a win of + 350.

and plastic system, a common method today of protecting

was going to invest such time and resources, then wouldn't it

method, we did some experimenting. One was to

keeps it from stacking back up and covering the plants again.

two house roof layers, however, we are now beginning to use

,

l"![




- blocking at least half of the sun - and I was spending pre-

to guesstimate. During the discussion before of the grow-hole

as described in The $50 & Up Underground House Book.

the other which is on the surface. A reasonable guess is tbat it

use three 2x6's nailed or screwed together

greenhouse by night.

5. By storing heat in the surrounding earth, a grow-hole

What I finally decided was to dig a trencb along the

one square foot example above the ratio was 2/3 or 40/60. If

tending the growing season .

west walls of the growing bed were each 2 ' x3 ' or a + 12 for

sky towards summer, there would still be no sun there during

getting tired of seeing my hard work go up in frost. Several

ond year I actually got a new bole dug and the earth piled to

22 The grow-hole concept

H

bing". Wind scrubbing is what causes the "chill factor"

1980's. (In fact [ was put to work in that greenhouse when the


beautifully. Otbers were having success keeping beets, pars-

each heat-adding a plus one unit, we see we have a -5/+ I unit

and on a slant on the

ground greenhouse.

earth are dumped at once, it will not tamp solid all the way

Coleman has had good effect using them inside his above

doing the reading is satisfied with the plumb, he begins the

from their tunnels. I

46 P(SfP construction



What we came up with in the end,

not a million-dollar researcb study, but it would seem to me a

":...------

hole, doing much of the gopher's work for them.

begins the backfilling. Because of the irregular surface of un-

pea plants, waist high in a row of similar plants in my garden,

the danger of frost has passed. [t can thus extend the growing

garden soil. There were other tricks like making tea from

than a century. A grow-hole consists of a pit two to three feet

hippy days. Cold this be an acid flashback? Had I suddenly

own creosote, for creosote, we are told, is the product of the

the dormant winter season - a nine-month growing season

17

44 P/S!P construction

anyway, thereby squashing the hysteria of critics. We add an-

where there is a need to temporarily shelter long rows of crops.

insulate it, cover the insulation with polyethylene and the

the earth. It radiates up, warming both the soil around

tal square feet. That's 40 square feet of horizontal surface

lar floor space. I can ' t remember the exact measurements of

will add 25 per cent more heat per square foot than the other. So

seedlings and sometimes mature plants. This is when garden-

cates of the above-ground systems. We gave you that one

this from two directions, say the north and east. When the guy

volved soaking or otherwise impregnating stovepipe creosote

Tne Earth-Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book 35

astounded me by making coleslaw from garden cabbage she

into wood. We were told it was a common practice among

anyway, and the top foot of earthen walls would be held in



and it is warmed passively by the heat of the earth . This

we used on the hillside greenhouse.

we anticipated from the start.

38 The fi rst co ld sink greenhouse

2' to)' in the ground, earth might be added six to twelve sepa-

could easily double the heat loss from an above-ground green-

and mentors they smi led ruefully and shook their heads.

r did and it worked. I put the potatoes in sacks or in

- say if you wanted to leave some of the seedlings in the pit

is 318 heat units to the better compared to a similar above-

-42

in humans and animals on cold, windy days. It is what

Subtract a +40 for the heat arising from tbe earthen floor, and we

growing surface adding heat is joined by the four walls also

In the case of the grow hole the ratio is reversed. The

in the other, inverting it and tamping with the handle.

place by the roots of the grass surrounding the pit. It sounded

Post/ShoringfPolyetbylene, or P/SfP, is the method we

later read that if the degree is great enough from perpendicu-

out of most of the wind avoids most of the wind scrub-

ground. We use small trees right off the

be the first of decades of struggle with those #@%$&! demons.

face. They could instead just shove it horizontally out their

for reason of comparison factors we have to add +41 more

taller and that you

off any sharp edges or protruding limb stubs that could tear the

the principle upon which this book is based.

-6/+ 1.

traditional



could, and neitber the plants nor I were happy. Only the #@%

can 't remember all the details, but I do recall that my trans-

I had met the enemy and he was #%$&! gophers.

two hoops into the ground a little more than a foot high at right

on? I watched with alarmed fascination as the rate of descent

greens in the spring before you can even think of working

And there is the wind scrubbing factor. This is a toughie

years in a row I'd scurried along, same as my gardening

lem with the hoop method - score another.)

Chapter 2

the loose earth wouldn ' t of its own stand in vertical walls, it

fore the next course is scraped or shoveled in. On a post sunk

bas over the grow-hole. The hoops have tbeir place. Elliott

ground over which they stretch polyethylene. This system is

begin to shake when none others were. Was it the wind? Then

would be, in fact, a greenhouse.

And we have forgotten that the horse manure is adding beat to

of surface area on the two sides and top, or a 2/60 ratio. Ln our

43

growing season. I was also able to harvest some greens in

•

,

.\

ring hardens the wood. [t also creates its

house projects the smaller, white garbage pail liners might suf-

The Eanh-Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book 39

warmed by the sun all day and radiated the heat back into the

will be radiating heat from the earth's depths plus the suo's

would find yourself cramped by the low glazing there. You'd





wind.

farmers for their fence posts, and they only stopped when

+ 164 and -76 heat units. That's 88 heat units to the plus.

and the earth. Though the hoop system is generally used to

winter - but once is enough. The plants need only freeze once

staked out the site with batter boards, and run string to inform

make my land payments to weed and water properly; that the

correct it, or at least

proved upon. One was the pitch of tbe glazing. If you are los-

worked against the north wall where there was head room,

P/S/P construction

season a couple of weeks at best. Many hours of conscien-

be braced from the inside of the structure. This is a hassle

to rest on tbe highest part of the mound to the north. That

than four hundred dollars I was able to permanently triple my

here is what I recall:

backfilling and tamping, but stopping to check every so often

tious gardening work deserved more reward than that. [be-

pened, of course. Their leaves were coated with dust and mud

Polyethylene is the stuff your plastic garbage bags are

ground greenhouses, and [ saw this used in a greenhouse at a

gan a personal quest to find a passive, low-cost way of ex-

would also give more

But where were the fresb winter greens? A pretty

causes, I think: the fact that I don 't have a green thumb; that I

the hoop and plastic method. But wait. We have forgotten the

Then there was the problem of what would happen if

months of tbe year instead of one to three months? I was

•..:i!.t -



growing bed at all.

ing the sun's warmtb at any given moment of sunsbine, we

of most of the

haps 6 to 8 inch depth then compacted to perhaps half that be-

A grow hole looks like this:

Documents

Problem Depth Happen