Many people are aware that chemical pesticides and herbicides used on crops are bad for human health and the environment, but relatively few people are aware that they can also make you gain weight.

Many chemical pesticides and herbicides are known or suspected xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are a type of endocrine disruptor, a man-made substance that interferes with the body’s hormone balance. Xenoestrogens interfere with hormone balance by mimicking the behavior of the hormone estrogen in the body. Estrogen is a very important hormone that is vital to good health, especially for women. However, if estrogen levels get too high, either naturally or because of the effects of xenoestrogens, it can cause many health problems, from menstrual cramps and migraines to infertility and breast cancer. Excessive levels of estrogen are known as estrogen dominance.

How Xenoestrogens Make You Gain Weight

Another common side effect of estrogen dominance is weight gain. This is because of the interaction between estrogen and another major hormone called insulin. Insulin is used by the body to convert glucose, a type of sugar created when the body digests food, into energy. The body can become resistant to the effects of insulin over time due to any of several factors. When insulin resistance develops, the body can no longer convert glucose to energy and instead begins to store it as fat. If left untreated, insulin resistance can lead to obesity, diabetes, and many other serious health problems.

Estrogen is known to increase the body’s resistance to insulin. When estrogen levels are normal, the effect is negligible. However, when there are excessive levels of estrogen in the body, estrogen dominance can be a major factor in the development of insulin resistance.

Unfortunately, once the body become estrogen dominant and insulin resistant, it often becomes trapped in a vicious cycle. Estrogen is produced by fat cells, so excessive estrogen causes the body to become more insulin resistant and create more fat cells. The fat cells produce more estrogen, causing the body to become more estrogen dominant, which results in more insulin resistance, which leads to more weight gain, and so on.

How Organic Foods Can Help

Organic foods can help break the cycle by reducing the levels of xenoestrogens in your body, decreasing estrogen dominance.

Chemical residues on foods might not seem like much, but over time, they do add up. Studies have found that the average American consumes about one pound of pesticides and other chemical residues every year from food.

The effect of this exposure over time is still poorly understood. However, it is known that many chemicals break down very slowly. One of the most notorious xenoestrogens of all time, DDT, was banned decades ago in the United States, yet detectable levels of the pesticide are still found in the breast tissue of many women. Women who have detectable levels of the pesticide in their breast tissue are five times more likely to develop breast cancer than those who don’t – often 20 or 30 years after their initial exposure to the chemical.

Switching to organic food reduces the chemical load in your body and begins to restore your body’s natural hormone balance. Although switching to organics may not help you lose weight if it is the only step you take, by reducing your body’s level of insulin resistance it can help you lose weight more easily when combined with other diet and lifestyle changes.

The Most Important Fruits and Vegetables To Buy Organic

If you can’t afford to go completely organic, you can still reduce your exposure to xenoestrogens by buying these fruits and vegetables, which typically have the highest chemical residues, organic:

• strawberries
• spinach cabbage
• pineapples
• green beans
• asparagus
• apricots
• raspberries
• cherries
• apples
• peaches
• grapes
• sweet peppers

Other Important Foods To Buy Organic

The other most important foods to buy organic are meat and dairy products. Growth hormones fed to conventionally raised animals to make them reach slaughter-weight more quickly are another major source of xenoestrogens in food. Conventional dairy is triple trouble. Non-organic dairy products combine naturally occurring female hormones found in milk with the growth hormones given to the cows to make them produce more milk. Chemical residues from non-organic feed are also stored in fatty tissue in cows just as they are in humans, so milk can become contaminated by chemical residues stored in the udder. Organically raised animals are fed organic feed and never given growth hormones. Organic standards also seek to ensure a more humane and natural lifestyle for the animals, in addition to the health benefits for consumers.

Article originally posted by blogger Kerry G on Hubpages.

I heard a writing professor interviewed on the radio today who instructs his students to write stories that take place within five miles of their hometowns. He said the point of this exercise is to encourage his students to become attuned, in a deeper way, to the story and character of their locales. The same can be said with eating locally.

Food, of course, is about more than just what we put in our mouths. It has social, cultural, and historic functions. And by becoming familiar with the foods that grow around us, we gain a more meaningful – and intuitive – understanding of the place where we live. For example, I was born in Ohio and lived there until I was 13. To me, Ohio green beans taste quite distinct, and are more appealing to me than green beans grown anywhere else. My mother says the same thing about Ohio tomatoes. And specifically, tomatoes grown in southern Ohio, in the Ohio River valley. By familiarizing ourselves with the foods that grow in our areas, we physically and fundamentally connect to our environment. And, as we build memories around that food, our emotional ties to our surroundings grow stronger.

In addition, eating locally means eating seasonally, which helps us build an intuitive simpatico with the ebb and flow of the earth’s cycles. I am currently reading The Backyard Homestead, a fantastic book that I highly recommend for anyone interested in gardening or homesteading. The author explains how she knows when to plant particular crops by the flight patterns of insects and the colors of leaves. She is truly in sync with the earth, and she achieved that because she wanted to grow foods that would thrive in her particular locale, at particular times of the year.

There are many benefits to eating locally. The food is fresher, the carbon footprint is smaller, and local businesses are supported. But perhaps the most profound benefit is the way that eating locally helps us to become attuned – in a fundamentally human way – to the earth and our surroundings.

Sarah Cooke is a writer living in California. She is interested in organic food and green living. Sarah holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Naropa University, an M.A. in Humanities from NYU, and a B.A. in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University. She has written for a number of publications, and she studied Pastry Arts at the Institute for Culinary Education. Her interests include running, yoga, baking, and poetry. Read more on her blog.

Documentary Probes the Simplistic Life back in the Garden of Eden-

Back to Eden is a new feature documentary that follows one man’s revolutionary approach to organic gardening. “It’s all about the covering!” is how Paul Gautschi enthusiastically describes his gardening method that mimics the self sustaining design of nature. The film shows how gardeners and farmers worldwide can easily transform their agricultural practice into a simple and productive process of growing organic food. Revealing critical issues such as soil preparation, fertilization, irrigation, weed and pest control, crop rotation, and pH issues, the documentary focuses on proactive solutions, leaving the delving into the background politics to preceding documentary films such as Food, Inc. and Dirt! Back to Eden offers not only a fresh perspective on critical environmental issues but digs deeper into true stories of experiencing faith, seeking relationship and the power of forming community. Highlighted interviews include specialists in human ecology, nutrition, horticulture, and agriculture.

An exclusive preview can be viewed here: http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

The day I turned 25 years old I headed straight to the store and bought loads of different ultra pricey skin creams. I was sure this would keep me wrinkle-free. By 30 my tone had changed. I began to realize that while I still wanted to look young and vibrant, youth came from the inside. The foods you eat show through your skin. They’re what end up keeping you looking young or not so much. After all, your food is your medicine, three times a day, everyday. As you already knew it’s loads of fruits and vegetables as well as other whole foods that end up doing the trick. If you’re concerned with aging gracefully, start where it matters, in your diet. Here are seven foods that will keep you looking younger longer.

1. Avocado and Other Good Fats:

Avocado has a lot of things going for it not the least of which is its fat content. You’ll notice that as you age those with little flesh on the body, especially in the face, begin to age faster. A little flesh keeps us looking younger. Bathe yourself in good fats like olive oil and avocado. If you’re concerned with cutting the fat, focus on the bad fats like lard and excessive amounts of butter.

2. Water-Based Fruits and Vegetables:

Hydration is a big part of looking young because it helps that skin retain moisture. When the skin is dehydrated it lays flatter on the body and wrinkles begin to show. This means not only drinking loads of water, but also making sure that you’re loading up on water heavy fruits and vegetables. Some really good choices include watermelon, cucumber, and citrus fruits.

3. Guava:

Guava is great for your skin because it’s loaded with vitamin C. According to the Dr. Oz Show, it has 4 times as much as citrus fruits. Vitamin C serves as the body’s natural Botox, keeping your skin cells full and wrinkle-free.

4. Oysters:

Depending on type and variety oyster, they provide 16 to 182 mg of zinc per 100g serving, according to Healthalicious. This accounts for 110 to 1200 percent of the RDA for zinc. Zinc serves to repair damage done to skin cells. So if you spent too much time out in the sun as a child and caused problems for your skin, zinc can prepare it.

5. Sweet Potatoes:

Sweet potatoes have beta-carotene, which is known to balance your skin’s pH, helps combat dryness, and promotes cell turnover, all resulting in smoother skin. Combining good fats like coconut or olive oil with beta-carotene makes it even more effective.

6. Seasonal Berries:

Berries are among the highest is antioxidant content. Berries like blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries have some of the highest antioxidant capacity. These antioxidants fight the free radicals that cause wrinkling on the skin.

7. Omega Fatty Acids Oil:

“Essential fatty acids are responsible for healthy cell membranes, which is not only what act as barriers to harmful things but also as the passageway for nutrients to cross in and out and for waste products to get in and out of the cell,” Ann Yelmokas McDermott, PhD, a nutritionist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston told WebMd.

Omega 3 is made up of three acids EPA, DHA, and ALA. ALA can be found in hemp seeds, flax seeds, and chia seeds. DHA and EPA are found in algae, spirulina, blue-green algae, and chlorella. Omega 6′s are found in many vegetarian foods including olive oil, whole grains, and avocados.

Article Originally Posted by Sara Novak, Planet Green

Group Will Build Gardens & Educate Young People About Healthy Food-

Just weeks ago, a new organization was established by America’s youths in order to combat the nation’s growing rate of childhood obesity and disease related to poor diet. Dubbed FoodCorps, the group is working to build school gardens and develop Farm to School programs to ensure that children can have what we’re all entitled to: access to cheap, fresh food. “These young leaders are dedicating a year of their lives to help give kids a relationship with healthy food that we hope will last a lifetime,” said Curt Ellis, co-founder and executive director of FoodCorps. The initial 50 volunteers were selected from over 1,200 candidates and will soon be training at the Growing Power Community Food Center in Milwaukee, WI, where they will learn to build gardens, educate young people about healthy eating habits, and more. After their week long study session, the FoodCorps members will be sent over to host sites in Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oregon. “As a nation, we are tightening our fiscal belt, yet health-related obesity costs are projected to reach $344 billion by 2018. FoodCorps is a sound investment in a healthy future and gives our kids a chance to beat back the painful and costly epidemic of diet-related disease,” said co-founder and FoodCorps Program Director Debra Eschmeyer. Check out the FoodCorps website for more info on how you can become a service member or host site for the pioneering group.

Research Indicates that Antibiotic-Fed Poultry is at Higher Risk of Drug Resistant Bacterial Contamination-

A new study shows that the use of antibiotics in farm-raised poultry has led to higher instances of enterococci bacteria contamination than those raised with organic methods. Discontinuing antibiotic use in large scale poultry farms “can result in immediate and significant reductions in antibiotic resistance for some bacteria,” according to “Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-resistant Enterococci on U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms that Transitioned to Organic Practices,” recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

“We initially hypothesized that we would see some differences in on-farm levels of antibiotic-resistant enterococci when poultry farms transitioned to organic practices. But we were surprised to see that the differences were so significant across several different classes of antibiotics even in the very first flock that was produced after the transition to organic standards,” explained Dr. Amy R. Sapkota, the study’s lead researcher, an assistant professor with the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health. “It is very encouraging.” Scientists discovered that a whopping 67 percent of Enterococcus faecalis studied in poultry from farms using traditional antibiotics were resistant to the antibiotic erythromycin, however only 18 percent of the bacteria from organic poultry farms studied were found to be resistant. More information can be found by visiting TriplePundit.com.

Originally Posted on Wilderness.org-

Green weddings are getting easier than ever. Whether you plan to say ‘I do’ at a church alter or from the overlook of a gorgeous mountain vista, choosing a few green wedding tips will help you ensure that the lasting impression of your wedding is on the hearts of those attending, not on the wildlands you cherish.

Planning a wedding yourself? Here are 9 green wedding tips to make your day beautiful in all ways:

1. Order tree-friendly invitations: Save trees by printing your invitations–and thank you notes–on recycled paper. These days a host of companies specialize in beautiful hand-crafted invitations on 100 percent recycled paper.

2. Register for gifts that don’t end up in the landfill: Ask for donations to charities you care about rather than gifts that will eventually end-up in the landfill. TisBest offers offers charity gift cards so you can pick your favorite organization to support (like The Wilderness Society!) Or, if you don’t like that idea, you can always register for eco-friendly gifts, such as trees for your yard. The trees will be cherished for years to come while they perform double duty soaking up carbon.

3. Consider organic or local flowers: Select seasonal flowers that don’t have to be shipped from afar or organic flowers, which are grown using fewer chemicals. Organic Bouquet is one option.

4. Save money on your dress: Save money and resources by revamping vintage wedding dresses, or purchasing a dress made out of sustainable materials, such as organic cotton, silk or hemp. Recycled Bride connects buyers with sellers. Also, consider letting your bridesmaids wear their own previously purchased dresses within a color theme you pick, or select dresses that they can easily wear again.

5. Buy conscientious wedding rings: To avoid conflict diamonds and the environmental impacts of gold mining you might consider exchanging rings made of recycled materials, or vintage family heirlooms, which can make the meaning even more special. Greener Diamond offers resources on alternatives to conflict-free, green diamonds and questions you can ask to ensure you’re buying a clean ring.

6. Find a caterer who offers locally sourced, organic or vegetarian options: Supporting locally produced food helps reduce greenhouse gases created in the transportation of food–not to mention it’s generally fresher, healthier and better tasting. Organic fare uses fewer chemicals and agricultural practices that harm ecoysystems, and eating vegetarian helps decrease greenhouse gases and water pollution associated with meat production. (Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, the livestock sector is responsible of 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, even outdoing transportation.) Greenyour.com is a great resource for choosing organic and locally-sourced caterers and restaurants.

7. Get creative with wedding favors: Eco-friendly wedding favors include simple items that your guests will appreciate, such as organic chocolate, wildflower seeds, plants or hand-made items.

8. Don’t make your guests travel once in town: Choose hotels near to your ceremony and reception to eliminate the need for rental cars.

9. Reduce, reuse, recycle: Weddings can be huge affairs. If you can’t bare to go with a smaller wedding that uses less resources, see what you can do to recycle and reuse after the big event. For example, ask your facility about their recycling policy, and after the big day is over, donate your flower bouquets and table adornments to a nursing home, where they will be fully appreciated.

Still not sure how easy a green wedding might be to arrange? Take if from our Wildlands Communication Manager Emily Diamond-Falk, who says planning a green wedding is easy, and much better for the budget.

For her eco-friendly wedding, Emily and her fiancée Alex have arranged to have local, seasonal flowers, locally sourced food and recycled materials for their reception and ceremony. With the exception of hard liquor, all of their beer, wine and food (which will be vegetarian) will come from within a 150 mile range. Invitations will be printed on recycled material. And Emily’s wedding dress is also recycled in a way – it was originally her mother’s. “Even the yarmulkes we are giving out are made from recycled cardboard,” Emily said. Emily and Alex also picked hotels that are walking distance from the wedding and other weekend events, so out-of-town guests won’t need to drive.

Via DoorGarden.com-

* This Article is featured in Jan 2010 issue of Birds and Blooms Magazine!
* Want to find out if this thing works before you read all this? Read 6 months in the Greenhouse first.
* Want to see what happens when a few inches of wet snow accumulates on this? Collapse!
* Building the Greenhouse Doors is addressed in a separate article – isn’t this enough for one weekend?

Materials List

Hind Sight – What I would do differently

The planning is over and construction on my hoop house greenhouse has begun. I’ve rounded up all of the materials and it looks like I’m going to end up with about $50 in a 165 square ft. green house. Granted I already had most of the materials because I’m an incorrigible pack rat, but even if I had bought everything new just for this polytunnel It would still only come to about $120-$150 (less than a dollar per square ft). Due to the fact that we are in the midst of a global economic meltdown, and the future is a bit uncertain keeping the cost of this project as low as possible is an important consideration.

After some research I’ve decided to build the structure of the hoop house out of 20 ft. joints of three quarter inch PVC plumbing pipe. Some similar greenhouse designs that I’ve run across use 10 ft joints of pipe and then fasten everything together with pipe fittings, but I’m saving quite a bit of cash with the long joints of pipe and by not using any fittings – also overall simplicity is improved. There is one thing though, you can carry 10 ft joints of pipe in the mini van, but hauling 20′ pipe requires a truck and preferably a ladder rack. However, you could just cut them in half right at the home improvement store and then put them back together when you get home with the coupling that is built into one end of the 20′ long pipe joints – 10′ pipe joints don’t have the built in couplers – just go to the home improvement store prepared with a saw or pipe cutter.

My hoop house green house is going to be 11 feet wide and 15 feet long, and will be about seven and a half feet tall in the center. You could make one of these as long or as short as you want, but using this design the width needs to be between 10-12 feet. 11 feet wide just happpened to work out with the layout of my garden which has 3 foot wide beds with 5 ft paths between (the wide paths are so that I can keep it tidy with my riding lawn mower) so eleven feet covers two beds and the path between them. This width also makes the sides go fairly straight up from the ground for the first few feet – I’ve noticed that in some hoop house / polytunnel designs the outer edges are almost unusable because of the slope of the greenhouse sides.

If your Greenhouse is too Flat it will collapse!

You might be tempted to make your greenhouse wider and lower at this point to get more floor space out of it – but be careful. If you have snow in your area it will slide off of a high peak a lot better than it will if your greenhouse has more of a flattened shape – and the same goes for heavy rains. If your hoop house shape is too flattened it will cave in the first time it snows or rains really hard!

How to Build the $50 Hoop House

I decided to begin the construction by building the end walls first – even though it would be more fun to throw up the main structure in just an hour or so and make a big showing of progress, I think that in the long run it will be quicker and easier to build the end frames first on my garage floor.

I temporarily attached a joint of pipe to a piece of 1×4 to establish the outline. You might be tempted to make your greenhouse wider and lower at this point to get more floor space out of it – but be careful. If you have snow in your area it will slide off of a high peak a lot better than it will if your greenhouse has more of a flattened shape – and the same goes for heavy rains. If your greenhouse is to flattened it will cave in the first time is snows or rains really hard!

Pre-drill the pipe and use one screw so that the pipe can swivel to whatever angle it naturally aligns to. For now just let the wood "run wild"

I used pressure treated lumber for much of the polytunnel end frames even though I usually try to avoid treated wood in the garden. In this case I think it’s called for or else the greenhouse probably wouldn’t last more than 2-3 years without rebuilding the frame. In any event I’ll try to keep it off of the soil as much as possible.

Build the rest of the frame to accommodate the door size that you want to use. My door will be 5 feet wide, but in most cases 3' wide would be adequate. If you want a more permanant greenhouse or you live where you will ever get more than an inch of snow you should use "two by" lumber instead of "one by" that is shown here.

Leave the piece that runs across the bottom of the door in place for now. Once everything is set in place it will be easy to cut out with a hand saw.

I used a bit of weather resistand glue at all of the joints to help make it all more rigid. Notice the wood recycled from concrete form lumber.

Mark the final outline once the wooden parts are assembled. Watch out for that screw when you saw to the line!

Now just trim to the line – I used a reciprocating/sabre saw, but you could also use a hand saw or circular saw if it's all you have. Just make a straight cut in about the right place.

Now re-attach the pipe to the outside of the frame. I used screws and wire ties because I'm a belt *and* suspenders kind of guy.

The end wall frames ended up being reasonably light and very rigid. BTW, you might notice that the second one is different (simpler) from the first because this is a learn-as-I go process. Both of them work fine though.

back side of the green house end frame

and the front side… Notice that the plastic that will be the roof and sides of your greenhouse are going to fold over the ends and staple to the wooden parts. If you don't have enough wooden structure in the ends you won't be able to fasten the plastic and you will have trouble with it coming lose when the wind blows – and during heavy rain or snow you will be more likely to have problems with the very top sagging and holding water (or snow). If the top sags, it holds water, that makes it heavy and it sags more, then it holds more water… eventually it collapses. You don't want that

This is the front side because it is all on one plane so that the plastic skin will lay flat on it. The back side has reinforcement gussets that stick out.

And Now for the Plastic

The plastic sheeting that I’m using is plain old non-UV stabilized 6 mil “clear” plastic sheeting from the lumber yard. There is exactly one reason that I am using this particular variety instead of special polytunnel / greenhouse plastic – it’s what I have. I cut a 22′ piece off of a 100′ x 20′ roll that I already had (I’m a contractor) which was about $90 for the roll – so in essence I used about $22 worth of plastic sheeting after you apply the 10% TN sales tax. Had I ordered real green house plastic from littlegreenhouse.com a similar sized piece of 6 mil plastic would have been about $71 with shipping. The real deal would no doubt last much longer than the “visqueen” that I’m using, and also probably has better thermal and light transmittance. If all goes well maybe I’ll get some of that next year. Also, It’s hard to buy large pieces of heavy duty plastic like this without buying a whole roll, so unless you know a contractor or Mom and Pop hardware store that will cut you a piece you might really be better off ordering some of the good stuff. On the other hand a big roll of plastic sheet is one of those things that comes in awfully handy some times.

I just rolled the plastic out on the frame… Notice the falling leaves – I'm racing against fall weather with this project.

and cut it off nice and clean with a sharp utility knife. A scrap of wood to cut over and a sharp knife make this much easier.

after stapling the plastic to the front, flip the frame over and fold over the plastic and staple it to the back. Just fold the excess together as you go. Fold in the direction that will be down so that condensation won't collect under the folds.

then trim off the excess. Be careful not to make a miss-cut!

Cut the plastic out of the door opening – leave enough to fold double before stapling it to the frame. Notice the cuts back to the corners of at the top.

Thusly

Mark out the locations of the door sides on the ground, and drive fence posts or long pieces of rebar at the sides of the door frame.

If you have much wind I would recommend using steel fence posts or rebar that is at least 5/8″ diameter in these spots. My fence posts don’t match because they’re left overs from previous projects – remember, I’m on a tight budget!

Check the fence posts for plumb and bend them a little if they need straightening.

Tie the hoop house end frames to the fence posts with wire ties, wire or rope.

The humongous wire ties made this really quick easy and strong, but If I didn’t already have them I would just use “baling” wire, and it would work as well.

Once the end frames are in place pull a string to line up the stakes for the ribs.

Drive rebar pins every 3 feet to secure the intermediate ribs…

At this point it takes about 2 minutes to install the pvc pipes for the intermediate ribs – and the polytunnel takes shape. For a stronger, more permanant structure use more ribs and put them closer together – or even use larger pipe. I haven't tried it but I bet you could use up to 1 1/2" pipe – although you might have to bend it into shape on a warm day.

As you can see it’s getting dark, and I’ll have to finish this later. Total time invested so far is about 2 1/2 hours. I believe that taking the greenhouse down next summer, and re-assembling it in the fall will probably only take an hour or so, but I guess I’ll see about that.

Addendum:

Complete Materials list for the “$50 Greenhouse” – As Built

Each Qty Total
$4. 23 (6) $25.38 20′ x 3/4″ PVC schedule 40 plumbing pipe
$6.70 (6) $40.20 1x6x8′ pt – ripped into 1x3s
$4.99 (4) $19.96 8′ steel “T” fence post
$2.18 (3) $6.54 2×4 stud – rip into 1x2s
$3.97 (2) $7.94 1x4x12′ pt
$5.73 (1) $5.73 2x4x16′ rip into 2x2s
$7.91 (1) $7.91 20′x1/2″ rebar – cut into 18′ lengths
$4.88 (.75) $3.66 8″ nylon wire ties – 100
$5.47 (.5) $2.74 1 1/4″ x 1lb drywall screws
$6.97 (.3) $2.09 16 guage galvanized utility wire – 200′ – for X braces
$2.97 (.25) $0.74 3/8″ t-50 staples – 1000
$79.00 (.22) $17.38 20′ x 100′ x 6 mil clear plastic
Scraps of plywood for reinforcements – scrounged
$140.27 Total

In the comments:

Deb says: August 23, 2009 at 5:36 am

I built this a couple weekends ago and it cost $136 and some change from Home Depot. While it is more than $50 in reality in August 2009, it is an easy and fun project you can do in an afternoon the first time around easily.

OK, that’s a bit more than I estimated because I didn’t count all of the minor bits that I just take for granted because I buy them in bulk and keep them on hand. These prices are what you would pay if you just bought the quantities that you need for this project. Drywall screws for example are only about a third as much when you buy a 25 lb box like I do being a contractor. However, you can shave most of the 20 dollar overage by using 5/8 rebar instead of fence posts, and gray UV resistant PVC conduit which is actually less expensive than the non resistant white plumbing pipe that I used – you can also do without wire ties, and use scraps of wire instead, etc. I already had everything on hand except for the PVC pipe and a couple of pieces of 1×6 lumber. However, surely almost anyone can get some of this stuff for cheap or free if they put some time and effort into it – so shop around and use your imagination to find what will work best for you.

Admittedly it might be hard for most people to build this for just $50 out of pocket, but then again a serious scrounger can probably do it for even less.

Hind Sight – What I would do Differently

1. As originally built this hoophouse design is subject to collapse under even a moderate snow load. It has to be beefed up a bit.
2. Use UV resistant gray PVC Conduit instead of white plumbing pipe – it should last longer and is actually less expensive
3. Use UV resistant greenhouse plastic instead of “visqueen” construction plastic – It’s a good bit more expensive, but I’m so pleased with how the polytunnel turned out so far that I’m pretty sure the investment in durability would be worth while. However, if the extra expense meant putting off the project I would go ahead and use the cheap plastic because 1) The plastic will have to be replaced sooner or later anyway and the difference in cost seems proportional to the difference in life span 2) It wouldn’t be worth putting off having a perfectly usable greenhouse.
4. I should have painted the PVC pipes with latex paint before applying the plastic sheeting – apparently this makes the poly sheet last longer, and maybe makes the frame pipes more resistant to UV.
5. Site Selection – As you can see in the pictures my garden is in a clearing in the woods and the truth is it doesn’t get as much sun as I would like for it to – however I can still grow a nice garden – it just doesn’t yield as much as it might. I can’t really do very much about this, but you should keep in mind that you want as much sun as possible as well as a sheltered well drained spot that is as close to the kitchen as possible so that it isn’t too much trouble to trot out and get a bowl of fresh lettuce for supper. All that being said – do the best you can with the spot you have, and you might be surprised with the results you can get with a little effort.
6. Next time I think I will use screws and battens made of plywood strips to secure the main skin to the end walls (I’m not talking about the end wall skin here) so that instead of using 200 staples I will use a couple of dozen screws to accomplish the same thing, but it will make it quicker to put up and take down. When I do it I’ll add pictures for clarification.

Other homebuilt greenhouses:

* PVC greenhouse – quite similar to mine but with a few differences that are very worth looking at.
* A great wood framed greenhouse design – great construction details.
* An excellent article on high tunnel greenhouses by The University of Vermont.

The Greenhouse doors are built now and my small hoop house is complete.

Update – Dec. 10, 2008 – we had 2″ of rain and 30 mile per hour winds last night and so far so good – no damage to the greenhouse.

Does it really work? Does the wind blow it away? Is it even worth the effort? Read 6 months in the Greenhouse.

Deceptive “Organic” Foodstuff being Sold to Many Vendors throughout America-

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program has released evidence which reveals a plot involving the importation of uncertified organic foods from a fraudulent supplier in China. The USDA says that the deceptive Chinese vendor use a counterfeit organic certificate to sell non-organic crops, including buckwheat, millet and soybeans. Nick Maravell, an organic farmer of 31 years and owner of Nick’s Organic Farm in Adamstown, Potomac, tells the Frederick News Post that the major problem of purchasing cheap organic imports is the inability to confirm the authenticity of such crops. “If I need to supplement my supply of organic soybeans for my feed operation, I buy American beans from local organic farmers I know personally,” Maravell said. To make matters worse, this organic counterfeit epidemic doesn’t just stop with grains. China’s “organic” ginger was discovered to be tainted with a pesticide called aldicarb which, at low doses, causes blurred vision, nausea and headaches. Very high doses can be fatal in humans because it can paralyze the respiratory system. The Chinese-imported ginger was reported to have contained levels of aldicarb so excessive that it wouldn’t have even been acceptable for non-organic ginger by USDA standards. Its really good to hear that the USDA is finally doing something to enforce laws to protect the consumer from fraudulent marketing practices like this.

Hanging Herb System Adds the Beauty of Nature & Organic Living to Any Home-

Created by Ana Arguezo, the Spice Versa concept is a hanging system that grows organic herbs right inside your own home. With its compact design, it doesn’t take up much space at all so it’s perfect for a small condo or apartment. The Spice-Versa hangs from a wall or ceiling and can grow up to 6 different kinds of herbs at once. It comes with a mercury spot light and biodegradable plant gel, which provides all the nutrients and water that growing plants require. The best part about the Spice-Versa is that herbs can be grown year round without worry about weather conditions or garden pests. To boot, its sleek design adds ambiance to any room and keeps the surrounding air smelling fresh and aromatic. Visit here for information on creator/designer Ana Arguezo.