{"id":15849,"date":"2013-08-29T09:37:39","date_gmt":"2013-08-29T15:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=15849"},"modified":"2014-07-29T14:47:01","modified_gmt":"2014-07-29T20:47:01","slug":"diy-greenhouse-walipini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/","title":{"rendered":"The $300 DIY Greenhouse: How to Build Your Own Walipini"},"content":{"rendered":"

While it may not feel like it – it definitely doesn’t here – Winter garden season<\/a> is upon us… and pretty soon you may be thinking about ways to extend the growing season as it starts to cool off. A greenhouse is the go-to solution for most folks, but that means shelling out some bucks… right?<\/p>\n

Well, maybe not as much as you might think. With a little ingenuity, elbow grease, and ability to follow some simple directions, you can build your own greenhouse for around $300. Don’t believe it? Check out this post from our friends over at sister site Insteading<\/a>:<\/p>\n

DIY How-to: Build a $300 in-Ground Greenhouse (w\/ plans)<\/h3>\n

<\/a>\"wallpini\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Farmers have been trying to extend the growing season of their crops for hundreds of years. So far, the greenhouse has been the dominant technology, since it doesn\u2019t usually require electricity to operate. The problem with setting up an off-the grid greenhouse is that the typical, \u201cglazed glass\u201d structure can be prohibitively expensive to construct. That\u2019s where a the in-ground greenhouse comes into play.<\/p>\n

A much more affordable and effective alternative to glass greenhouses is the walipini (an\u00a0Aymara native<\/a>word for a \u201cplace of warmth\u201d). Essentially an in-ground \u201cpit\u201d greenhouse, this earth-sheltered greenhouse taps into the thermal mass of the earth, so that much less energy is needed to heat its interior than a similarly-sized glass greenhouse. Obviously, you need to take drainage and ventilation into consideration while building a walipini, but\u00a0the Benson Institute at BYU has a few pointers on how to handle that<\/a>, as well:<\/p>\n

\n

The Walipini utilizes nature\u2019s resources to provide a warm, stable, well-lit environment for year-round vegetable production. Locating the growing area 6\u2019- 8\u2019 underground and capturing and storing daytime solar radiation are the most important principles in building a successful Walipini.<\/p>\n

The Walipini, in simplest terms, is a rectangular hole in the ground 6-8\u2032 deep that\u2019s covered by plastic sheeting. The longest area of the rectangle faces the winter sun \u2014 to the north in the Southern Hemisphere and to the south in the Northern Hemisphere. A thick wall of rammed earth at the back of the building and a much lower wall at the front provide the needed angle for the plastic sheet roof. This roof seals the hole, provides an insulating airspace between the two layers of plastic (a sheet on the top and another on the bottom of the roof\/poles) and allows the sun\u2019s rays to penetrate creating a warm, stable environment for plant growth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If your browser supports PDF viewing, you can check out the full Benson Institute manual to build your own in-ground greenhouse, below, or\u00a0download the full walipini manual here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, also, that an in-ground greenhouse like the walipini could also serve as warm out-door storage for your\u00a0animal hutches<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0small-scale hydroponic systems<\/a>, making it a perfect \u201cgo-to\u201d solution for a number of off-grid logistical issues \u2026 but the best part is the price: BYU pegs the materials cost at just $300 USD!<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/center><\/p>\n

Sources | Photos<\/strong>:\u00a0Treehugger<\/a>,\u00a0Neo-farms<\/a>, and Brigham Young University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While it may not feel like it – it definitely doesn’t here – Winter garden season is upon us… and pretty soon you may be thinking about ways to extend the growing season as it starts to cool off. A greenhouse is the go-to solution for most folks, but that means shelling out some bucks… right? Maybe not as much as you might think…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":15851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[4,23,5730,6563],"yoast_head":"\nDIY Greenhouse Plan: the Walipini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Extend your growing season with this DIY plan for a walipini, a greenhouse you can build (or, actually, dig) in your backyard.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DIY Greenhouse Plan: the Walipini\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Extend your growing season with this DIY plan for a walipini, a greenhouse you can build (or, actually, dig) in your backyard.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"importantmedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-08-29T15:37:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-07-29T20:47:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/wallpini.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Important Media Cross-Post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Important Media Cross-Post\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Important Media Cross-Post\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0fba455838de6fdc9ea0c24c81214e09\"},\"headline\":\"The $300 DIY Greenhouse: How to Build Your Own Walipini\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-29T15:37:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-07-29T20:47:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/\"},\"wordCount\":518,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"diy\",\"gardening\",\"greenhouse\",\"walipini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/\",\"name\":\"DIY Greenhouse Plan: the Walipini\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-29T15:37:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-07-29T20:47:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"Extend your growing season with this DIY plan for a walipini, a greenhouse you can build (or, actually, dig) in your backyard.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The $300 DIY Greenhouse: How to Build Your Own Walipini\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"description\":\"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":142,\"caption\":\"Sustainablog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0fba455838de6fdc9ea0c24c81214e09\",\"name\":\"Important Media Cross-Post\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebd66620452dab0cca874a25b4914ca7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebd66620452dab0cca874a25b4914ca7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Important Media Cross-Post\"},\"description\":\"-- CleanTechnica is one of 18 blogs in the Important Media blog network. With a bit of overlap in coverage, we sometimes repost some of the great content published by our sister sites.\",\"sameAs\":[\"importantmedia\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/importantmedia\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/imcp\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"DIY Greenhouse Plan: the Walipini","description":"Extend your growing season with this DIY plan for a walipini, a greenhouse you can build (or, actually, dig) in your backyard.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"DIY Greenhouse Plan: the Walipini","og_description":"Extend your growing season with this DIY plan for a walipini, a greenhouse you can build (or, actually, dig) in your backyard.","og_url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/","og_site_name":"Sustainablog","article_author":"importantmedia","article_published_time":"2013-08-29T15:37:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-07-29T20:47:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":375,"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/wallpini.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Important Media Cross-Post","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Important Media Cross-Post","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/"},"author":{"name":"Important Media Cross-Post","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0fba455838de6fdc9ea0c24c81214e09"},"headline":"The $300 DIY Greenhouse: How to Build Your Own Walipini","datePublished":"2013-08-29T15:37:39+00:00","dateModified":"2014-07-29T20:47:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/"},"wordCount":518,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["diy","gardening","greenhouse","walipini"],"articleSection":["Living"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/","name":"DIY Greenhouse Plan: the Walipini","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-08-29T15:37:39+00:00","dateModified":"2014-07-29T20:47:01+00:00","description":"Extend your growing season with this DIY plan for a walipini, a greenhouse you can build (or, actually, dig) in your backyard.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-greenhouse-walipini\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The $300 DIY Greenhouse: How to Build Your Own Walipini"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","name":"Sustainablog","description":"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization","name":"Sustainablog","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","width":200,"height":142,"caption":"Sustainablog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0fba455838de6fdc9ea0c24c81214e09","name":"Important Media Cross-Post","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebd66620452dab0cca874a25b4914ca7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebd66620452dab0cca874a25b4914ca7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Important Media Cross-Post"},"description":"-- CleanTechnica is one of 18 blogs in the Important Media blog network. With a bit of overlap in coverage, we sometimes repost some of the great content published by our sister sites.","sameAs":["importantmedia","https:\/\/twitter.com\/importantmedia"],"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/imcp\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15849"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}