Anywhere you live, whether it’s the hot, dry desert, or the more temperate states like New York or anywhere in Canada, when you want to get those seedlings to grow and stay warm overnight or on cool cloudy days as summer is coming in, there is nothing like a greenhouse. Of course you can start your seedlings on your kitchen counter, but if you have plans for a garden that wants to expand, you will need more space. Maybe you’ll even create a little cosiness that you can sit in after your seedlings have grown out of their first home.
If you have been following some of my gardening adventures you’ll have caught on that I have been using a plastic biodome, built by a company in Turkey. It’s a great starter tent and place to stay but it’s all 100% plastic and I’ve noticed that the covers don’t last for more than one season. My plastic transparent cover has shrunk and ripped from the blazing sun, and the canvas cover, too, hasn’t weathered so well in the damp but not overly wet Middle Eastern winter.
That’s why I find the Dirt Church built by hand by our friends over at Piebird very appealing as a starter greenhouses – if you don’t have the energy or skills to DIY it. You can add a low cost plastic cover or mosquito net when needed. Or you can buy or easily make a canvas cover for it to turn it into a bunkie after your seedlings have outgrown it.
I love that it’s made by hand by Yan and that the income they make goes to supporting a small but important animal rights sanctuary they have built in Northern Ontario, Canada. They even give honeybees sanctuary. Read all about it here.
A cathedral for your kale
Says Yan, “The gothic arch architecture is a funky space for your soil worship. It’s a cathedral for your kale! The back flower opens to vent. ‘The Seed’ is lightweight but very strong. It comes apart into two stackable sections that easily fits into a 4ft wide truck bed for transport. It takes just minutes for you to assemble.
Pick-up at Piebird Farm Sanctuary is preferred (it’s a good reason to visit!); they are in in Nipissing, Ontario. Delivery available for extra charge. This model pictured above called the Seed is $850 CAD or about $600 USD. To order, send half as a deposit to [email protected] (e-transfer or paypal) and your “Seed” will be ready shortly.
The model here includes 6 mil greenhouse covering. If using for a shed, they can supply an opaque poly option, or canvas covering for a bunkie. And it can be made longer by adding more bows.
Watch this great video about Piebird… “Be strucken by the stars!”
More details about the Seed Dirt Church here.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist and publisher that founded Green Prophet to unite a prosperous Middle East. She shows through her work that positive, inspiring dialogue creates action that impacts people, business and planet. She has published in thought-leading newspapers and magazines globally, owns an IoT tech chip patent, and is part of teams that build world-changing products to make agriculture and our planet more sustainable. Reach out directly to [email protected]