10 responses to “What’s happenin’ in our greenhouse?”

1. 

   Kyle Egbert January 31st, 2010 at 14:34

   Hank, talk about your greenhouse in class sometime when we have spare time. I would like to know if you built it yourself and what it takes to run/build a successful one. Is it as easy as putting flowers in a building of windows and making it 70F all year? How much did it cost to get all your seeds/bulbs and how much are all the flowers worth now? Whats the plan for the flowers, does your wife sell them?

2. 

   admin January 31st, 2010 at 16:33

   Our greenhouse started out life many many years ago as a chicken coop. When we bought the farm in 1982, we decided to “remodel” the coop into a greenhouse. We dug out the old floor which was crap by hand and with our (shared with BIL Jerry) backhoe, poured a new floor, and designed the south-facing window area to fit windows that we found at salvage. We had the framing, siding and roofing also done; with help of my relatives, we did the inside, wiring, plumbing, benches etc. Bottom line, about $10K including all the automatic controls, heat pump (set @ 66F in winter), special lights etc. Seeds and bulbs aren’t all that expensive. Bulbs such as you see planted were about $13.00 per hundred at Sams. Orchids can run from $10/plant to big bucks; most of ours are in the $10-$40 range. How much is everything worth now? Actually to me priceless because we grew everything, mostly from scratch or with loving care. We don’t sell anything; we give lots away and use lots for our own pleasure and that of our guests. Next to racing, plants are my number one hobby.

3. 

   Shawn Gearhart January 31st, 2010 at 17:57

   I enjoyed the music choice playing in the background throughout the clip. Classy choice. It looks like you have a great looking greenhouse Hank.

4. 

   Jaideep Singh January 31st, 2010 at 18:23

   Love the greenhouse and the roses! do you guys sell the sell them? Please do tell the story in the class.

5. 

   Courtney M. Cronk January 31st, 2010 at 19:59

   I absolutely LOVE the orchids. they are my favorite. I always wanted to plant things, but as I tried to throughout the years, I realized i have the touch of death, because kill everything i grow. I would need some guideance from you , (clearly) because your plants are amazing! how much care does it take to grow orchids? I dont know anything about them, are they perennials? i would love to grow orchids, as well as some ‘cool’ plant. i have been thinking of growing a pineapple! (assuming i dont kill it) do you think that would be hard to do? i have read about people doing it on other blogs and forums.

6. 

   Meiqi Zhao January 31st, 2010 at 22:05

   Great video. I like your greenhouse.
   I am not very familar with plants and flowers.
   But I think it is a great habbit to balance life. Entrepreneur needs to work hard but also needs to know how to have fun in life.

7. 

   David Hyman January 31st, 2010 at 22:24

   What a great greenhouse Hank!! I never really had a knack for flowers or plants, but my mother sure does have a green thumb. She has been bugging my dad about building her own for her birthday, but we will see how that pans out! I would be really interested about how you decided to have a greenhouse of your own, and if you built it yourself or not.

8. 

   Curtis Brackett January 31st, 2010 at 22:54

   Great greenhouse Hank! I have little to no knowledge on what a greenhouse should look like but yours looks like its doing great. The flowers are beautiful and blooming well. I think that gardening would be a very relaxing hobby for someone who has a great deal of stress in their lives. Nice work.

9. 

   Keegan Klauke January 31st, 2010 at 23:27

   Hank, I have to say I do not have very much interest in greenhouses, so I will present this idea to you or anyone else who will have the ‘passion’ for greenhouses to interface them with the new tech age.

   1. create a self watering system with different times in the day where different pumps are turned on to water each section with the correct amount of water for the different plants.

   2. Have a wireless internet router that connects the house to the greenhouse so you do not need to trek outside to check up on the flowers. The greenhouse should have a camera(or multiple), temperature sensor and (these are just further thinking) moisture probes in each of the pots.

   this would definitely be a niche market, but maybe it could be expanded to different facets. good luck if someone has the time or contact me and maybe something can be started.

10. 

    Blake Bronowicki February 1st, 2010 at 18:48

    Hank, the greenhouse looks fantastic, looks like you have made a lot of great progress with it. Seems like a complex process to set one up, but when you do and it gets going, it seems to me that great things can come out of it. Keep up the great work and I would also like to hear more information concerning the greenhouse in class, it seems very interesting to me how it all works.