Where do we start?

We're digging a hole. Maybe a green house?

What's that hole?

My mom and I have always dreamed of having a big green house. She had a friend when I was little with multiple greenhouses and I remember canning and pickling days at his house. We wanted something permanent, not a flimsy, 2-year plastic thing.

We have no experience building. We have little experience growing food. My parents are about the same. So what the heck are we doing?!?

The truth is, we don't know. We don't really know what we're doing, we're still not clear what our goals are. We just know we want to live a more self-sufficient life. We want to home-school our daughter. We want to be together, and be close to our earth.

Permanent structures first

The greenhouse was a good idea. We've been living in Nucla for almost two months now, and all we have is a hole dug, and a few plans to think about. Materials are looking like they will be way more expensive than we anticipated (I'm sure we'll have to get used to that for just about every project :). I've been working in Grand Junction for the past two months too, finishing my job of seven years (which I totally love) until my replacement can take over. She took over yesterday, so I can actually live in Nucla now.

Back to permanent structures. The green house will be partially underground. There is a 9000 gallon abandoned cistern on the west side of our property (see above). It's about 9 - 9 1/2 feet deep and 19 feet across. The greenhouse will be built off of this, and we will use the cistern again for water storage in the winter. We plan to use recycled trusses that were once used to build a roof over a trailer house. We have access to 23 of them. So, we're thinking of a metal frame and trusses for the roof. That leaves walls and a ceiling to think of. We'll probably use plastic until we can save up for the polycarb we really want (lifespan is 20+ years). The greenhouse will be 19 feet by about 40 feet.

Someday we plan to build a tiny house, even if it's just a bedroom for us and for little one. We all know my mom really likes her coffee freshly ground, and damn, that grinder is loud at 6 am ;)

About the other structures on the property

The property originally belonged to my dad's parents, Mary and Cecil Rice. I didn't really know them (although I grew up 1.5 miles away), so I refer to them as my dad's parents. It is 3 1/2 acres, and sits at the 'top' of town. We're just outside town limits. Part of the property is on the other side of the road without access to water. It's pretty much sandstone and sage brush.

The house has three bedrooms, one bathroom, a sun room and a large front room divided into the dining room, living room and office. My parents remodeled it 8-10 years ago after my dad's mom passed away, and decided to live there instead of the double wide trailer I grew up in. We opted to take the roof off the sun room, which if I jump up, my head hits the ceiling. The three of us are sharing it. Our back porch is phenomenal. Check the post about my outdoor kitchen.

The outbuildings are pretty neat. The shop is the closest to the house. Two ports, automatic doors, nice workbench, tons of space. The garden shed sits by the orchard (see post about existing plants). It's about 12x30 feet, and there's a bunch of junk and tools in it. The "estate" shed has... well... I don't know what's in it but it's about 12x20 feet and sits behind the shop. The chicken coop is outfitted with an electric fence and a nice house for the ladies. The garage has three ports, two of which are stuffed with crap we probably don't need, and one port holds the 1949 Jeep Willies and the 1984 CJ5. The SUB (Solar Utility Building) used to be a shed on the back porch, but now sits near the cistern. My dad plans to make it the storage for batteries and such for the non-existing solar panels. There's also a gazebo with a metal roof. It's one of Audrey's favorite places to play so far.

More to Come

The greenhouse is a work in progress. We're hoping to have it finished by next spring. I'm not the builder in the family, I'm the grower!