What exactly is a Chinese greenhouse?

I don't have a greenhouse yet, although it's on our homestead to-do list and a recurring topic of discussion. But until this week's book giveaway, I'd never heard of a Chinese greenhouse. Of course, I'm infinitely curious! So, what exactly is a Chinese greenhouse, and how does it different? Under what circumstances would I want to build one?

I second this! I am also planning a greenhouse in the future of our very new homestead. I read about walpilini as a type of passive greenhouse so i'm interested to understand the similarities/differences between this and the Chinese greenhouse. Also I'm not sure whether we need anything complicated as we're in Italy where it gets cold but only freezes for a very short time, if at all. Maybe in this climate a simple polytunnel would be sufficient?

I am currently working on a quasi Chinese/pit greenhouse combo. I would love to hear more about them.

According to Mother Earth News, a Chinese greenhouse is masonry on 3 sides and only the south lets in light.  The large thermal mass of the masonry keeps the air warmer for longer during cold nights!

Our property is on considerable slope with southern exposure; one of the reasons we bought it. We live in central Florida. We are going to implement the ideas used in Chinese greenhouses by grading our greenhouse into the hillside then building masonry walls on the east and west sides. The northern side will be built into the hillside, of course. We get considerable rain here, being subtropical, so the drainage system that the retention wall will require will empty into barrels on the interior north wall. That water will fill a small, below grade sump chamber, and in the summer provide water to our plants. In the winter, the barrels will be left full so that the low winter sun can heat the water and help keep the plants warm through the night. The system is going to be designed around a lot of thermal mass, which will also help considerably with our extreme heat. The main reason to greenhouse in Florida is for protection from our brutal summers, and for a propagation and transplant  program. We are currently working with a prototype to get proof of concept, and have determined that shading all the way up to the apex of the greenhouse roof on the north side, and on the north half of the east and west sides, provides critical cool shade in the summer but does not interfere with necessary exposure for robust growth in winter. Using the chinese greenhouse method of replacing that shade cloth with masonry will serve to add more heat mass, which will further stabilize the interior climate of the greenhouse. If that doesn’t keep it warm enough, we’ll add a RMH. Always wanted to build one but, hey, it’s Florida. Might be my only chance.

Looking forward to the info...

Would love to read Dan’s book on the Chinese greenhouse   We have to work with a north facing slope.

I have a north facing slope as well and am trying to figure out best configuration for a greenhouse build. I was hoping that it would get enough light if I build it into the slope but am not sure. Would the effect of the earth's thermal mass mean masonry is not required?

Two weeks ago  we built cow shelters for the impending winter weather. That got me thinking as the sun came out and I was sitting in the shelter. Maybe I should build another one of these and put glass in front for a greenhouse?  Maybe I can build a few of them? I initially wanted to build a straw bale greenhouse in the barn. Which will be a lot of labour. Straw seems to be in short supply here.  Everyone seems to be guarding their supplies!  If you cover these tanks with enough earth then there is enough thermal mass. Isn’t there?

Obviously part of the roof would need glass or plastic. I don’t buy anything new so it would have to be found or traded.
Tell us more about the Chinese greenhouse concept. I am intrigued.

Also the big bonus with these old gas tanks is the shelters can be built in a day!  Yes of course we needed to hire the high hoe but it was worth it. Only a couple of hours work from him!

"North facing slope" to me, reads "north aspect" which wouldn't be a strategic or feasible location for a greenhouse. Is it possible to place a greenhouse on the north side of a slope? I suppose it would be important to know the grading.

I've never heard of a Chinese greenhouse but it seems similar to Mike Reynold's Earthship concept. It's very intriguing and I'd love to read more -- it doesn't appear there's any content available at my library for Chinese greenhouses. How does one calculate the glass surface area and angle required for the greenhouse space? How do you make a full thermal assessment prior to building?

I'm also curious to make an assessment as to how sustainable the Chinese greenhouse can be constructed and how easy it is to maintain compared to conventional.

I don't have a greenhouse but I hope to have one one day.

Mary Ellen,

Those look interesting and potentially a good recycling option! How do you make sure there aren't residual chemicals left on them from past industrial use, though?

I too have never heard of a Chinese greenhouse but could it be an even better way to build and use a greenhouse than the traditional way! I have never even had a basic greenhouse but have always wanted one to grow flowers and herbs in. Hopefully in the near future I can build one and now I have a new method of building a greenhouse to discover!

I can see the benefit for thermal mass helping in winter but my issue in the PNW is light. How can I increase the light efficiency in my greenhouse during winter?

Mary-ellen those are lovely! I'm sure the cows will enjoy this winter shelters.

I am building a 36 ft greenhouse lean to style with 300 ft of ground tubes to help modulate temps in summer and winter.. i hope it all works as as planned.

Andrea Locke wrote:Mary Ellen,

Those look interesting and potentially a good recycling option! How do you make sure there aren't residual chemicals left on them from past industrial use, though?

Hi there Andrea,

These huge tanks have been lying in a field for over 20 years cut and open to the rain, wind, air and snow.  The farmer who bought them finally turned a few over and used them as shelters for his cows. He is a certified organic farmer and they tested everything including those tanks. Otherwise I would not have bought them. They weigh a ton a piece and his tractor couldn’t lift them. So we had to pay the high hoe man extra to go over there to load them on a metal hay wagon.  Ours would not have been able to take the load.
My idea was completely different because we covered the tanks to give more warmth to the cattle. I’ve been working on the inside and shoring up the bottom with rocks. We given the cows a round bale of straw per container which they trampled right away. Now we will still cover the top round with wood and put a half door across the front to protect them from the elements. No chemicals left to bother them in there.

They also have the woods and another shed to escape the weather but our winters are becoming more unpredictable and they just needed more.

So the earth is piled on the gas tank. The opening is facing south. It gets pretty warm in there when the sun is shining. That’s why I thought wouldn’t this be a great idea for a greenhouse?  

Mary-Ellen,

That sounds like a great cattle-shelter-recycling win-win, with all that solid info on the non-toxicity of the tanks. I really like your cattle, by the way, and your collie looks very cosy in the shelter.

Coming back to the greenhouse idea, I imagine it would be well insulated if you build it the same way. I wonder if there would be enough light with the roof covered? On the other hand, the sun's angle is quite low in the shoulder seasons of the year and even more so in winter, so during the times you would need a greenhouse you would get light in through the front. And of course since you are building your own 'hills' as opposed to trying to build them into an existing slope, you can situate the opening ideally to get that light.

I don't see why you couldn't do this with recycled windows. In my experience, those big patio sliding doors are a great way to get a big surface of glass onto a flat greenhouse wall in a hurry, and less fiddly to put together than a lot of little windows. People are often wanting to replace them because the tracks have gotten messed up, or the wind leaks through between the door and the fixed pane, or one pane is cracked or fogging up, but the other matching piece is still usable.

John Devitt wrote:I can see the benefit for thermal mass helping in winter but my issue in the PNW is light. How can I increase the light efficiency in my greenhouse during winter?

John,

I’ve installed energy efficient LED grow lights from HappyLeaf.com in my greenhouse to compensate doe cloudy weather. They work do well.

Hi Dan
 Are your designs similar to the Integrated energy self-served animal and plant complementary ecosystem in China?
http://www.fao.org/3/t4470e/t4470e0d.htm#10.5.%20the%20study%20and%20test%20of%20the%20ventilation%20system%20in%20the%20e%20w%20form%20of%20the%20ecosys
 Or are they more like the underground heat exchange solar greenhouse described here?
http://www.fao.org/3/T4470E/t4470e0c.htm#9.2.%20the%20underground%20heat%20exchange%20system%20of%20protected%20vegetable%20cultivation

or have you combined the two approaches?
And have you considered combining either or both of these approaches with the climate battery ("thermal banking") approach that places insulation and water barrier around the foundation and outskirts of a greenhouse allowing a seasonal storage and release of heat from the dry ground underneath the greenhouse? As in:


and

and
https://groundswellnetwork.ca/community-greenhouse/  or see
 https://www.permaculturenews.org/2015/01/09/how-to-build-a-geo-solar-greenhouse/

The concept of a chinese greenhouse helps remind us that we don't need an all glass/polycarbonate/etc exterior. Living on a very shaded property, we have had to locate plants and raised beds  where they will get the longest exposure to sunlight. We discovered  one side of our house not only had better growing conditions, but the deer were not as brazen in their foraging there. You would think with 7 acres of oak and pine they would leave the tomatoes alone! Our potted fig trees, potted strawberries and tomatoes did really well on the north side of the house, where the driveway turns into the garage. We also set up a small greenhouse(plastic snap together w/plastic cover) on our front porch (NE) to try and capture the morning sun this spring. Kale, basil and red sorrel did well. We are experimenting with some small raised beds close to the house on the south side as well. Cold frames are on my Christmas wish list!

Mary-Ellen Zands wrote:Two weeks ago  we built cow shelters for the impending winter weather...

Interesting... Thanks so much for posting the great pictures!

Some articles on Chinese greenhouses and Russian ones:

https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/12/reinventing-the-greenhouse.html

https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2020/04/fruit-trenches-cultivating-subtropical-plants-in-freezing-temperatures.html

Dave Bross wrote:Some articles on Chinese greenhouses and Russian ones:

https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/12/reinventing-the-greenhouse.html

https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2020/04/fruit-trenches-cultivating-subtropical-plants-in-freezing-temperatures.html

Excellent articles!  Thanks for posting : )

Reading through the thread, this looks a lot like Greenhouse in the Snow https://greenhouseinthesnow.com/
Greenhouse in the Snow has raised beds at ground level, and the center of the greenhouse is excavated 4' deep.  The south face is glazed with 2-layer Lexan, and the north face is insulated and bermed slightly.  It also has low-grade geothermal tubes so that's a little more complex.

Our nights have been in the teens and twenties lately, and in the greenhouse its 50 degrees and the tropical horned melons and tomatoes, citrus trees, etc. are thriving.